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A groundbreaking dating series conducted entirely in British Sign Language (BSL) is making waves by spotlighting the deaf community and promoting more inclusive storytelling. This innovative approach aims to dismantle common misunderstandings about relationships within the deaf community while celebrating BSL as both a language and cultural identity.
The show, titled *Hold My Hand*, airs on Lumo TV, a streaming platform created by and for sign language users. Lumo TV’s CEO, Camilla Arnold, highlighted the need for such content by noting how BSL has long been overlooked in mainstream media. “For too long, the use of British Sign Language has been treated as an afterthought in mainstream entertainment and reality TV,” she said. “With this series, we’re flipping that on its head.”
The hosts of the show are deaf identical twins Hermon and Heroda Berhane. Featuring contestants who are deaf or are children of deaf adults (Codas), *Hold My Hand* uses BSL as the exclusive mode of communication. Heroda Berhane emphasized that the program goes beyond conventional dating show tropes, stating, “People have never seen our culture, our identity, the way we discuss things. So it’s a dating show, yes, but it’s not just about dating; it’s also revealing our identity and our culture, and that has never been seen before.” The Berhane twins hope the series will also address prevailing biases, such as the statistic that 71% of young adults aged 18 to 24 feel unsure about dating someone who primarily uses BSL. Heroda encouraged hearing audiences to embrace curiosity and openness, explaining, “I really hope that hearing people realise, ‘Gosh, deaf people, we’re the same. There’s no difference. We’re all the same. We’re human.’”
Throughout the first few episodes, including one featuring LGBTQ+ participants, contestants engage in lighthearted games designed to spark honest conversations about intimacy and relationships. Hermon Berhane reflected on the importance of mutual understanding between deaf and hearing individuals, saying, “You speak the language that I cannot hear, and I speak a language that you don’t understand.” Beyond dating shows, representation of deaf culture is also growing in children’s television. For example, in an upcoming storyline on *Peppa Pig*, the character George will be portrayed as moderately deaf and will use a hearing aid. This plot development was created in consultation with the National Deaf Children’s Society to ensure it accurately reflects the experiences of more than 50,000 deaf children in the UK
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