Grantchester star: 'People have commented on my body all my life'
Proudly displaying her baby bump, the bloom of pregnancy isn't the only reason for Grantchester star Melissa Johns' radiant smile.Her online announcement that she and her husband Dan Hampton were expecting prompted a flood of celebratory messages.
And people wanting to touch her baby bump makes her appreciate the beauty of her body for the first time. For Melissa, 35, who also appeared in Coronation Street and Adolescence, has been programmed to hate her body - by other people.
Born without a right forearm and hand, she recalls:'I was eight when I really started to feel I was different. We were playing tag in the playground and someone said: 'if you touch Melissa, you've got Melissa disease.' It was like a punch to my stomach.
'In the summer we'd go on caravan holidays. I'd take my little brother to the play area and some of the other children would scream and run away when they saw me.'
These shocking reactions have not just come from kids. More shocking in many ways has been the ignorance of adults. Blissfully happy with Dan, a senior transport planner, he makes her feel like 'a winner.'
Yet, she reveals: 'On our honeymoon we had people saying to Dan right in front of me 'do you not mind?' (referring to her disability) and one man called me 'a cripple'.' As a pregnant woman, for the first time, people's focus is on her bump and not her disability.
She explains:'People have commented on my body all my life. 'Either it's something horrible or something about me being inspirational - I was in the local newspaper when I was six years old and the headline was 'Girl with one arm rides bike.'
'But now people are talking about my body in a lovely way. They're going: 'oh my God, look at you!' or 'Ooh, can I touch?' And for once in my life that's not about my disability, it's about my bump.
'I've been in shows where even other actors have said about my arm, 'can I touch it?' So, my pregnancy feels even more special. Now it's my bump they want to touch and for the first time they're mentioning my body in a positive way.'
Disability activist Melissa, who plays Grantchester's Jennifer Scott and previously starred as Coronation Street's Imogen Pascoe, revealed her pregnancy to her online followers last month alongside a picture taken on the beach of Dan - who she married in her native Herefordshire last year - lovingly cradling her bump.
'I have a strong history of loathing my body,' she says candidly. 'That never came from me – it came from society telling me that my body was wrong.
'But there is so much positivity around pregnant bodies and now I really do very much like what I see when I look in the mirror. It feels lovely and I think to some degree it takes away from the other parts of my body that I have questioned for so long.'
Like most first-time mums, Melissa is approaching things with excitement and trepidation. But when people, clearly referring to her disability, ask how she will cope, she says: 'That just adds an extra layer of anxiety to the pressure that all first-time mums feel.
'We're all worrying - how does this work? How does that work? How will I do this?' And then on top of that I'm thinking 'what about when my husband is at work – will I just stay in the house all day, or will I be able to find a one-handed pram that I can collapse with one arm?'
''How will I get the pram in and out of the car on my own? How will I drink a cup of coffee with my friends while holding the baby?' There are so many things. I feel like saying 'I don't know yet, I haven't worked it out. But I will find a way.''
Steely determination has certainly served her well in life. A turning point came in her 20s, after watching old camcorder footage of herself as a young girl at a family party.
'I saw this happy little girl dancing and spinning, without a care in the world and I thought 'I'm so sorry for the life I'm giving you,'' she recalls.
'It was at a point where I had really stopped doing most things. I wouldn't dance anymore and I wouldn't go out without a cardigan – I'd essentially stripped myself of my own freedom, because I needed to control the way that people saw me. I thought that part of my body was ugly and they shouldn't have to look at it.
'I had boyfriends where it would get to the third date and I would have to tell them that I'd got one arm. I'd see that as winning, that I'd hidden it so well.
'Now I know that winning is having a wonderful husband, where my disability doesn't even come into play.' Training at East 15 Acting School, she was one of the first disabled actors to win the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award.
In 2015, aged 25, she landed her first TV role, working alongside Jo Joyner and Trevor Eve, in the BBC1 drama series The Interceptor and two years later was cast in Coronation Street, spending two years as Kate Connor's girlfriend Imogen Pascoe.
