Liz Carr may be more famous as an actor on the likes on Silent Witness and Loki, but she’s also dedicated her life to being a disability activist.
This week, the fronts the BBC One documentary Better Off Dead? where she explores the repercussions of assisted suicide. She explains why she believes it should NOT be legalised in the UK.
It’s a thorny debate, but one she’s not afraid to tackle. So why does the issue mean so much to her? What is her disability, who is her wife, and why did she really leave her role as Clarissa Mullery?
Here’s everything you need to know about Liz Carr.
Who is the presenter of Better Off Dead? on BBC One?
Actor and disability activist Liz Carr hosts Better Off Dead? on BBC One.
In the hour-long documentary, she explores the repercussions of assisted suicide, and explains why she believes it shouldn’t be legalised in the UK.
She travels to Canada where it is legal to offer medically-assisted death to the terminally ill and the disabled. However, Liz argues that, in a world where disabled people are often told they’re ‘better off dead’, should more power be given to ending that group of people’s lives? She argues the thought is “terrifying”.
Back in the UK, she meets influential voices calling for a change in the law. These include Labour peer Lord Falconer, and Sunday Times columnist Melanie Reid, as well as fellow campaigners fighting to retain the status quo, including Baroness Jane Campbell.
Why did Liz Carr leave Silent Witness?
Liz Carr played the hugely popular lab assistant Clarissa Mullery in the BBC crime drama. But she left the show at the end of series 23. At that time, Clarissa told her colleagues that she was leaving to “focus less on the dead and more on the living”.
When Liz announced her exit, she said in a statement: “After eight years of getting to play the fabulous character Clarissa Mullery, I’ve decided it’s time to leave Silent Witness.
“To quote Clarissa, ‘I just know, deep down – that it’s time for me to move on, to focus less on the dead and more on the living. On life.”
She continued: “Silent Witness has given me such an amazing opportunity to develop as an actor. But I know this is the right time to take a leap of faith, leaving what I know and seeing what other opportunities await. It has been a rollercoaster of a ride, but I feel I’m leaving on an exhilarating high.”
Liz also admitted she was leaving to focus on new experiences, to travel and to focus on activism.
The Beeb originally only employed Liz for four episodes as Jack‘s side kick. However, she was so popular, she stayed for years!
What is Liz Carr famous for? What has she been in?
Liz Carr is perhaps best known for being an actress, but she’s also a comedian, and disability rights activist.
She was in her thirties when she took on her first professional acting role. At that time, she played Mother Courage on stage. She later appeared at the Young Vic with another Bertolt Brecht play, The Exception and the Rule.
In 2013, she joined the long-running BBC One forensic drama Silent Witness as Clarissa Mullery. She left in 2020, after seven years. Since then, she has played Dr Marlow Rhodes in The OA, and a university lecturer in the mini-series Devs.
Other notable roles include Meg in CripTales, Tina in This Is Going to Hurt, and Fenn in The Witcher. More recently, she portrayed the angel Saraqael in Good Omens, and Judge Gamble in Loki.
Between September and December 2021, she played Dr Emma Brookner in the West End revival of The Normal Heart at the Royal National Theatre. It was the first time a disabled person had played the role on stage.
She subsequently won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Liz also appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? in 2020. She discovered her orphaned grandfather on her mother’s side, a naval WWI veteran involved in the Northern Patrol, Meanwhile, her paternal Irish great-great-great-grandfather, a revered tenant farmer, was involved in a Ribbonist plot to assassinate the local wealthy landlord! More drama than an episode of Silent Witness!
What is the disability of Liz Carr?
Lizz Carr has been disabled from the age of seven. At that time, doctors diagnosed her with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. She has used a wheelchair since the age of 11.
Arthrogryposis (AMC) describes congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body. It derives its name from Greek, literally meaning ‘curving of joints’.
Liz Carr previously admitted that she was told she wasn’t going to live very long. She told Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs: “I used to be a patient of a very fearful doctor, you would go to her consultations, and a big booming woman.
“I was like, I didn’t know I was scared. I was very ill. What’s going to happen? We don’t know but you won’t live to be old. How it affected me, is every night before I went to bed, I’d ask me mum: ‘Will I die tonight?'”
How old is Liz Carr? Where is she from?
Liz Carr was born on April 21, 1972, in Port Sunlight. However, she grew up in Bebington, Merseyside.
She is currently 52 years of age.
Liz attended Upton Hall School FCJ in Upton, Merseyside, and Birkenhead High School in Birkenhead. She later studied law at the University of Nottingham.
Is Liz Carr married? Who is her partner?
Liz is married to her long-term partner Jo Church, an author. The pair entered into the same-sex partnership in 2010, after meeting on the comedy circuit.
Actor Liz described their civil partnership – a Day of the Dead-themed celebration – as “A Wheelie Special Wedding”. The newlyweds pre-recorded their first dance, in which they danced to the Dirty Dancing theme. The local fire brigade even got involved when they held Liz and her chair in the air!
She previously told The Guardian: “When I got together with my wife, I was on the comedy circuit at the time, and I remember particularly the male comics being like, ‘You’re punching above your weight.'”
While discussing her dad’s wedding speech, the star continued: “He spoke about my becoming disabled without dwelling on it. He talked proudly about my disability activism, my comedy and my new wife. He joked about how I’d banned him from saying things like brave, inspirational and special. Everyone laughed, including me.”
Actor Liz survives ‘frightening’ stabbing
On August 10 2017, a man in his twenties warmed with scissors attacked Liz Carr and her personal assistant. He was subsequently arrested and detained under the Mental Health Act 2007.
Talking about the incident, which happened near London’s Euston station, she called it “very frightening” but admitted she was “relatively unscathed”.
She said: “Thanks to everyone who has sent their love and good wishes following last week’s stabbing. Just to reassure you that whilst it was very frightening at the time, I came out of it relatively unscathed and was even back home later that night.
“Looking forward to returning to filming on Silent Witness next week where thankfully all the violence is fake!”
Liz, who suffered minor cuts, added: “I want to say an extra thank you to the amazing paramedics, ambulance crew & A&E staff #SaveTheNHS.”
Read more: Silent Witness on BBC One: Everything we know about a possible series 28 of forensic drama
Liz Carr presents Better Off Dead? on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 9pm on BBC One.
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