Five-year-old deafblind boy makes acting debut on EastEnders

19 March 2026 – A  five-year-old deafblind boy from Clitheroe, Lancashire, has made his acting debut on BBC One’s EastEnders. Harvey Hind featured in Wednesday night’s episode of the long-running soap, with his mum Kimberly saying she hopes it shows other disabled children they can achieve anything.

Harvey plays Arlo, a pre-school boy who is registered blind. Arlo and his mum visit Lauren and Peter Beale’s house, where Arlo plays with their son Jimmy, who was revealed to be blind in a storyline last year. Arlo’s mum gives Lauren and Peter advice on raising a blind child and reassures them about Jimmy’s future.

When he was around four weeks old, Harvey failed his newborn screening hearing test. Around the same time, his mum Kimberly noticed a flicker in his eye. After struggling to get referrals or answers, the family paid for a private consultation and Harvey was diagnosed as blind at three months old.

Harvey walks using a red-and-white striped cane, which is used by deafblind people, and uses BSL to communicate. He also wears cochlear implants which give him access to sound.

Kimberly says the first two years of Harvey’s life were very difficult for her. She had to leave work as Harvey was becoming increasingly distressed attending a mainstream nursery and she wasn’t sure how to communicate with him. A big turning point was finding Sense, who support disabled children and adults with complex needs. The charity, who were not involved in Harvey being cast in EastEnders or the storyline, assigned a specialist in working with deafblind children to the family, which Kimberly describes as ‘lifesaving’.

Harvey was the face of Sense’s 2025 Christmas appeal, helping raise tens of thousands of pounds for the charity’s work. He has also appeared in the news as part of a report on the struggles disabled children face to get the right education. Harvey is represented by ZBD Talent, an inclusive talent agency.

Kimberly says the family had an amazing time attending the filming, and that Harvey loved being on set. On the journey down to London, the family were upgraded to first class on the train as the train assistant was so struck by Harvey.

[Pictured: Harvey on the train going to London to film EastEnders with a train assistant; Harvey in his hotel room the night before the filming.]

Harvey’s mum Kimberly Hind said:

“I hope Harvey featuring in EastEnders shows other disabled children, especially those who are deafblind, that they can achieve anything. 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.

“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. 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.”

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