She played school nurse Carla in Adolescence and joined the cast of Grantchester in 2021, as police station secretary Jennifer Scott.
She is currently filming the 11th and final series, with series 10 due to air early next year. It will pick up where series 9 ended, with Miss Scott finally kissing policeman Larry Peters.
'It's a wonderful storyline,' Melissa enthuses. 'It's been a will-they-won't they for so many years.'
Melissa plans to work until two weeks before her baby is due in November. 'Grantchester has been a brilliant show to work on,' she says. 'Some other shows in the past have said: 'do you mind if we write something in to acknowledge your arm, because the audience might wonder?' But I don't think in the six seasons I've been in Grantchester we've even brought it up.
'And they couldn't be more supportive. They cut my food up for me and I have help into my costumes when I need it. Things like that have such a positive impact on my day.
'They've been so nice about my pregnancy too. Robson Green was the first person I saw when I came out of the lift when we started filming the new series.
'He said 'Hi gorgeous' and then he went 'Oh my gosh! Look! I'm just made up for you.' 'Later he texted me and said 'Welcome to the most beautiful club.' 'And Kacey Ainsworth and Tessa Peake-Jones both went 'Oh! Can we touch it?' in such a loving way. They're such close colleagues that I was happy to say yes.'
When Grantchester finishes Melissa will be working on a TV adaption of Snatched, the one-woman show she wrote in 2022, exploring her experience of having explicit photos leaked online after her iCloud was hacked.
She says: 'It sold out around the UK and I got offers from TV companies, so I'm currently developing a six-part series with Kudos.' For now, though, Melissa is looking forward to becoming a mum.
'Because of having one arm and looking very different to other people growing up, the world questioned whether I would have a family of my own,' she says.
'I didn't know what else to believe, so I believed what I was told. Now, I'm in my own home, with my incredible husband and a baby on the way that I just can't wait to hold and cuddle.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Coronation Street spoilers reveal exit plan, revenge horror and Carla's secret exposed
Coronation Street spoilers for next week's episodes reveal characters are hiding things, while more than one character takes revenge and there could be an exit on the ITV soap Spoilers for next week's Coronation Street see drama, chaos and a new arrival, as well as an exit teased. One character vows to leave amid a shock affair that threatens to tear a family apart. There's a visit for one family from a relative, who makes their debut - played by an actress who has been on the ITV soap before. Josephine Lloyd-Welcome will play Dev's Aunty Rani, while she's played different roles in the past on the ITV soap. More than one character takes revenge of sorts next week too, while there's a discovery as we find out what Carla Connor has been hiding. Let's kick things off with the Websters, and an exit could be looming as an affair begins. With Kevin Webster still lying about his cancer results, making wife Abi Franklin believe he needs more treatment, his brother Carl Webster fights the urge to tell her the truth amid their secret feelings. Abi does end up finding out the truth from someone else, confronting Kevin who admits his lie and explains he did it out of fear she would leave him for his brother Carl. He ends up pushing her straight into Carl's arms though, and they begin to kiss passionately. Despite their moment of intimacy, Carl tells Abi she would be right to stick with Kevin and that they should stay apart from now on. When Kevin sacks his brother from the garage after his recent dodgy dealings, Carl decides a fresh start is needed and he plans to move away from Weatherfield. When Abi finds out she's left gutted, but will Carl stay? And what will Abi do? Elsewhere, in the fallout to Lily Platt terrorising her cousin Sam Blakeman, he gets his own back next week with a fake story about a robbery at her home. Lily's left terrified unaware Sam has taken revenge after her recent behaviour. Soon, Sam is confiding in Toyah Battersby about his anxiety and his recent panic attacks - but will he tell his dad Nick? There's more drama for the Bailey family too, as James moves ahead with the adoption plans for his sister Dee-Dee' daughter Laila, amid her torn over what she wants to do. Ed Bailey is keen for his kids to clear the air as they remain divided over Laila's future, while James is plotting to leave - but will he take the baby with him? Meanwhile Dee-Dee can't help but smile when she bumps into newcomer Ollie who she recently met at the pub. There's a new face on the show next