I hope my son being in EastEnders shows other deafblind children they can achieve anything, says Clitheroe mum

A Lancashire mum has said she hopes her five-year-old son, who is deaf and blind, will “break down barriers” for other disabled children as he stars in EastEnders.

Harvey Hind, from Clitheroe, will make his acting debut during this evening’s (March 18) episode of the popular BBC One soap, appearing as Arlo, a pre-school boy who is registered blind.

Harvey and his family found out last year that he had been chosen to appear in the show, through inclusive talent agency ZBD Casting.

In a statement at the time, his mum Kimberley said: “Harvey is living proof that children with disabilities can live a full life and have dreams and ambitions, just like anyone else. They just need a few adaptations to make it happen.”

In the episode, Arlo and mum visit Lauren Branning and Peter Beale’s house, where Arlo plays with her son Jimmy, who was revealed to be blind in a storyline last year, with Arlo’s mum giving Lauren advice on raising a blind child.

Kimberley hopes Harvey featuring in EastEnders will “show disabled children, especially those who are deafblind, that they can achieve anything”.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s episode, she said: “Harvey loves being in the spotlight but for us the most important thing will always be raising awareness and breaking down barriers so every disabled child gets the same opportunities as anyone else.

“Harvey did amazingly at the filming, I’m so proud of him. There were four cameras on him but he took it all in his stride.”

When he was around four weeks old, Harvey failed his newborn screening hearing test. Kimberley noticed a flicker in his eye around the same time and the family paid for a private consultation. He was diagnosed as blind at three months old.

Harvey walks using a red-and-white striped cane and uses British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate. He also wears cochlear implants which give him access to sound.

Kimberly said she found the first two years of his life difficult as she struggled to communicate with her son, and had to leave work to care for him as he was becoming increasingly distressed attending a mainstream nursery.

She added: “I was so anxious when I found out Harvey was deafblind, so his character’s storyline resonated with me a lot. I didn’t have any experience with disability and I kept imagining the worst-case scenarios.”

Disability charity Sense eventually assigned a specialist in working with deafblind children to the family, which Kimberly said was “lifesaving” for her.

“Luckily, with the support of organisations like Sense, Harvey is now a really happy child who is eager to learn, loves exploring and has a cheeky personality,” she said.

Harvey appeared in Sense’s 2025 Christmas appeal and on TV news features about the struggles faced by disabled children in education.

The episode of EastEnders starring Harvey will air on BBC One at 7.30pm on Wednesday (March 18).