Confidence is crucial in handling the challenges of disability, EastEnders actor David Proud tells Andrea Smith

By Andrea Smith - Sunday May 30 2010

'When it comes to confidence, I think that having Spina Bifida affects me romantically, because I automatically think that girls aren't going to fancy me," says actor David Proud.

"When I'm out in bars and clubs, my mates might say, 'Oh, you're getting on really well with that girl.' I'll say, 'Am I?' because I'll have blinkers on, and will be completely oblivious. Most of the time, I presume they just want a nice chat, so girls really have to spell it out to me if they're interested."

David, 27, is a very successful British actor, and is currently on screen in the role of Adam Best in EastEnders. And thankfully, he is extremely charming and engaging in person, and nothing like his nasty on-screen character.

His lack of confidence in the love stakes relates to being born with Spina Bifida, which affects one in every 1,000 children born in Ireland every year. It is caused by the incomplete development of the spinal cord, and its effects vary in severity. In David's case, it means that while he can walk short distances with the aid of sticks, he generally uses a wheelchair to get around.

"I think if you're disabled, you can be very quick to assume that it's a problem for people," he says. "Even if it isn't a barrier for them, it can be a barrier for you and that can knock your confidence. As a child, I could walk, but I had a penguin-like shuffle and a bad limp. Then I got a wheelchair towards the end of primary school, but it was a really clunky NHS one."

The turning point for David was when a mobility advisor visited him at home when he was starting secondary school. He was impressed by the man's smaller chair, the wheelchair basketball DVD he showed him, and the fact that he had arrived in his own car.

David got a new chair, which he says made an enormous difference to his confidence, and he also started playing wheelchair basketball. His chair these days is a neat little thing weighing a mere 14 pounds. He had the handles removed after a guy randomly started pushing him down the street in Soho. David passionately believes that having a good wheelchair is the key to building confidence, and it pains him to see people in ones that are more like armchairs, particularly children. His advice to parents is to check out the forthcoming Access, Care & Mobility Expo at Citywest.

The actor was bullied at times in school, but was astute enough to recognise that his bullies were always looking to pull someone down, whether they had a disability or not. In a satisfying moment, one bully would approach him years later looking for an autograph.

He also had great friends, who would borrow his wheelchair to re-enact scenes from the film Cool Runnings.

"Although they were quite mean at times too, because I was a bit cheeky," he laughs. "They would take the wheels off my chair and leave me behind in the field. But then, thanks to a loophole in British laws regarding having a licence for mobility scooters, I passed my driving test at 16, and I was the one giving people lifts."

It was at secondary school that David's interest in drama began, because he enjoyed getting a response from people. He took an A-level in theatre studies, but he didn't believe he could pursue it as a full-time career, as there were no role models for him on screen.

He went to work as a civil servant in the Department of Work and Pensions for four years, until he saw an advert for the BBC wheelchair basketball drama, Desperados. After an X Factor-style audition process, he got the part, and at 23, his acting career was born.

He has since featured in a documentary and small film, and also played a sex scene opposite Billie Piper in The Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

"As a disabled actor, a sex scene is not something you ever think you're going to get called for, so it was nice to do something different," he says.

For the past year, David has played the character of Adam Best in EastEnders, and although his character is still on screen, his part recently came to an end.

"It was really nice to play a darker character, but Adam's really evil," he laughs. "Even I want to slap him now, because he has this nasty streak and likes to manipulate people, It's nothing to do with his disability, although he can use it to his advantage."

David is thrilled to be chairing the Youth Forum at the forthcoming Spina Bifida World Congress, because talented young disabled people regularly contact him for advice.

"The most attractive thing in a person is confidence, because everybody has their own body hang-ups. I'm a geek, who loves sitting in with a bottle of wine and a good film, and I think if you're a geek, then be a really confident one.

"The lady who does my publicity shots doesn't airbrush any of the photos, because she says that it's the imperfections that make the picture," he adds. "And I think that's a brilliant saying, because for me, it's the imperfections that make the person."

The Spina Bifida World Congress and Access, Care & Mobility Expo takes place on June 11-12 at Citywest in Dublin. www.ifsbhireland2010.com www.accessandmobility.ie

- Andrea Smith

Sunday Independent