Kitty McGeever
Encyclopedia
Kitty McGeever is a British actress, the first blind actress to be cast in a British soap opera. Since April 2009 she has played the fictional character Lizzie Lakely
in Emmerdale
.
, and became diabetic at age 19.
McGeever became pregnant in 2001, but developed pre-eclampsia
. Her son Felix was born two months early; he spent some time in a special care baby unit. At the age of four months, he suddenly became very ill, having problems with his heart and lungs.
During her son's illness, McGeever also became ill due to the stress - her kidneys stopped working, she had heart trouble, and diabetic retinopathy
caused her to begin to lose her sight. Laser treatment was ineffective; five months later she was blind at the age of 32. Her son Felix died in January 2003, aged fifteen months.
She was given a kidney transplant in a successful 12-hour operation. Following her recovery, she contacted her agent in 2008 and suggested that she was ready to begin performing again, and would consider television.
She was spotted by production staff from the soap Emmerdale
when she was appearing in a one-woman stage show where she talked about her life as a blind woman. They approached her with a view to creating an authentic blind character for Emmerdale, to be played by McGeever, who would also develop the part. She first appeared as former criminal Lizzie Lakely
in Emmerdale on 28 April 2009, at the age of 38; Lakely is the first permanent blind character in a British soap. She is given her scripts as sound recordings, and has two government
-sponsored assistants to guide her around the studios; they also guide her through the sets during rehearsals, and ensure continuity between recordings.
On 5 January 2010, McGeever appeared on the BBC Radio 4
programme In Touch, when she talked to Peter White about losing her sight. She revealed that she has a number of gadgets to assist her, including a CD storage system where audible labels can be recorded, a colour detector to assist with choosing a coordinating outfit, and a pair of long-armed oven gloves.
McGeever lives in Huddersfield
.
Lizzie Lakely
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Lakely is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale, played by Kitty McGeever. She is Emmerdale's first blind character, and is played by a blind actress...
in Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
.
Biography
McGeever was trained at RADARada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
, and became diabetic at age 19.
McGeever became pregnant in 2001, but developed pre-eclampsia
Pre-eclampsia
Pre-eclampsia or preeclampsia is a medical condition in which hypertension arises in pregnancy in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine....
. Her son Felix was born two months early; he spent some time in a special care baby unit. At the age of four months, he suddenly became very ill, having problems with his heart and lungs.
During her son's illness, McGeever also became ill due to the stress - her kidneys stopped working, she had heart trouble, and diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is retinopathy caused by complications of diabetes mellitus, which can eventually lead to blindness....
caused her to begin to lose her sight. Laser treatment was ineffective; five months later she was blind at the age of 32. Her son Felix died in January 2003, aged fifteen months.
She was given a kidney transplant in a successful 12-hour operation. Following her recovery, she contacted her agent in 2008 and suggested that she was ready to begin performing again, and would consider television.
She was spotted by production staff from the soap Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
when she was appearing in a one-woman stage show where she talked about her life as a blind woman. They approached her with a view to creating an authentic blind character for Emmerdale, to be played by McGeever, who would also develop the part. She first appeared as former criminal Lizzie Lakely
Lizzie Lakely
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Lakely is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale, played by Kitty McGeever. She is Emmerdale's first blind character, and is played by a blind actress...
in Emmerdale on 28 April 2009, at the age of 38; Lakely is the first permanent blind character in a British soap. She is given her scripts as sound recordings, and has two government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
-sponsored assistants to guide her around the studios; they also guide her through the sets during rehearsals, and ensure continuity between recordings.
On 5 January 2010, McGeever appeared on the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
programme In Touch, when she talked to Peter White about losing her sight. She revealed that she has a number of gadgets to assist her, including a CD storage system where audible labels can be recorded, a colour detector to assist with choosing a coordinating outfit, and a pair of long-armed oven gloves.
McGeever lives in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
.