The One Show has revisited a “life-changing” story from a decade ago in which a young writer was gifted a typewriter by Tom Hanks.
In 2016 viewers saw 18-year-old Rosie King speaking candidly about living with autism and Tourette syndrome, and the harsh challenges she faced at school. Also on the show that day were Hollywood star Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard, and Rosie was able to ask them for career advice after admitting that she dreamed of being a writer.
A Gift on Live Television
Inspired by her story, the actor offered her one of the vintage typewriters he collects, saying on the live programme: “You can change the world with one of those things! I’m going to send one to Rosie.”
On the BBC show Rosie spoke movingly about how difficult her life had been as a youngster because she felt different to other children. “I had a very hard time at school,” she says now. “I was ostracised, isolated and there was a lot of bullying.”
A Letter and a Typewriter
True to his word, Tom sent her a heartfelt letter along with one of his treasured typewriters. In the letter he said he was thrilled she’d received his gift in one piece because he’d worried that machines can sometimes get “bent out of shape” while being shipped.
He told her: “A way of practising the old-fashioned type-writer is to bang out letters. Send one back to me so I can see how the machine imprints the page with what is going on in your mind.”
From Viewer to Writer
Rosie had long found escape through writing and was determined to study literature at university - which she did, gaining a first class honours degree.
Tomorrow on The One Show - which celebrates its 20th anniversary this week - Rosie appears in an emotional film in which she reveals she still treasures both the letter and typewriter in her Barnsley flat. She explains how Tom’s belief in her gave her the confidence to pursue her ambition to become a writer, and provided the validation she needed.
Remembering back to when she first appeared on The One Show, Rosie says she felt “absolutely terrified”, explaining: “I was just shaking and ticking all over the place, but they were all so nice about it.”
One show source said: “It’s a genuinely uplifting story about how a simple act of kindness from one of Hollywood’s biggest stars helped shape a young woman’s future.”
A Career in Children's TV
After graduation Rosie started working on the CBeebies series Pablo, about a young autistic boy and his imaginary friends. Soon she wasn’t just bringing ideas, she was writing scripts and also voicing the character Llama.
One of her scripts is based on a story her mum used to tell her. “When you grow up and you start to realise just how different you are from the other children around you, there’s a real sense of isolation. My mum used to say ‘imagine if everyone in the world was exactly the same and wore the same clothes and did the same things - what a boring world that would be’. I remember how much that used to help me growing up.”
She’s now hoping that her writing will help other young people to feel less anxious and alone. And she’ll never forget the man who encouraged her to fulfil her childhood dream.
Writing back to Tom she said: “Dear Mr Hanks, I just wanted to thank you once again for both the typewriter and your kindness. I’m very proud of the things I’ve achieved since then. You have made a very big difference in my life.”
Now, the typewriter has pride of place in her flat in Barnsley although she admits to only using it sparingly. “I like a little type on her occasionally but I am nervous about breaking her because of how much it means to me.”
Speaking about Tom’s gesture, she said: “More than anything, it just showed that someone believed in me, believed that I could become a writer. It was a huge validation.”
