Victoria Wright might not be popping around Ricky Gervais' gaff for a cuppa anytime soon, but Joanna Lumley and her bra-shoes certainly get her vote...
Name:
Victoria Wright
Age:
30
Disability:
Cherubism (genetic facial disfigurement)
Since:.
Birth. It's a genetic condition, but it didn't start to show until the age of four.
Explain:
Cherubism is an extremely rare genetic condition that causes an overgrowth of fibrous tissue in the face. Classic symptoms are very large jaws and protruding eyes.
You truly felt like a disabled person when...
I first read about Disability Arts and the Disabled People's Movement when I was a student at college. That was when I started to identify myself as a 'disabled person'. But the first time I truly felt 'different' was when I was called 'fat chin' by a kid at school for the very first time.
The most embarrassing thing to happen because of your disability/impairment is:
The most embarrassing thing to happen because of my disability/impairment is far too embarrassing to mention, so I shall have to draw a discreet veil over the matter!
Common misapprehensions about your disability/impairment (i):
That women with facial disfigurements are not attractive or sexual beings. Wrong!
Common misapprehensions about your disability/impairment (ii):
That if you have a facial disfigurement, you must be utterly miserable and tragic, and spend your evenings sat at home in the dark crying.
What's the worst thing anyone's ever done to you as a result of your disability/impairment?
Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant making nasty comments about my face on their XFM radio show after I appeared on a TV documentary. I complained to the director of XFM who apologised and said no further comments would be made about my face - only for them to ridicule me in a further two episodes. Being humiliated by someone considered a national treasure is not very pleasant.
What's the best?
I've received some lovely letters from people who have seen me on TV before. Some of them were from mothers who have children with facial disfigurements or from women who feel self conscious about their own appearance. Their kind words and encouragement meant a lot to me.
Extraordinary fact:
I have a tattoo on my right shoulder.
What's the most common thing people assume you can't do because of your disability that you can?
Have a boyfriend/husband. I was once asked by a complete stranger if I was physically able to kiss a man. I can now reveal to the nation that yes I can and frequently do.
What has your disability given you?
The bad: double vision, sore eyes and occasional face pain. The good: confidence, humour and empathy.
The things you can't live without:
Eyedrops, mirror, comb, sunglasses, makeup and a decent cup of tea.
The person you'd most like to be marooned on a desert island with is:
Joanna Lumley. She's done it before and knows how to make shoes out of a bra.
The three things you'd take to a desert island (nothing useful allowed) are:
Three bottles of sambuca.
The first thing you'd do when you arrived on a desert island:
Open the sambuca. Or make myself some shoes.
You live...
Within walking distance of the beautiful Regent's Park.
The things you'd miss about your home are:
My bed, TV and husband. But not necessarily in that order.
The thing that most annoys you about other disabled people is:
When they deny they are disabled even though they obviously are. I can understand why because there is still so much stigma around disability. But life is so much more fun and liberating once you burst out of the disability closet.
The thing that annoys you most about non-disabled people is:
To be quite honest, disabled people and non-disabled people can be equally annoying.
What makes you most angry?
Famous comedians who make abusive jokes about disabled people and then go on Comic Relief and Live 8, claiming that they really care about the poor and disadvantaged of the world. I can't stand the hypocrisy of that.
What makes you most depressed?
Disablism, racism and homophobia.
What was the happiest moment of your life?
My wedding day.
What was the saddest?
Being told that my nan had died when I was filming Cast Offs.
What was the most romantic?
Sitting at the back of my hotel on Lake Garda on my honeymoon and watching my husband swimming in the lake late at night.
The thing you love most about your friends is:
Their disgraceful, dirty sense of humour.
How would your life be different without your disability?
I'd be a world famous film star and probably a total cow.
