Here is the news … coming from a living room in Ilkeston.
Viewers mainly in the North (Leeds area) hear news bulletins by an Ilkeston woman speaking from her home.
Denise Bowles has been reading the news for more than three years. She started in May 2020 and is still doing it. “It is something I enjoy,” she says. “The wonder of technology allows me to work from my own living room. I get sent the news in ‘Easy read’ format and record the videos from my own tablet, then send them over to a colleague who puts them on air.”
Inclusion North is a company that exists to make inclusion a reality for all people with a learning disability.
Denise is now one of their success stories – she’s an ‘expert by experience’.
Denise says some of the most interesting stories she has broadcast came in the pandemic lockdown, particularly one regarding a special hidden disability lanyard which “we could use when going out instead of wearing a mask.”
The bulletins are streamed to Inclusion North social media pages and are viewed widely.
Denise is well known in Ilkeston as a disability campaigner. musician and LGBTQ supporter. Her book ‘Denbo – I wanna tell you my story’ was a big hit locally and is still selling.
Asked about her thoughts on another newsreader, the BBC’s Huw Edwards, Denise said: “I was shocked to hear what he was alleged to have done and to hear that he was in hospital suffering from severe depression. I hope he gets the help he needs. I suffer with mental health problems myself and know how important it is to get the right support.”
