One-armed presenter is scaring children, parents tell BBC

[Perdita]

A disabled CBeebies presenter has been the victim of a disturbing campaign after parents complained that she was scaring toddlers.
They claimed that host Cerrie Burnell - who was born with one arm - is not suitable to appear on the digital children's channel.
Miss Burnell and co-presenter Alex Winters took over the popular Do and Discover slot and The Bedtime Hour programme last month.

But the decision to hire her has prompted a flurry of complaints to the BBC and on parenting message boards, with some of the posts on the CBeebies website becoming so vicious that they had to be removed.
Incredibly, one father said he wanted to ban his daughter from watching the channel because he feared it would give her nightmares.
Others claimed that they were forced to discuss difficult issues with their young children before they were ready.
One blogger wrote: 'Is it just me, or does anyone else think the new woman presenter on CBeebies may scare the kids because of her disability?

didn't want to let my children watch the filler bits on The Bedtime Hour last night because I know it would have played on my eldest daughter's mind and possibly caused sleep problems. And yes, this is a serious post.'
Some even accused the BBC of hiring Miss Burnell, 29, because of 'political correctness' and solely to meet employment quotas.
One notice board comment read: 'What is scary is the BBC's determination to show " minorities" on CBeebies at every available opportunity!

'This new presenter is c*** - face facts - but because she has a disability then she was given a job. [It is] positive discrimination in my books.'
A BBC spokesman said the broadcaster had received nine formal complaints about Miss Burnell.
But she insisted the new presenter had also received messages of support and that many parents were keen to have a range of people on screen.
Yesterday, Miss Burnell - who has a four-month-old daughter - hit back at her critics, branding them 'small minded' and their remarks 'terrible'.
Admitting she was upset by the comments, she added: 'It can only be a good thing that parents are using me as a chance to talk about disability with their children.
'It just goes to show how important it is to have positive disabled role models on CBeebies and television in general.'
A friend said: 'It's shocking to think that people still have these views and, even worse, that they are passing on this discrimination to their children.' Michael Carrington, controller of CBeebies, said: 'It's a big ask to entertain millions of children every day.
'Cerrie is warm and natural and we think that in time all mums and dads and children will love her as much as we do.'
Originally from Eastbourne, Miss Burnell studied drama in Manchester and won plaudits for her theatre work before landing small roles in EastEnders, The Bill and Grange Hill.
She also works as a teaching assistant at a special needs school in London.
Disability groups have fiercely defended her and the BBC.
John Knight, of charity Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: 'Disabled people experience disadvantage and discrimination like this every day, largely through ignorance. This needs to change.
'Understanding disability all comes down to familiarity. The bottom line is that seeing disabled people on television should be the norm, not the exception.'


I have grown up with disabled people all around me and this never scared me

[StarsOfCCTV]

Nor me. I often babysit for a mentally disabled girl.

These parents seem to have a mentality of if I shut my eyes it won't be there. Get over it, educate your children!

[Jojo]

For me it's not about her disability. Both her and Alex are awful in my view. They seem so awkward and I can't watch the filler parts.

Bring back Chris and Poi. They were natural on screen and these two aren't. And that's down to their presenting skills. Nothing to do with her disability. I can fully understand why some have said it's positive discrimation going overboard.

Just my opinion. And no need for me to get on or over anything. I had a disabled grandfather till he died just over 18 months ago.

[parkerman]

For me it's not about her disability. Both her and Alex are awful in my view. They seem so awkward and I can't watch the filler parts.

Bring back Chris and Poi. They were natural on screen and these two aren't. And that's down to their presenting skills. Nothing to do with her disability. I can fully understand why some have said it's positive discrimation going overboard.

Just my opinion. And no need for me to get on or over anything. I had a disabled grandfather till he died just over 18 months ago.

My grandson, Harry, will be two next week and we have been baby sitting every Wednesday for about a year now. We always watch Cbeebies at some point during the day. While I agree that Chris and Poi were better presenters I have to say I have no problem with the way Cerrie and Alex present the show. As far as I can tell the fact that Cerrie is disabled has no effect at all on Harry.

Quite frankly I am just appalled that people can react in this way.

[Perdita]

If parents feel uncomfortable explaining to their children that not everybody is lucky enough to have two arms and legs etc. they should just stop letting their kids watch this programme, not complain to the BBC that the presenter is unsuitable. Disgusting way of dealing with disabilities in people. :angry:

[Trinity]

How appalling!

Children should not be presented with a Nazi-like view of the world where everyone who is not 'perfect' 'blue eyed' and 'blonde' is scrubbed from society.

