A Life Worth Living: Acting, Activism and Everything Else

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Today, Jessop, now 38, who first acted aged 10, is a widely-known award-winning actor, thanks to his part as Terry Boyle, a vulnerable man with learning disabilities in the last two seasons of Jed Mercurio’s Line of Duty, which attracted 12.1 million viewers. He has also played Hamlet and Prospero among many more; one of his latest roles is in the vast upcoming Stephen Spielberg epic, Masters of the Air. Now, he has written his autobiography, A Life Worth Living: Acting, Activism and Everything Else. But anyway, that aside, I still can barely move my arms and it’s been nearly a week. So, there we go #disabledlife. NIKKI- And on that note you’ve been amazing and I’ve loved it. And if you ever want to come on again come on again. VICTORIA- In many ways yeah. I was in pretty amazing company with Self Esteem there and The Comet is Coming and The 1975. WILL- Exactly. So, for us to go from the fun to the more serious points was always our intention. And for me that is kind of encapsulating Tommy’s personality, isn’t it Tommy?

Jessop’s love of performing started early – by his teenage years, it was clear this was something he wanted to pursue. Only a couple of theatre companies in the country were available for actors with Down syndrome at the time, but they were too far away for Jessop – so eventually, in 2005, his mum founded Winchester’s Blue Apple Theatre. Acting remains his "greatest passion in life" and he has big goals (some of which are "top secret" for now).How does he switch off when he’s not working? "I enjoy research time on my iPad and phone. And listening to music, I also go to my singing group and enjoy dancing and watching TV."

I hope all readers will understand us better, see how we think and feel, and see that we are no different from other people. I am recording the audio myself. So, I hope people with Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities will be able to read it and be inspired to carry on dreaming their own dreams and start believing in themselves.” WILL- And what can you tell us about this particular superhero? You can’t give too much away because it’s top secret. VICTORIA- Yeah, I think that’s the other thing, my personality is just I’m like incredibly open, to be honest; maybe to a fault sometimes. Writing his own is another step in his "mission" to debunk myths around learning disabilities and show that everyone has the right to follow their talents and passions.

He is one of the UK’s most high-profile people with Down’s syndrome, although the field is not exactly crowded. How does it feel to be a role model? He smiles broadly. “I am really proud and honoured to be noticed that way. Hopefully I can inspire other people as well.” Would it have helped to have seen someone like him on primetime TV when he was growing up? “Yeah,” he says. He would love to see more people with Down’s syndrome being cast in high-profile shows “because it will make a difference. You can see what we truly are capable of.”

His family were in no doubt that Jessop would succeed in his goal, despite the fact that when he was born and identified as having Down’s Syndrome, his mother, Jane, was told he would never read. A young midwife wept. Doctors avoided her eye. This baby, it seemed, was a tragedy. Learning disability is NOT a mental illness or a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia Dyslexia is a learning difficulty. People who have dyslexia can find it hard to read, write and spell.. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’;

Wollaston, Sam (3 September 2007). "Last night's TV: Coming Down the Mountain". The Guardian. London.