Man with cerebral palsy who gave up hope of finding work models for Primark

Lucy_Scope

Grace Dean
BBC News
Rachel Price
BBC News

A man, Elliot Caswell, is sitting in an electric wheelchair in front of a blue backdrop in a photography studio. He is wearing a grey tracksuit and a black gilet and is smiling at the camera. A woman in a black top is taking his photo with a large camera.

Elliot Caswell was photographed for a fashion campaign this week. A man with cerebral palsy who had given up hope of getting work has landed a modelling job after featuring in a BBC documentary.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Elliot Caswell said he had been "nervous and excited" to get the opportunity. BBC video journalist Rachel Price spent five years filming Elliot Caswell's life after meeting him on a plane in 2019. In the BBC iPlayer documentary A Life of My Own, Elliot, now 25, opened up about his struggles to find work.

However, a senior art director at high street retailer Primark happened to watch BBC Breakfast on the day a segment about Elliot, as well as the documentary, aired. The art director thought that Elliot would be a perfect model for a new clothing range and got in touch with him on social media through a modelling agency.

On Wednesday, Elliot travelled to Manchester for the two-day shoot. Video journalist Rachel joined him on set. "Having watched Elliot for five years from being a shy young lad who looked at his mum to help him talk, it was then amazing to watch him light up the room with his smile and humour," she said.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Elliot said: "Inclusivity is very important when it comes to the world of work."Chris Caswell, Elliot’s mum, said that the skills required for modelling were "perfect" for him because he could use his personality. She told BBC Breakfast that Elliot's "whole world has changed" since the documentary was released.

"Elliot has some limitations, but he has so much to give. He’s very person-centred - he likes to do customer service things," she said."He has some fantastic skills, but just needs a little bit of support to get a job."

Elliot told the programme that while he was open to more modelling work in the future, he was looking for customer-facing work - and his dream job would be something connected to Newcastle United, the football team he supports.

Photographer Esmé Moore, who also has cerebral palsy, said it was surprising that it was Elliot's first shoot."When someone has a lot of character, it’s instantly easy to photograph because that can come across on set," she said.

Charlie Magadah-Williams, head of diversity and inclusion at Primark, said the company was looking for a variety of models for the shoot, and Elliot "really fit the bill for somebody that we were looking to work with". "It’s been fantastic to watch Elliot doing what he’s doing and learning his new job," she said. She added that as a business, Primark was "really committed to becoming more accessible", both for their employees and customers.

Read the full article on BBC News