Melissa Johns, the star of Grantchester, Corrie, and Adolescence, gives her first interview about her pregnancy and exposes hurtful remarks about her disability.
The bloom of pregnancy isn’t the only reason for Grantchester star Melissa Johns’ radiant smile, which she proudly displays. A flood of celebratory messages came out as a result of her and husband Dan Hampton’s announcement online.
And people wanting to touch her baby bump makes her appreciate the beauty of her body for the first time. For Melissa, 35, who also appeared in Coronation Street and Adolescence, has been programmed to hate her body – by other people.
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She recalls that when I was eight years old, I really started to think I was different. Someone said, “If you touch Melissa, you have Melissa disease,” while we were playing tag in the playground. My stomach felt like it was being pushed.
We would take caravan vacations in the summer. When I took my little brother to the play area, some of the other kids would yell and run away after me.
These shocking reactions are not just those of children. Adult ignorance has been more shocking in many ways. Dan, a senior transportation planner, makes her feel like a “winner,” and he makes her feel happy.
Yet, she reveals that on our honeymoon, Dan was yelled at her directly, “Do you not mind?” (referring to her disability), and a man called her “a cripple.” People’s attention is on a pregnant woman’s bump for the first time, not her disability.
She goes on to say, “My body has always been criticized. When I was six years old, the headline read “Girl with one arm rides bike,” which I thought was “either it’s something horrible or something about me being inspirational.
However, it seems like everyone is now talking in a lovely way about my body. They are screaming, “Oh my God, look at you!” or “Ooh, I can touch,” And for the first time in my life, it’s about my bump rather than my disability.
“I’ve been in shows where even other actors have said about my arm, ‘can I touch it?’ So, my pregnancy feels even more special. Now it’s my bump they want to touch and for the first time they’re mentioning my body in a positive way.”
Melissa, who plays Jennifer Scott in Grantchester and has previously appeared in Coronation Street’s Imogen Pascoe, revealed her pregnancy to her online fans last month alongside a photo of Dan, who she wed in Herefordshire last year, lovingly cradling her bump.
She blatantly admits, “I have a long history of loathing my body.” That was not my fault; rather, it was society who told me that my body was flawed.
However, pregnant bodies are a source of great joy, and I’ve been using them for what they do. It makes me feel lovely, and I believe it at least some of the things I’ve been questioned about for a long time are taken away from my body.
Like most first-time mothers, Melissa approaches situations with both excitement and dread. But she responds, “That just adds an extra layer of anxiety to the pressure that all first-time mothers experience,” when people ask her how she will cope, clearly referring to her disability.
“We’re all concerned about how this works,” asks the statement. What is the process? What will I do to accomplish this? What about when my husband is at work, or will I be able to find a one-handed pram that I can collapse with one arm? I’m also thinking.
How can I independently enter and exit the car with the pram? How will I enjoy a cup of coffee while holding the baby with my friends? There are numerous things. I’m at a loss for words because I haven’t yet resolved the issue. But I’ll be able to. “
Steely willpower has undoubtedly been a positive influence on her life. After watching old camcorder footage of herself as a young girl at a family party, she experienced a turning point in her 20s.
“I saw this happy little girl dancing and spinning, without a care in the world and I thought ‘I’m so sorry for the life I’m giving you,’” she recalls.
I had actually stopped doing most things at this point. I had essentially given up on my own freedom because I needed to have control over how others perceived me. I wouldn’t go out without a cardigan and I wouldn’t dance anymore. I believed that someone shouldn’t have to look at parts of my body because they were ugly.
When I first started dating, I would have to explain to them that I only had one arm. That I’d be proud of for hiding it so well would come across as winning.
I am aware that having a wonderful husband, where my disability is unimportant, is what makes it successful. She was one of the first actors with disabilities to receive the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award while attending East 15 Acting School.
![Miss Scott [Melissa Johns] and Larry Peters [Bradley Hall] in Grantchester](https://i0.wp.com/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/article35581189.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_KudosMasterpiecejp.jpg?w=696&ssl=1)
In 2015, aged 25, she landed her first TV role, working alongside Jo Joyner and Trevor Eve, in the BBC1 drama series The Interceptor and two years later was cast in Coronation Street, spending two years as Kate Connor’s girlfriend Imogen Pascoe.
She portrayed teenager Carla in the film Adolescence, and she later appeared in Jennifer Scott, the police station secretary, in Grantchester in 2021.
The eleventh and final seasons of her show are currently being filmed, with the first episode of the series ten set to premiere very soon. With Miss Scott finally kissing policeman Larry Peters, it will return to where series 9 ended.
It’s a fantastic plot, and Melissa is enthused. For so long, they have a will to do it, right?
Melissa intends to work until November, two weeks before the due date for her baby. She says that Grantchester was a fantastic work of art. Do you mind if we write something in to acknowledge your arm because the audience might be wondering? has been a question asked in some other shows in the past. However, I don’t believe Grantchester has even brought it up in the six seasons I’ve spent there.
“And they couldn’t be more energizing.” When I need assistance getting my food, they cut it up for me and I can get help fitting my outfits. That makes my day so much better thanks to things like that.
They’ve also been very supportive of my pregnancy. When we began filming the new series, Robson Green was the first person I saw as soon as I exited the lift.
He responded, “Hi gorgeous,” and then he left, “Oh my gosh! ” Look ! I’m just compensated for you. He later texted me, “Welcome to the most beautiful club.” “And Tessa Peake-Jones and Kacey Ainsworth both left,” Oh! Can it be touched? in such a lovable manner. I was delighted to say yes because they are such close friends.
When Grantchester’s work is complete, Melissa will be creating a TV adaptation of Snatched, a one-woman show about the leak of explicit photos from her iCloud account after it has been hacked.
She adds, “I received offers from TV companies and it sold out in the UK, so I’m currently developing a six-part series with Kudos.” Melissa is currently anticipating giving birth.
The world questioned my ability to have a family of her own because I had one arm and looked very different to other people growing up, she says.
“I didn’t know what to believe, so I just believed what was told.” I just can’t wait to hold and cuddle my baby while I’m in my own home, with my amazing husband and our growing family.
