Ruth Madeley, the 38-year-old actor shaking up showbiz and redefining disability portrayal on screen, stars in the BBC's new adaptation of Liz Jensen's 2009 bestseller The Rapture. Set in a children's secure psychiatric unit, Madeley plays Gabs, a clinical psychologist recently paralysed in a car accident that killed her husband. She becomes transfixed by the inmate Bethany, played by India Amarteifio, who has been convicted of killing her own mother and claims to have visions that start coming true. The heatwave backdrop mirrors real-life climate crises, making the series feel eerily timely.
From Campaigner to Leading Lady
Madeley was born with spina bifida and has been a disability campaigner since childhood through the charity Whizz Kids, which gave her a wheelchair when she was five. She studied scriptwriting at Edge Hill University, earning a first, and landed her first role in a CBBC drama, Half Moon Investigation, out of sheer nosiness to extend her network. Her breakthrough came with Russell T Davies's Years and Years, where she played Rosie, a single mother and dinner lady, in a role not originally written as disabled. That role showcased a disabled character being sexually active, a rarity on screen that drew praise from viewers.
Executive Producing and Leading The Rapture
This is Madeley's first time leading a series and her first go at executive producing. She said: 'I don't want the credit if I'm not going to do the work. The only thing I didn't want in my exec producer role was to see the rushes at the end of the day. I'll just overthink my performance.' The series blends hyperrealistic daily life in a psychiatric unit with eerie apocalyptic tension, featuring extreme weather, climate hackers, and sinister religiosity.
Disability Representation: Progress and Gaps
Madeley acknowledges progress in hiring disabled actors rather than just playing disability, but stresses gaps remain: 'Where are the disabled directors, producers, heads of departments? I don't think we're there yet.' Her character Gabs has an acquired disability, using a wheelchair for two years and grieving both her husband and her former life. Madeley notes: 'I was a lot more mobile when I was younger. I use my wheelchair 90% of the time now, so that change in my own circumstance really helps when playing Gabs.'
Collaboration with Jack Thorne
Madeley's early starring role in Jack Thorne's Don't Take My Baby (2015) earned her a Bafta nomination. Thorne later made Then Barbara Met Alan, about disability activists, in which Madeley also starred. She calls Thorne 'one of my biggest champions', but admits his talent intimidated her: 'When I first read his work, my God, I didn't write in ages. I thought: I'm never going to be as good as that.'
Doctor Who and Writing Ambitions
Madeley played Shirley Anne Bingham in a 2023 Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special, a Mancunian scientist with a wheelchair tooled up like a James Bond. That led to a spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea. Now she is writing, with several ideas in development, often staying up till 3 a.m., which her husband Joe Lawrence finds 'hysterical'. They married in 2024 after 12 years together, having known each other since age five.
A Proud Moment on Set
Reflecting on an early scene in The Rapture where Gabs navigates a crowd of protesters, Madeley said: 'That claustrophobia is a common thing for any wheelchair user to feel... I remember filming that scene, it was the first, and thinking: Look at us, we're doing it, and the world's gonna see it. I'm very, very proud.'
The Rapture starts on 26 July at 9pm on BBC One.
