Interface Productions and disability programming for Channel 4: 1984–1986

Steyger and Clarke provide an account of the early disability programming made by Interface Productions at Channel 4. Their approach situates textual analysis of the programmes themselves within a framework informed by political economy, production studies and Steyger’s own first-hand testimony from his experience working at Interface. Their account suggests that the progressive politics of representation requires certain material and institutional prerequisites that are sometimes taken for granted in more abstract accounts. In doing so, the authors document some of the challenges that the Interface team faced in negotiating between the often-conflicting demands of the television community, the disabled communities and the production team themselves.