week, as Dev's aunt arrives ahead of his wedding to Bernie Winter. When she shows up unannounced though the family panic, especially as Aunty Rani has offered to pay for the wedding - while Bernie and Dev's son Aadi are still hiding the latter's money issues. When Aunty Rani reveals her plan to create a spreadsheet detailing all the wedding costs so she can keep tabs on the amount she's spent, Bernie and Aadi hide their dismay - but what are they up to? There's more trouble ahead for Todd Grimshaw and new partner Theo Silverton. Todd has to attend a restorative justice session with Noah, after he attacked him recently over his past with Theo. Todd had seen him practicing conversion therapy on a member of the congregation and took action, after Noah pushed Theo into this years earlier. But there's a bigger twist ahead when Noah seems to take payback, and maybe Theo's wife Danielle does too. It's revealed they are dating, much to the horror of Todd and Theo given what Noah did. Theo ends up lashing out but accidentally hurts his son Miles leading to him being told he isn't allowed to see his kids. When Billy Mayhew tries to help with the situation it backfires, leaving Theo lashing out once more and telling lies - with Todd horrified. Finally next week, we learn what Carla was hiding from her partner Lisa Swain amid her turmoil over her past. Skipping therapy, Lisa instead spends some time at her late wife Becky's grave ahead of their anniversary. Carla supports Lisa, and as the day arrives Lisa is clearly struggling. Carla and stepdaughter Betsy Swain are worried about Lisa, knowing she's not doing well at all. Lisa insists she's okay though and heads off for another therapy session. She does open up to her therapist, with us finally realising what is bothering the detective. She confesses that she often wonders if there was more to Becky's death than meets the eye. With questions continuing over whether Becky was corrupt or not, it's clear she needs to know what really happened to Becky and what was going on with her wife before her death in order for her to move on. She has no idea that Carla is on a mission to get her those answers, with her visiting Logan Radcliffe in prison who clearly knows something. Logan's link to what happened to Becky was explored on the show earlier this year, while Betsy failed to get anything out of Logan. Carla decides to try though, determined to help Lisa and get to the bottom of what really happened. Does she get anything out of Logan though? Later on the week, Lisa does some digging of her own. She sneaks into DI Costello's office and searches his email for any reference to Becky Swain. But will she find anything out and will she be caught? It seems she finds something out about Kit Green as she soon confronts her colleague. She tells him she saw his name on the computer which stated that he had asked for access to Becky's file. Having it out with Kit, it's not revealed what he says or what this means, but she later tells Carla she cannot work with Kit anymore. She slams the detective for going behind her back, unaware Carla, out of love, has done the same. But will Carla admit what she's up to, and how will Lisa react? Get the latest drama from the Dales by joining our Emmerdale WhatsApp group As drama continues to unfold in the Yorkshire Dales, the Mirror has launched its very own Emmerdale WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest breaking news, secrets, and spoilers delivered straight to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Shocking twist revealed after real-life Annabelle doll handler's unexpected death
Dan Rivera was travelling across America with the real-life Annabelle doll, believed to be one of the most haunted objects in the country, when he mysteriously died A shocking twist has been revealed after the death of the real-life Annabelle doll's handler. Paranormal expert Dan Rivera was travelling across the United States when he died earlier this month. The US Army veteran, 54, had been hosting a tour across the country with the doll, which is believed to be the most haunted object in the country, when he suddenly died. Rivera had previously made a stop at the New England Society of Psychic Research (NESPR) in Pennsylvania, a coroner has heard. At the time of his death, he was visiting Gettysburg, where he was heading up the Devils On the Run tour alongside colleagues. But in a shocking twist, a coroner in Pennsylvania has confirmed that the haunted object that inspired films of the same name and The Conjuring was not present. Francis Dutrow, the Adams County coroner, confirmed to US media that Annabelle was not present when he arrived on the scene of Dan's death on July 13, after authorities had been notified. Dutrow revealed that the doll was not anywhere in the hotel room