Traitors: Jessie's win for stammering representation
Although sadly not making it to the final week of The Traitors, Jessie stole the hearts of millions of viewers and made a huge step forward for the stammering community, writes STAMMA's Web Editor Steven.
When I turned on The Traitors last Friday night, a glimmer of hope remained that Jessie would survive the latest 'murder' (surely, I thought, murdering Jessie was far too risky a move for Traitor Stephen). But when Rachel said in a confessional piece to camera that their victim of choice would "send a shockwave throughout the house", I just knew that my hopes were in vain, Jessie being as universally liked as she was. Sure enough, she didn't make it to breakfast and live another day.
Getting through to the final as someone who stammers would obviously have been great, but really, it would have been the icing on the cake, because the three weeks Jessie was on screen has been a monumental win for the stammering community.
Responses
It's been hugely encouraging to see how people responded to Jessie, on and off screen. Fellow contestants listened to her with patience and respect whenever she spoke, and provided support in moments of stammering. In the outside world, I didn't see any derogatory news coverage or mimicking headlines that would have probably been rife years ago. Online comments were similarly favourable – Jessie was even labelled a 'fan favourite', unsurprisingly, for her sheer energy, cheerfulness, colourful style and relatability, not to mention her acute traitor-hunting skills.
The only vaguely negative thing I saw was a bit of speculation on Reddit, wondering if Jessie was faking her stammer – not an attack on stammering per se, but rather wild hypothesising, no doubt sparked by the tactics of Charlotte from the last series of The Traitors, who pretended to be Welsh, thinking that fellow contestants would find it a more trustworthy accent.
Are we seeing a step-change in attitudes towards stammering? Are people becoming more understanding and supportive of differences? The Traitors has certainly been an inclusive show, with previous series casting people with limb and height differences, as well as those living with stomas and cerebral palsy, for example. Is the exposure of such differences having a positive effect on viewers?
Portrayal
Jessie's appearance has arguably been the biggest piece of exposure for our community since Musharaf on Educating Yorkshire in 2013 and before that The King's Speech, in 2010. Whilst both catapulted stammering into the spotlight and highlighted the challenges people who stammer face on a huge scale, they did rather send out mixed messaging that wasn't entirely helpful to the cause. That stammering can be 'overcome', being the main one. But Jessie's appearance carried with it none of that.
Jessie dispelled a lot of the tired old myths about people who stammer – the fact that she worked out that Stephen was a traitor showed she was intelligent and competent, unlike countless TV and film portrayals before her. She showed that people who stammer are normal people, who just might speak in a different way.
Inspiration
Here at STAMMA we've heard from people who have been inspired to 'come out' and open up to others about their stammer after seeing Jessie, having been covert about it all their lives. On social media, lots of parents praised Jessie for being a role model for their children who stammer, as well as for raising awareness.
Following her departure from the programme, Jessie took to Instagram to post this message:
"Little young Jessie would never believe this was possible, yet here we are… Being able to raise awareness for stammering and represent my community means more than any prize money ever could."
Greater representation
And represent her community, Jessie did. In 2021, we released the campaign 'No Diversity without Disfluency', pushing for greater and better representation of stammering in the media. We wanted to see people who stammer on TV and radio, not just in programmes about stammering, but rather just being included in everyday shows, as simple as that. We even marched on the BBC to present our petition on International Stammering Awareness Day that year (see the picture). The BBC Stammering Support Network are doing great things within the Beeb too.
Three and a half years later, are we seeing a difference?
Certainly there have been more people who stammer on TV and the radio. As well as Jessie, there was Natalia on the last series of The Great British Bake Off, Lewis Tombs on Call the Bailiffs, Andrew in Four In a Bed and Piers Forster being the go-to climate expert on Radio 4 news and current affairs programmes. People who stammer being included as contestants and pundits, and not being excluded for the way they speak.
Kudos to production companies Studio Lambert and Five Mile Films for showing the way and regularly contacting STAMMA to invite our members to apply for the shows they produce for the BBC and Channel 4. They're dedicated to inclusivity and making space for people with speech and other differences. It all makes people who stammer feel more comfortable to apply, just as Jessie did. In her Instagram post, Jessie said, "Thank you to everyone at Studio Lambert and the BBC for taking such good care of me. I am forever grateful".
Incidentally, Studio Lambert are looking for contestants for the next series of Race Across the World, another huge show for the BBC, so if you fancy being on it, visit their website to apply.
Treated the same
A small part of me thought it was a shame that Jessie was robbed from participating in 'the dinner' episode. This is when Traitors contestants through to the final week have a night off from talking about the game, instead sharing a meal and learning a bit more about each other, why they applied and how they'd spend the money if they won. With my charity hat on, this may have been an opportunity to raise even more awareness, if Jessie chose to speak about her experiences of stammering (assuming she was intending to, which she may not have been). Also, on The Traitors Uncloaked afterwards, I hoped the presenter would have asked Jessie about stammering in her post-murder interview, but it wasn't mentioned.
But perhaps that wasn't the point. It wasn't what our No Diversity Without Disfluency campaign was pushing for, after all. Jessie was interviewed and included the same as everyone else. She just happened to stammer. The overall message: it wasn't an issue.
Of course, for many people who stammer, stammering is an issue. Speaking can be hugely difficult and the barriers we face can make life harder. But it's heartening that, judging by the reaction to Jessie on The Traitors, perhaps society is starting to accommodate and include us where they didn't before; that we're finally being accepted on TV and radio. Let's hope it continues.
Bravo Jessie for leading the way, not only in challenging – and potentially changing – public perceptions, but also for showing people who stammer that we can aspire to being on TV too, and that we deserve to be there.
In her Instagram post, Jessie signed off with this:
"I hope my experience proves that no matter who you are or where you come from, you are CAPABLE. Never run away from being different…run STRAIGHT AT IT."
You can watch all episodes of The Traitors on BBC iPlayer.
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