Sophie Morgan’s mum says she ‘cried quietly’ after her accident
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Sophie Morgan shared the “joy and challenge” of stepping out of her comfort zone as a wheelchair user to make the latest series of her Channel 4 show, Living Wild. She revealed how the production team went “above and beyond” to help facilitate her role as a presenter filming in different remote locations.
Speaking on the difficulties of filming a travel programme with a disability, Sophie shared: “That’s part of the joy and the challenge, I think, because it’s stepping out of the comfort zone, which is something I really love to do.
“But obviously, it’s a challenge as a wheelchair user. I think the fact that I’m working with a production company who have gone above and beyond to facilitate my job as a presenter is so interesting, and I think it needs to be celebrated if I’m honest.”
Sophie also shared that it’s not common to see a television host who is “paraplegic” as she continues to bust stereotypes surrounding disability.
She continued: “It’s not often you see a television presenter who’s a paraplegic, zooming around on a snowmobile, do you know what I mean?
“It’s like we break ground on this show in so many different ways.
“And there’s a scene in the first episode where I’m going out on a walk in the lakes with a Muslim mountain guide and it just feels really empowering to represent communities that you don’t see often in these spaces.
“And that’s not to say we don’t belong there, there’s just… we have to find a way around.“
The star added: “But I’m really lucky because I have a team around me to help me and I have a support worker with me, who wheels me around when I need it, or who carries me when I need it.
“You know, I certainly had help to do it. But yeah, it was really fun,” she finished.
Last month, Sophie was subjected to a traumatic incident when her wheelchair was damaged while she was flying home to the UK, after a holiday in California.
The Loose Women star, who became paraplegic at the age of 18, claimed that what occurred as a result of the airline’s behaviour is no different to an “assault” on a physically able person.
Sophie described how upsetting it was to discover that her essential mode of transport had been inadvertently broken by airline BA.
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She said: “It is an assault, an attack on a wheelchair is an attack on a human being. They are part of us.
“They are not luggage. I struggle with someone even touching my wheelchair, as it’s the same as touching a person’s legs.”
The TV presenter had previously criticised airport staff for damaging her wheelchair and leaving her feeling “unsafe”.
Sophie said on Twitter at the time that she had “landed at Heathrow with a bang” after finding her chair had been “damaged”.
The star, who had flown in from Los Angeles to London’s Heathrow, took to Instagram to share a video of her experience.
In the clip, which showed the damaged chair, she said: “Someone – no one took responsibility – decided to attach my wheelchair and my batec (battery-powered attachment) whilst in transit and they have done so without my permission and completely wrong.”(sic)
Both items were checked in separately and unattached.
She continued: “It took over half an hour to ‘break’ them apart.
“All that time I had to sit on an aisle chair which was NOT safe and I didn’t know if I would be able to get back into my chair.”
In a statement, BA said: “We’re extremely sorry for Sophie’s experience and we’re investigating what happened as a matter of urgency. We’ve been in contact with Sophie to sincerely apologise and to resolve the matter with her directly.”
Living Wild: How to Change Your Life, presented by Sophie Morgan, airs every Saturday at 8pm on Channel 4.
Driving Forwards by Sophie Morgan is published by Sphere in paperback, RRP £9.99 available now
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