when he arrived. The Pennsylvania State Police shared that Dan had been discovered, dead, in his hotel room. In a statement shared on social media, they said: "Members from PSP Gettysburg responded to a hotel in Straban Township, Adams County for a report of a deceased W/H/M [man]. "The decedent was discovered in his hotel room by workers. Nothing unusual or suspicious was observed at the scene." His cause of death was listed as pending. Dan had been with his colleagues in the hours leading up to his death but told them he was returning to his hotel as he felt unwell. It's believed that his autopsy results are expected before the end of September. Months before the American tour, Dan had posted on social media about the "thrilling and terrifying adventure showcasing the most diabolical items from the infamous Warren's Occult Museum." However, he was given an eery warning from a woman just eight weeks ago. She said: "I don't understand why you guys would put yourself in danger like this, you really should put that doll back. And Lorraine Warren said it wasn't supposed to be touched or removed under no circumstances." The haunted doll had been given to legendary paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who kept it in a glass case in their museum in Monroe, Connecticut, with a warning on its casing reading: "Warning: Positively Do Not Open," due to the "evil-spirited entity" living within it.. The Warrens also founded the NESPR in Monroe in 1952 in order to investigate suspected hauntings. In their lifetime, they investigated more than 10,000 cases across America and worldwide and often documented their experiences, including their encounter with Annabelle. Speaking about the doll, Lorraine said: "It's not what the doll looks like that makes it scary. It is what has been infused within the doll. Evil." The haunting Annabelle doll story is said to have begun in 1968 when a nursing student was gifted a Raggedy Ann doll as a gift. "She brings it home where she lives with a roommate," the NESPR say. "Almost immediately, the roommates noticed strange occurrences with the doll, and they were introduced to a medium who told them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle. The two roommates tried to accept the doll's spirit and please it only to have it reciprocate maliciousness and violent intent."
Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Grantchester star: 'People have commented on my body all my life'
Grantchester, Corrie and Adolescence star Melissa Johns gives her first interview about her pregnancy and reveals hurtful comments she's endured about her disability Proudly displaying her baby bump, the bloom of pregnancy isn't the only reason for Grantchester star Melissa Johns' radiant online announcement that she and her husband Dan Hampton were expecting prompted a flood of celebratory messages. And people wanting to touch her baby bump makes her appreciate the beauty of her body for the first time. For Melissa, 35, who also appeared in Coronation Street and Adolescence, has been programmed to hate her body - by other people. Born without a right forearm and hand, she recalls:'I was eight when I really started to feel I was different. We were playing tag in the playground and someone said: 'if you touch Melissa, you've got Melissa disease.' It was like a punch to my stomach. 'In the summer we'd go on caravan holidays. I'd take my little brother to the play area and some of the other children would scream and run away when they saw me.' These shocking reactions have not just come from kids. More shocking in many ways has been the ignorance of adults. Blissfully happy with Dan, a senior transport planner, he makes her feel like 'a winner.' Yet, she reveals: 'On our honeymoon we had people saying to Dan right in front of me 'do you not mind?' (referring to her disability) and one man called me 'a cripple'.' As a pregnant woman, for the first time, people's focus is on her bump and not her disability. She explains:'People have commented on my body all my life. 'Either it's something horrible or something about me being inspirational - I was in the local newspaper when I was six years old and the headline was 'Girl with one arm rides bike.' 'But now people are talking about my body in a lovely way. They're going: 'oh my God, look at you!' or 'Ooh, can I touch?' And for once in my life that's not about my disability, it's about my bump. 'I've been in shows where even other actors have said about my arm, 'can I touch it?' So, my pregnancy feels even more special. Now it's my bump they want to touch and for the first time they're mentioning my body in a positive way.' Disability activist Melissa, who plays Grantchester's Jennifer Scott and previously starred as Coronation Street's Imogen Pascoe, revealed her pregnancy to her online followers last month alongside a picture taken on the beach of Dan - who she married in her native Herefordshire last year - lovingly cradling her bump. 