“They have missed out on a golden opportunity to enhance dementia awareness”
Hello my name is Stephen Clifford.
As you know I have an issue at the moment with one of the storylines on Emmerdale, on ITV. The storyline is about the character Ashley, and his early onset diagnosis with vascular dementia. Just the same diagnosis as me, so I think I am well qualified to make any comments. I do not understand why the producers and scriptwriters have chosen this disease to be a feature in their programme. They have not shown what care and information that is available to recently diagnosed people. They could of made a wonderful feature, perhaps showing Ashley attending one of the dementia groups. Instead of moping around and feeling sorry for himself, they show could and should have shown its viewers, especially those who have just had a diagnosis, the true message, as educators, try and get across to everyone. Our job has been made that bit more difficult, as people think what they have seen on telly is true. We have to convince them that what they have seen is but a figment of some deluded scriptwriter’s imagination.
The programme gives newly diagnosed people the wrong message. There has been no mention of the medication that he would have been put on, or even the opportunity to attend one of the many dementia awareness groups. Their portrayal may have well sent some recently diagnosed people into a depression, thinking that the portrayal shown by the character Ashley is accurate, when in reality its not. How unbelievably insensitive, how unprofessional and how very harmful.
Being part of the Stockport EDUCATE group, our aim is to educate people with every bit of information that is available and hopefully pass that correct message on. What we have seen in Emmerdale is totally the opposite, if the producers of this programme want to bring dementia awareness to the masses, they have not done it properly. They may well have caused more distress to newly diagnosed people and for that they should be ashamed. They have missed out on a golden opportunity to enhance dementia awareness. Seeing Ashley wonder around in a daze, planning to put himself into a care home is a bit far fetched to say the least and does not give an accurate picture of the effects of vascular dementia. I watch Emmerdale regularly, and most of the storylines have been excellent, but this one falls far short of the standards that we expect on ITV. Those in authority at ITV should not allow misleading and inaccurate messages to broadcast about any serious condition. Surely they sought advice from groups, like ours, they are all over the country. Did they consult with any experts? The only experts in dementia are those living with the disease. Did anyone at ITV speak to any dementia group? And especially from anyone who has a diagnosis with dementia. I suspect not, otherwise their portrayal of this dreadful disease would have been a bit more accurate.
Thank you.
