Run Away star addresses online comments about character disability: "I stand by the way we did it"

Since its release on Netflix, Harlan Coben's Run Away has unsurprisingly skyrocketed to number 1 in the streamer's charts.

The twisty thriller follows Simon Greene (James Nesbitt) as he embarks on a desperate search for his daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) and gets caught up in a murder case, uncovering secrets that could threaten his family.

While Paige's story was at the heart of the series, one of the other Greene family members has also received plenty of attention on social media, and that's Paige's sister Anya.

Played by actress Ellie Henry, who was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome as a teenager, there have been plenty of online comments about Anya and her wheelchair usage.

Viewers have noticed that Henry uses her wheelchair in some scenes and is seen standing or walking in others, something that comes with being an ambulatory wheelchair user.

Some social media users have even highlighted it as if it was a continuity error, with Henry saying: “I was surprised that people thought it was a mistake because [production company] Quay Street are not out here making mistakes!”

But the actress admitted that she "expected all of those comments" anyway. Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Henry said: "From my first meeting at Quay Street with Will [McDonagh], our producer, I told him, ‘People aren’t going to understand.’ And that’s what I’m used to in my life is people having questions and not understanding.

"That’s through no fault of their own, this hasn’t been shown on screen. So I don’t expect people to know."

She continued: "But I’m glad we stuck strong in our decision not to mention it in the series because it’s this family normal. In my everyday life, we’re not talking about disability all of the time, it doesn’t come up. We just live our day to day.

"There is so much more going on in this series than Anya’s disability. So I’m glad we stuck to that decision and like I say, I expected the questions. I’m just really glad that now I am able to answer it with my honest and lived experience, and hopefully make ambulatory wheelchair use a little bit more understood.”

As Henry noted, Anya's disability isn't explicitly explored in Run Away – but that's something the actress was keen on from the start.

“I really didn’t want it included in this series. I think there’s a time and a place and I think when disabled stories are told, that’s great," she said.

"If you’re making a series about someone with a disability, tell the story. If you’re telling the story of someone getting injured or finding out a diagnosis then great, have that conversation then. Have it when it adds to the moment and the story. It wasn’t going to add anything here.

"There was so much going on, we didn’t need a conversation about it. I stand by the way we did it and I’m really pleased. We knew these conversations would have to happen afterwards and getting my lived experience is much better than getting a throwaway line on screen that you’re probably going to miss in all of the twists and turns anyway.”

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As for her own ambulatory wheelchair usage, Henry explained: “It basically means that I’m able to walk but I also have to use a wheelchair. There are so many different reasons why people use a wheelchair part-time, it could be due to pain, it could be due to nerve damage, dizziness, heart problems. There are just so many different reasons why people use them.

"It means that for longer distances or often going out and about in town, or travelling into the city, the world isn’t as accessible as we need it to be so we have to use our wheelchair. It means that we can sit down when we need, we can conserve our energy and still do things in everyday life.

"Within the house, you can walk a bit or if you’re in a really familiar environment like at school and you’re able to walk around the classroom. I think it’d be lovely for people not to be so surprised when people do stand up out of their wheelchair.”

As for Anya, Henry revealed that the character wasn't written in the original Harlan Coben novel as a wheelchair user. "They just saw past that because at the end of the day, I’m an actor and I can deliver the character. So whether or not she’s in a wheelchair or stood up, it shouldn’t really matter and I’m glad they looked at it that way," she said.

In terms of those conversations that went into Anya's wheelchair usage, Henry said: “The minute I was cast, the conversation was open. I was really lucky because I’m really open about my disabilities and my situation. I’ll happily talk to anyone and Quay Street were really receptive to that.

"We also had an access co-ordinator and they sent her the scripts first so that was one less thing for me to think about and do. She looked through all of the scripts and highlighted all of the things that maybe we’d have to tweak a little bit."

With a previous role in Hollyoaks and having now starred in Run Away, Henry added that we'll just have to wait and see what the future has in store for her acting. But using her social media to raise awareness has always been of utmost importance to Henry.

“I was 15 when I became an ambulatory wheelchair user and since the beginning, I’ve taken to social media," she explained. "I knew the career path I’d be following from that point in time and it’s been a great opportunity anyway because I’m going to be this way forever regardless.

"If I can help other people feel less alone in that or maybe someone’s family understand or someone’s friends, then that’s one less conversation that they have to have about disability. I feel really lucky and privileged to be able to have that social platform.”

Run Away is available to stream on Netflix – sign up from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media.

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