Never before has there been a cool, edgy kids TV series that can attest to hiring neurodivergent actors, performing a script adapted from a book written by a neurodivergent author (also one of the show’s screenwriters) and employing neurodivergent consultants, crew and actors. That is, until now.
“It was the most accessible experience I’ve ever had at work,” says Elle McNicoll, author of the children’s bestseller A Kind of Spark and one of the screenwriters for its adaptation as a CBBC drama. She and three of the cast members, all of whom are neurodivergent, are speaking to me on Zoom the day before the release of the tale of a young woman looking into her town’s history of witch trials. The first episode was screened the previous evening and there’s a palpable buzz in the air.
“I said to the BBC, it has to be autistic-led. There’s this expression: ‘Diversity is being invited to be party, inclusivity is being asked to dance’. But what if we threw the party? What if it was our party?” says McNicoll.
The BBC and the show’s production company 9 Story were immediately on board, and their joint efforts to make this an incredibly inclusive series is what makes watching A Kind of Spark so different from your ordinary disabled character-led story.
It follows Addie (played by Lola Blue), who, upon discovering the witch trials that happened centuries ago in her small home town of Juniper, decides to start a witch memorial campaign. Viewers learn of Addie’s neurodivergence, and that of her older sister Keedie, early on, but it is very much incidental to the central plot.
“It’s not a story about being diagnosed with autism or people ‘suffering’ with autism, which I’m very against, it’s a story about a girl who is on a mission,” McNicoll says. “Being autistic is an all-encompassing thing; it filters into every aspect of your life – as is true with Addie. But the story is about this legacy.”
Many of the scenes in A Kind of Spark are set in the characters’ school and it reminds me of The Worst Witch. I tell the actors that they must be proud to have made something that’s led by disabled people, but also just really fun and cool, especially for kids. There is no “poor them” pity narrative, there’s no “inspirational disabled child overcomes adversity” story arc. There’s just life.
“That’s a big part of this mission,” says McNicoll. “[I want to see] more [disabled kids in] fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, not just ‘this is a disability story, everyone settle in, we’re going to learn a lesson.’”
A Kind of Spark invites the viewer, through a mix of brilliant cinematography and sound, to see the world through Addie’s lens. The layers to it make the series something that can be appreciated by all ages and it’s incredibly impactful.
“[In the book] I can only do so much to show people what it feels like to be autistic,” says McNicoll, “But when, for example, Addie steps into the library and it’s suddenly very quiet, that’s a powerful moment for me in the first episode, it sets the tone of the show.”
Sound and image are also heavily relied on throughout the series in moments where Addie and her sister Keedie (played by Georgia de Gidlow), navigate through meltdowns and try to self-regulate.
I ask the actors what it was like filming such impactful scenes. “I remember having a meltdown in a scene where Keedie was having a meltdown. Having to connect with that side of yourself can leave you feeling very vulnerable,” says De Gidlow.
The actors are all very insistent that the crew on set were incredibly patient and understanding; another advantage of having so many disabled colleagues that just get it. “Later in the season, Addie has very visceral reactions to things and [when filming lots of takes] you’re doing it over and over again, which can be quite draining,” says Blue of her role as the lead character. “But I think it was handled in the best way and we were the most comfortable we could have been.”
The experience was a little different for Caitlin Hamilton, who is neurodivergent, but plays Addie and Keedie’s neurotypical sister, Nina. “I was having to mask (hide parts of oneself in order to better fit in with those around you) and act. It was kind of exhausting – I’m used to masking at the beginning of the day, it’s how I cope and function,” she says. “But by the end of the day, trying to mask as the character became a bit more difficult.”
Prior to playing Nina, she had never told her agents she was autistic. “I was so scared it would limit the roles I could audition for,” Hamilton says. “So when I got this neurotypical role, I thought: ‘Well that’s fine because they don’t know I’m anything else.’ That’s when I said: ‘I don’t know if you know but I’m autistic’ and everyone was like: ‘Oh, great!’”
De Gidlow chips in, gesturing towards herself and Blue, “We show that autistic people can play autistic people, Caitlin shows autistic people can play neurotypical people as well. There’s no pigeonholing us. Acting is acting.”
Acting is acting indeed, and these performers are a powerful reminder that disabled and neurodivergent people are a rich and varied community, just like non-disabled folks – and that we can do so much more than we often assume. Hamilton adds: “I got so many comments when I was younger that made me feel as if I wasn’t good enough, but doing this makes me feel like: ‘Yeah, we can.’ There’s no part we can’t do. That’s so empowering for us.”
Another of McNicoll’s books, Like a Charm, a fantasy about a dyspraxic girl who can see magical creatures because her neurodivergence allows her to see through the veil of magic, is being developed for TV. Speaking about representation in television, she says, “I want to see more diversity in autism, more Black autistic people, queer autistic people; I would like to see more diversity within disability as well. I want disabled children to be front and centre.”
Hamilton adds: “There’s so many things we can go into, we haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg yet. I want this to be just the beginning.”
• A Kind of Spark is on BBC iPlayer and airs on CBBC from 17 April
