Emmerdale actress Laura Norton, who plays Kerry Wyatt, has spoken about her children's rare and incurable genetic condition, Usher syndrome, which causes hearing and vision loss. Her son Jesse, five, and daughter Ronnie, three, both have the condition and wear hearing aids. Norton and her fiancé, actor Mark Jordon, have learned British Sign Language to communicate with them.
Norton, 42, and Jordon, 61, have been engaged for seven years but have postponed their wedding to focus on organising the Cure Usher Ball in London this September. She said: 'There’s just the two of us doing it and I’ve got lists all over the house. That’s why we can’t get married this year – it would be crazy to try to plan a wedding as well as a ball for 350 people.'
The couple originally dreamed of a lavish wedding abroad but now plan a simpler celebration. Norton said: 'Now we just want a big celebration of love and it doesn’t matter where we do it, how we do it and how cheaply we do it.' They are considering holding the ceremony at Kelvin Fletcher's farm in Cheshire, where the former Emmerdale actor runs wedding events.
Norton has also been helping Emmerdale mark Deaf Awareness Week by releasing videos teaching co-star Mike Parr British Sign Language. She said: 'Deaf Awareness Week is important to us, as both of our children have been diagnosed with hearing loss... I’m also hopeful that these videos, although a bit of fun, might encourage people to think about learning to sign, too.'
Despite the challenges, Norton remains positive: 'We never think ‘why us?’ Would I rather they weren’t going through it? Yes. But all we can do is turn it into something positive. It’s given us a purpose.' She added that she feels 'lucky' to play Kerry, describing her character as 'caring, loyal, full of heart' but also 'a bit damaged'.
