Britain's Got Talent closing
On Sunday night, Britain's Got Talent drew to a shut and this 12 months's winner was topped. Nothing uncommon there.
But Lost Voice Guy's victory wasn't simply notable as a result of he was the primary comic to win within the present's historical pastbut in addition as a result of he has cerebral palsy.
Furthermore, the runner-up, one other comic named Robert White, has Asperger syndrome.
The pair helped the present appeal to its greatest viewers since 2015, with in a single day scores displaying a common of eight.7 million viewers tuned into the ultimate.
Both acts made gentle of their very own incapacity of their acts. So is that this a watershed moment for incapacity on TV?
"No," says broadcaster Mik Scarlet, who's now an inclusion and equality coach. "I feel it is simply one other a type of moments that occurs all through the historical past of media.
"The media has all the time believed that the general public cannot address incapacity, however that is simply by no means been my expertise.
"I was discovered in a similar, not quite so dramatic, hail of praise and glory in 1989, and I went on to become one of the most famous disabled presenters."
Mik, who makes use of a wheelchair, turned an acquainted face to viewers because the presenter of Channel four children TV present Beat That, and went on to appearing roles in The Bill and Brookside.
"Everywhere I went, all the people I met were fine with [my disability], they genuinely don't care," he says.
"What this actually needs to be is a watershed moment where the media wakes up to the fact that, actually, the general public are absolutely fine with disability."
He provides: "Hopefully what may occur, is now the media will cease making it such a horrible tragedy story.
"It's very easy for the media to shine a light on the public and go 'Oh look the public voted, they must have changed,' when actually this is the first time the public have been given the chance to vote."
Viewers could not have had many alternatives to vote for acts like Robert White and Lost Voice Guywhose actual title is Lee Ridleyin expertise reveals earlier than, however disabled individuals have been represented on display in a number of different methods in recent times.
Noughties comedy sequence Little Britain (which starred David Walliamsnow a Britain's Got Talent decide), noticed Matt Lucas play a disabled character who was secretly able-bodied.
The sketches poked enjoyable at the concept disabled individuals faux their situation so as to declare advantages, and the present was massively fashionable with viewers.
But now the comedy is coming from disabled performers themselves.
Dean Chaffer, a comedy fan who additionally has cerebral palsy, has been following Lost Voice Guy's profession for a variety of years.
"Watching Lee around various comedy clubs and places around the north-east over the years, how he supported Ross Noble in the early days of his career, that was really good," he remembers.
"And hopefully he can go as far as he wants to doing comedy, and challenging people's perceptions of disability and getting laughs along the way."
He provides: "The first rule of comedy is simply to be humorous and I feel that is what Lee does very well.
"Disabled people have a sense of humour, just like everybody else... we're just like normal people, and I think it needs to be highlighted that Lee and Robert were up there because they were the funniest people."
One of the important thing issues to each White and Ridley's success, Mik thinks, is the truth that they actively made their incapacity the topic of a few of their comedy.
"There are a few individuals now who work within the media who're disabled however by no means actually point out it. The factor about Lost Voice Guy is he goes on about it, it is his set.
"And I feel it might be very nice if disabled individuals may actually be allowed to speak about it once more, and be thought of one thing aside from a contributor.
"You'll have an actually humorous comedy about incapacity, which makes disabled individuals snigger, but in addition makes non-disabled individuals snigger not at us, however with us.
"If you're disabled, you tend to be considered the voice of disability, and that's not really fair."
Another comic Francesca Martinez, who additionally has cerebral palsy, has typically made gentle of her incapacity in her comedy routinestogether with throughout a look on the BBC's Live At The Apollo.
Channel four comedy present The Last Leg is now in its 13th sequence, regardless of it initially solely being commissioned for a transient run through the London Paralympics in 2012.
The present, which additionally stars Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe, sees Alex Brooker frequently make enjoyable of his personal disabilitieshis proper leg was amputated when he was a child and he has hand and arm deformities.
"I think we need disability to be normalised on screen," says Dean.
"The BBC has had Silent Witness (which earlier this year featured an episode with three disabled actors) and we just need to see disabled people going about their everyday lives."
"There might be issues that a disabled particular person finds humorous and it is typically about issues which have occurred to you. Sometimes as a disabled particular person you undergo issues, and also you assume, if I do not snigger about it, what would I do?
"And I feel that is the explanation reveals like The Last Leg are there, as a result of it allows all people to have a dialog about incapacity, and it is now not taboo.
Dean provides: "Now that we have now platforms like YouTube, disabled individuals are capable of current themselves in the way in which that they need to and say that is my life that I am dwelling, somewhat than someone who's controlling or producing the present, having a model of them on display.
"Disabled people now have much more control in representing themselves and challenging people."