Rosie Jones: 'If you're disabled, this isn't a country that makes you feel welcome'

Jones came up with the idea for Pushers with co-writer Peter Fellows back in 2018, and it started life as an award-winning Channel 4 comedy short in 2022 under the name Disability Benefits. Now it has been expanded to a six-part sitcom — the perfect platform for Jones to highlight important issues within the disabled community and give us a “hearty giggle”.

After watching the series, you might be tempted to say there are echoes of the US drama Breaking Bad (albeit with more laughs). In fact, there’s even a joke in that original short about how Breaking Bad’s teacher-turned-drug dealer Walter White should have made his son, who has cerebral palsy, deal the drugs. Which is exactly what Jones’s character Emily does after her disability benefits are cut.

It’s certainly a comparison endorsed by Jones. “That’s what we want!” she laughs.

You have appeared in dramas like Call the Midwife before, but how special is it to star in your own comedy series?

As a comedian, it’s been my dream forever to have my own sitcom. I grew up on the greats, including dinnerladies and The Royle Family. So I loved it, because it felt like I was home. Making people laugh is my bread and butter. I was number one on the call sheet, which comes with added pressure, but I’m a control freak, so the fact I was in charge was great! But we’re all equal, we’re all doing the same job.

Emily sometimes uses people's prejudices of disability to her advantage — could you relate?

Well, I need to say legally that I’ve never dealt drugs… yet. Never say never! No, I go for cheeky things. When I was in my 20s, I would use my disability to queue jump at night clubs. If I got drunk on a night out and threw up in a taxi, I absolutely used it to get out of paying fines. The taxi driver would shout at me, and I’d go, “I’ve got cerebral palsy, I can’t help it.” I also used it to get free cake in cafés!

How did you go about casting the series?

Even though I’m the main character, I was so passionate that it wouldn’t be a sitcom where I was surrounded by all-white, straight, non-disabled men. I get so annoyed when I watch a TV show and they only have one disabled character, and the writer depicts all the disabled storylines through them. Being disabled isn’t a personality trait, and if you put all the onus on that one character, that is so damaging. I wanted to create a show where the cast were predominantly disabled.

Can you describe what the audition process was like?

Peter and I never wanted a disability to be the core of who a person is, so we just wrote a character, and then during the audition process, we saw a variety of actors with a range of disabilities to make sure we got the right actor for each role. As soon as we did, Peter and I went back into the script and adapted it for the actor and their disability. That’s how every show should work – don’t shut people down because they have a disability.

I noticed most of the characters in Pushers don’t even mention their disability…

That’s because it isn’t relevant! We’ve created so many three-dimensional, flawed disabled characters beyond a typical representation of disability, which is normally: the vulnerable one, the victim, the asexual one, the one that doesn’t have any agency, drive or control. You don’t see that at all in Pushers. The same goes with queerness. Emily is an out gay woman. In episode one, you see that she has a huge crush on her female boss, but she never says, “Hello, I’m Emily, I have cerebral palsy and I’m a gay woman” – because it’s not how people talk in the real world. Representation of minorities is so important, but what isn’t important is making a big deal out of it.

How did you make Pushers an inclusive set for the cast?

There was an access coordinator, the amazing Dan Edge, on set every day. I worked with him on Taskmaster – he has cerebral palsy and he did all the tasks before I did to ensure they were possible. He made sure everyone was listened to, disabled or not, and that their needs were met. If you make sure every single person is cared for, you create the best environment to create a brilliant show.

Emily has problems with the benefits system — what has your experience been like?

Oh, it’s been brilliant! They’ve been lovely with me – we really get on! No, it’s been s***. I feel like my story isn’t unique and it’s certainly not the worst out there. But I was initially assessed in 2006 when I was 16, and in that assessment, they gave me the highest amount for mobility, because how I walk and get around is incredibly hard. I have to take taxis everywhere. They said I would get it for ever, because cerebral palsy is with me for ever. A few years later, that wasn’t the case. They were much frostier with me, they were rude, and through a five-minute meeting, they decided to halve my benefits.

That's shocking — how did they decide that?

My assessor came to my house and watched me walk seven steps and he thought during those seven steps that I walk quite well, so apparently he knows me more than I know myself. Luckily, I’m in a position in my job where I can afford taxis and can pick up the slack, but I shouldn’t have to spend most of my earnings on things I have no control over. I wanted to depict that process, because a lot of disabled people suddenly lose their benefits overnight and then can’t get a job – if you’re disabled, you’re twice as likely to be unemployed. Then you can’t pay the bills or afford heating and food. How do you live in that world?

This is also, unfortunately, a very timely topic. We wrote Pushers during the Tory government, but when we were about to start filming, the general election happened and the Labour government came in. We had a conversation about whether our sitcom would be a little bit irrelevant with the lovely, brilliant, inclusive, disabled-friendly Labour government. Unfortunately, it’s not played out that way. Talking about benefits and how this country treats disabled people poorly is more relevant than ever. Shame on us for thinking that the current government would treat us better than the last.

How has the new Labour government impacted things for disabled people?

It started with the bloody heating allowances – time and time again s***ting on the most vulnerable people in society. Companies are pulling out of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives in the US, and I’m very scared that will come over to the UK. Right now, more than ever, if you’re disabled or you’re different in any way, this isn’t a country or a world that makes you feel welcome.

Do you think that makes this series an important watch?

Well, if you’re disabled, you don’t need to resort to dealing drugs! But I do hope people sit up and think about the state of society right now. The number one thing, though, is I hope the series makes people laugh. Otherwise, I’ve done my job wrong.

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Pushers will air on Thursday 19th June at 10pm and 10:30pm on Channel 4 and All4.

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