Coronation Street star Cherylee Houston hit back at vile abuse as she slams ‘prevalent’ ableism.
Cherylee was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos, a rare connective tissue disorder, when she was 23. This meant that she faced an extended period of shielding from Covid.
The actress, who took on the role of Izzy Armstrong in 2010, last appeared on the street in 2020, before lockdown restrictions were put into place.
In her latest Twitter/X post opened up about the vile incident.
‘Just had some delightful ableism shouted at me out of a car window “Coronation Street Cabbage”, he penned.
‘Have we gone back 20 years, they were young men. This isn’t for sympathy. This is for awareness of how prevalent disability hate is.’
Fans reached out to show their support for the star, with @abbie_differently_disabled adding: ‘Sensing you so much love you amazing lady ❤️ YOU are SO much more than those people will ever be! EVER! ✨’
@lizhumedawson added: ‘Shocking. Yes makes you wonder if we are in 2024.’
Playing Izzy during her stint on the soap, Cherylee also picked up her award for services to drama, collecting her MBE from the Princess Royal.
‘If you think when you were growing up who your role models were, who influences you, if you as a disabled child don’t have that, how do you know what you can do?’, the actress said, discussing the importance of seeing disabled people on screens.
‘I firmly believe the more we’re on our screens, the more we’re going to be understood, the more people care and empathise and will ensure that we will have equal rights and equal opportunity, because it’s about equality.’
As Cherylee passionately continues campaigning, she believes that once there is greater representation of disabled people on television, ‘there will be more ramps on the high street and more accessibility’.
