Lights, Camera, Teddy: The Percy Hedley School Student Who’s Making Waves

Ever since Teddy was 18 months old, he’s been a natural in front of the camera. Most recently, he had the incredible opportunity to play a role in BBC One’s Call The Midwife. We sat down with Teddy and his mum Nicola to talk about his remarkable career so far.

What was filming Call the Midwife like?

Teddy said:

“I played Andrew Trottwood and he caught measles. It was long days, I was getting picked up at like twenty to seven! I didn’t think it would take 10 days just to film the scenes I was in. I didn’t get used to it until like the third day. We filmed last September, and I could only tell people once the episode aired in January.”

He had great chemistry with his on-screen mum, Jill Trottwood (played by Joanna Horton). Teddy didn’t have a speaking role, but he remembered everyone else’s lines – including helping his on-screen mum out when she forgot hers!

On Teddy’s final day on set, he baked them biscuits and decorated them. On Joanna’s biscuit, he iced ‘Don’t forget your lines’ onto it.

This is just one of the many projects Teddy has been involved in, but it wasn’t always so straight forward.

Nicola said:

“We paid for photoshoots at a modelling agency when he was 18 months old. They said “he’s fabulous, he’s got potential” but as he’s disabled, he won’t get any work. We felt a bit disheartened and second guessed whether this was what we should do. But we went away and said no, let’s try again”.

They then signed with Zebedee Management, the first modelling agency in the UK known to work with individuals with disabilities. Teddy signed with them in that July and booked his first job by the October. Since then, Teddy has been on CBeebies, a LEGO advert, a Sky Cinema advert, modelled for photo shoots (including M&S) and even attended a red carpet premiere.

“There’s a stigma that people with disabilities can’t achieve things”, Nicola said.

“That is just not true. Everybody’s different, it doesn’t matter if you can walk, can’t walk, can’t talk, there’s something out there for everybody.”

“Believe you can do it, and don’t put pressure on yourself. And if you believe and your child’s happy and they want to achieve and do that thing, then just pursue it and don’t listen to what anybody else says you can or can’t do.”

Teddy’s achievements at such a young age are nothing short of amazing, and we cannot wait to see what he goes on to do next. Watch the video below to hear more from Teddy and Nicola!