'I have a strong history of loathing my body,' she says candidly. 'That never came from me – it came from society telling me that my body was wrong. 'But there is so much positivity around pregnant bodies and now I really do very much like what I see when I look in the mirror. It feels lovely and I think to some degree it takes away from the other parts of my body that I have questioned for so long.' Like most first-time mums, Melissa is approaching things with excitement and trepidation. But when people, clearly referring to her disability, ask how she will cope, she says: 'That just adds an extra layer of anxiety to the pressure that all first-time mums feel. 'We're all worrying - how does this work? How does that work? How will I do this?' And then on top of that I'm thinking 'what about when my husband is at work – will I just stay in the house all day, or will I be able to find a one-handed pram that I can collapse with one arm?' ''How will I get the pram in and out of the car on my own? How will I drink a cup of coffee with my friends while holding the baby?' There are so many things. I feel like saying 'I don't know yet, I haven't worked it out. But I will find a way.'' Steely determination has certainly served her well in life. A turning point came in her 20s, after watching old camcorder footage of herself as a young girl at a family party. 'I saw this happy little girl dancing and spinning, without a care in the world and I thought 'I'm so sorry for the life I'm giving you,'' she recalls. 'It was at a point where I had really stopped doing most things. I wouldn't dance anymore and I wouldn't go out without a cardigan – I'd essentially stripped myself of my own freedom, because I needed to control the way that people saw me. I thought that part of my body was ugly and they shouldn't have to look at it. 'I had boyfriends where it would get to the third date and I would have to tell them that I'd got one arm. I'd see that as winning, that I'd hidden it so well. 'Now I know that winning is having a wonderful husband, where my disability doesn't even come into play.' Training at East 15 Acting School, she was one of the first disabled actors to win the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award. In 2015, aged 25, she landed her first TV role, working alongside Jo Joyner and Trevor Eve, in the BBC1 drama series The Interceptor and two years later was cast in Coronation Street, spending two years as Kate Connor's girlfriend Imogen Pascoe. She played school nurse Carla in Adolescence and joined the cast of Grantchester in 2021, as police station secretary Jennifer Scott. She is currently filming the 11th and final series, with series 10 due to air early next year. It will pick up where series 9 ended, with Miss Scott finally kissing policeman Larry Peters. 'It's a wonderful storyline,' Melissa enthuses. 'It's been a will-they-won't they for so many years.' Melissa plans to work until two weeks before her baby is due in November. 'Grantchester has been a brilliant show to work on,' she says. 'Some other shows in the past have said: 'do you mind if we write something in to acknowledge your arm, because the audience might wonder?' But I don't think in the six seasons I've been in Grantchester we've even brought it up. 'And they couldn't be more supportive. They cut my food up for me and I have help into my costumes when I need it. Things like that have such a positive impact on my day. 'They've been so nice about my pregnancy too. Robson Green was the first person I saw when I came out of the lift when we started filming the new series. 'He said 'Hi gorgeous' and then he went 'Oh my gosh! Look! I'm just made up for you.' 'Later he texted me and said 'Welcome to the most beautiful club.' 'And Kacey Ainsworth and Tessa Peake-Jones both went 'Oh! Can we touch it?' in such a loving way. They're such close colleagues that I was happy to say yes.' When Grantchester finishes Melissa will be working on a TV adaption of Snatched, the one-woman show she wrote in 2022, exploring her experience of having explicit photos leaked online after her iCloud was hacked. She says: 'It sold out around the UK and I got offers from TV companies, so I'm currently developing a six-part series with Kudos.' For now, though, Melissa is looking forward to becoming a mum. 'Because of having one arm and looking very different to other people growing up, the world questioned whether I would have a family of my own,' she says. 'I didn't know what else to believe, so I believed what I was told. Now, I'm in my own home, with my incredible husband and a baby on the way that I just can't wait to hold and cuddle.'
