There are some really nice moments in BBC Three’s new one-off comedy, Kirkmoore, about three disabled young people living at a residential college. Chloe, a smart, wheelchair-using queer woman, is trying to explore the dating scene with the usual assortment of apps (and an ill-advised fling with a care worker) but is almost thwarted by a care manager who pointedly comments that Chloe has arranged her “third date this week,” before warning her: “if you don’t knuckle down I’m going to have to involve your parents.”.
Chloe, it should be noted, is an adult – she is still at college, aged 21, because she wasn’t given the right support by her previous sixth form. For many disabled people with care needs, it’s a day-to-day reality that a stranger with a checklist can control their choices. To see this dynamic properly represented on screen is refreshing, if a little painful.
