a very significant operation to correct my scoliosis and the operation did not go very well . I suffered from spinal cord damage . I graduated but was quite weak . I had quite a co-dependent relationship with my mother . I wasn ' t very independent , even in my university years . I was very reliant on my mom . In my head , I thought my mom had given up her life to be my caregiver , so if I start to live my life , what would become of hers ? That all led to my move to London .
But why did I get into teaching ? It was because I wanted another year within the safety of education space , and in the UK , they were desperate for language teachers . I also love kids . I ' ve always had that really good connection with children . I was the only disabled teacher in that space .
And how was that for you ?
I hated every minute of it . The establishment wasn ' t very accommodating of my needs . They saw me as more of a hindrance rather than an asset . A lot of the teachers were also not very respectful and the environment was one of ableism . Instead of calling me Miss Renke , for example , they ' d just go with Samantha in front of the students . It was not conscious malice but everything seemed like a challenge and I just wasn ' t very happy at all , so I was a teacher for only two years . Microaggressions - it ' s like death by a million paper cuts and this was exactly how I felt at the time .
From teacher to actress and broadcaster . Tell us about that transition .
Coming from a small town , I faced a lot of physical barriers in London , going to interviews and a whole host of other barriers that I had never experienced before . For example , I ' d turn up to interviews and the lift would be broken . I also went to a few interviews where all they said was that they didn ’ t have a disabled toilet and that was the end of the interview . I struggled with that . I was applying for basic jobs , and office positions at entry levels and my situation was becoming quite desperate as I was 26 and thought I might have to give up my London dream . Then I went to a house party and I was the only girl there . The other people were all gay men and most of them worked in television . There was an editor and just crazy , amazingly creative people .
That ’ s where I met my now business partner , Max Barber , and together we have a production company called Born This Way Media . He took a shine to me and wanted to know if I had done any acting , and I told him that I did . I did do a lot of acting as a child , not professionally – I didn ’ t receive much encouragement from my teachers . So , when I was 15 , I gave up my hopes of acting . Max gave me the opportunity to do an indie film called Little Devil , which I won best actress for at the L . A . Film Diversity Festival . I got an agent and , as they say , the rest is history . Max and I make sure that we give opportunities to those who feel that they can ’ t get their foot in the door to be in front of or behind the camera .
What happened after the film ?
That was in 2013 . It was strange back then to have a physically disabled female in a lead role . At the time , I thought that this was going to be my big breakthrough , and I think that rolled things on . Inclusion , equality and diversity weren ’ t really on the agenda back then . It was just seeping through . Max went to every broadcaster to pitch the concept and idea , and to show that disabled talent
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