People are disabled
People are different colours
People are of different religions, or indeed no religion at all

People are people and we need to embrace differences and stop being scared of everything that is not exactly like us.

With regards to whether this presenter is rubbish at her job or not, I agree with JoJo that being disabled is not an excuse not to be good at your job. I have never seen the show and therefore cannot comment.

[Abigail]

If parents feel uncomfortable explaining to their children that not everybody is lucky enough to have two arms and legs etc. they should just stop letting their kids watch this programme, not complain to the BBC that the presenter is unsuitable. Disgusting way of dealing with disabilities in people. :angry:

I completely agree. Nobody is perfect and not everybody looks "normal." It's a fact of life, deal with it.

These parents who think their children will have nightmares are just reinforcing the misconception that disabled people are freaks. It's the parents with the problem, not the BBC. They are obviously too blinkered to see past the disability, and explain that not everybody has a complete body.

Having only one arm and not being a competent presenter are two entirely different matters.

It's the parents that have the problem, not the presenter or BBC :angry:

I sincerely hope OFCOM don't get involved in this.

[Meh]

My kids/nephews/nieces watch it and don't have issues with it. The presenter is terrible but that's not down to their disability.

I bet the same parents moan about the sign language used in that kiddies programme with "Mr Tumble"

[Chloe O'brien]

For me it's not about her disability. Both her and Alex are awful in my view. They seem so awkward and I can't watch the filler parts.

Bring back Chris and Poi. They were natural on screen and these two aren't. And that's down to their presenting skills. Nothing to do with her disability. I can fully understand why some have said it's positive discrimation going overboard.

Just my opinion. And no need for me to get on or over anything. I had a disabled grandfather till he died just over 18 months ago.

I don't watch cbeebies any more. Marley has outgrown it but she did have it on for a bit last week and I saw Cerrie and Alex and I agree with what you say Ems they just don't have the energyand interaction that Poi and Chris had or even Justin ~(Mr Tumble) has.

Parents are supposed to be teaching their children to flush out discrimination from our society not teach them to have phobias about people's disabilities.

[Perdita]

The BBC has defended disabled presenter Cerrie Burnell after some parents claimed that she is "scaring" their children.

CBeebies controller Michael Carrington described Burnell, who was born with one arm, as "warm and natural", adding that her disability should not be an issue.

"She was appointed because she was the best person for the job. We see no reason for her to try to hide her disability and are surprised that in 2009 this should even be raised as an issue," said a BBC spokesperson.

Burnell revealed that she hopes her disability can be used to raise awareness. "It can only be a good thing that parents are using me as a chance to talk disability with their children," she said.

"It just goes to show how important it is to have positive disabled role models on CBeebies and television in general."

[Katy]

thats disgraceful, like trinity said we living in a multi cultural, multi disability world where people are different, kids should be taught this at a young age

[Siobhan]

thats disgraceful, like trinity said we living in a multi cultural, multi disability world where people are different, kids should be taught this at a young age

I teach my kids this everyday... yes they stare at kids/grownup with disability but that is what kids do, what my kids do is ask the person why they are like that and accept what it said.. they are curious and they are aware we all don't look or act alike.. It is another reason I love my kids school, it is so multi cultured that they are learning all different cultures..

[parkerman]

I wonder what these parents think of Justin/Mr Tumble. He has many disabled children on his shows, especially "Something Special", with many different types of disability. Do these parents complain about him too?

Fortunately most parents recognise the work he does and 3575 people signed a petition calling on Gordon Brown, to give Justin an OBE.

The petition stated: “Justin Fletcher is a communication genius. He both entertains and educates our children and does this with intelligence and panache without patronising. Programmes like Something Special can only help bridge the gap that sometimes sadly appears between able and not so able bodied people in our society and help banish the unkindness that disabled people sometimes face due to ignorance.” (My emphasis for the benefit of those parents who complained about Cerrie!)

He was awarded an MBE in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to "children's broadcasting and the voluntary sector".

I wonder what the parents who complained about Cerrie think about Justin??? Do they stop their kids from watching Something Special too?

[Abbie]

Thats awful!!!

What if a child had a disability are those parents who are complaining not gonna let their children be freinds with them!!
Its disgusting behaviour from these adults

[di marco]

i cant believe people would say that! surely you would teach your kids from a young age that everyone should be accepted and that just cos someones different doesnt mean that they dont mean as much as everyone else. if the kids watching dont care about her disability thats good, if they ask about it thats good too cos it means the parents can discuss it with them. ive never seen her presenting so dunno what its like, but if shes good at it then she should be allowed the job, not turned down cos shes got a disability. if shes not good at her job, then she shouldnt have got it. her disability shouldnt be an issue