An actor has launched a £6,000 fundraising appeal for a mobility scooter after playing a disabled character on the BBC series The Cleaner made him realise how much one could improve his life.
Vaun Earl Norman, 60, from Yarm, North Yorkshire, played Simon, a character who uses a mobility scooter, in Gregg Davies' dark comedy. Offscreen, he has been battling the effects of extensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2006 and again in 2025. The treatment left him with fibromyalgia, causing extreme fatigue and making it difficult to walk far.
Epiphany on Set
While filming the first episode of season three of The Cleaner in June 2024, Vaun, a regular on Vic and Bob's Big Night Out, experienced what he described as an epiphany. He realised how much easier life could be with a mobility scooter.
Vaun said: "I had to drive around for the role and the scenes and never felt like that before. Before, I drove everywhere or didn't do anything. I couldn't walk very far because I get tired quite easily."
He added: "If I do an hour's housework, I'm bed-ridden for a couple of days from lack of energy. If I've got something coming up, I rest up for four to five days and then rest for another couple of weeks."
Life-Changing Realisation
The experience on set showed Vaun a different way of living. He said: "When we weren't doing scenes, I was moving around, going to get a cup of tea, wandering off. I could travel a mile away and enjoy the scenery and learn my lines by myself. It's something I didn't know I missed and it was an epiphany for me. I thought, 'wow, I can do this.'"
He continued: "This is something that would be useful in my real life, let alone my acting life."
Struggling with fatigue, Vaun had become used to staying put when tired, often relying on others. He said: "Normally I would have to sit in a chair and wait for someone to bring me a cup of tea. But [on the mobility scooter] I could zoom off, talk to someone for a bit and zoom off to somewhere else. It didn't occur to me to do anything about it. If I could have a mobility scooter I could go out for a walk and be part of society."
Fundraising for a Scooter
The actor and podcaster said he may never have realised how much he needed a mobility scooter if he had not taken on the role. He said: "I probably wouldn't have put two and two together. If I hadn't done this job I certainly wouldn't think I need a mobility scooter. You get used to not being able to do stuff. I've been overwhelmed by the amount of donations."
Vaun hopes to use the scooter to get around people's houses and go out to the shops. Donations are being collected through a GoFundMe page for the mobility scooter.
