Deaf presenter Yvonne Cobb to host a cooking slot on ITV’s This Morning on Thursday 6th October!

BBC See Hear presenter Yvonne Cobb will be making history for the deaf community tomorrow as she hosts a coveted cooking slot on the highly popular ITV show This Morning with Phil and Holly.

From 11.10am tomorrow viewers will be able to watch Yvonne on their screens as she cooks a Tex-Mex dish and chats to the host in British Sign Language. Accompanied by two of her chosen BSL interpreters, Yvonne will be cooking her dish live and conversing with the hosts in her first language, BSL.

Chatting to Yvonne today in her London hotel as she prepares for tomorrows show, I was curious how Yvonne’s journey with food all began.

“I come from a deaf family and my Mum – who is 90 – is such a good cook and an incredible host. Food is something I was always part of and passionate about. I set up my own cooking school, Yumma Food, seven years ago which has been really successful and I’ve seen people of all ages – young and old – enjoy learning to cook dishes.”

As well as working as a television presenter and running Yumma Food, Yvonne has enjoyed 30 years of work as a teacher and assessor in various fields.

“I’ve always believed in following my passions, wherever they led me, and I feel that being my normal bubbly happy self has led people to see my interests and passions before my deafness.”

So, how did she land the slot on prime time day time television?

“It’s absolutely a dream come true. After communicating with the shows producers and attending a screen test in the studio with all the cameras, I was invited by the Cookery Producer Natalie Bloxham to host my very own slot! Natalie in particular has been so open minded and forward thinking and the crew themselves have also been so warm and friendly.”

I wondered if the prospect of presenting live whilst cooking and working with interpreters on set would trigger any nerves or worries yet Yvonne assured me with cheerful confidence that she has a plan in place to ensure clear communication.

“We actually noticed from the screen test that it was hard for viewers to see me signing in BSL if the cameras needed to do a close up of the food. We missed a lot of BSL shots because of that. So we will also have an in vision interpreter to make sure no information is missed. I will also have an interpreter behind the cameras as well as one by Phil and Holly.”

Yvonne’s appearance on This Morning will undoubtedly be seen as a huge achievement not just for Yvonne personally, but also for the deaf community. For so long we have only seen deaf presenters work on deaf-specific shows but for the first time we can enjoy witnessing a talented professional (who happens to be deaf!) being recognised for her presenting skills and love of food.

Yvonne told me, “I hope my appearance on This Morning shows hearing viewers that deaf people are the same as anyone else. I hope it shows that deaf people can do anything – with the right support. I want to see hearing people feeling more comfortable approaching deaf people and normalising seeing BSL on television.”

As Yvonne confesses that her ultimate aim is to become a regular presenter on mainstream television, naming shows such as Loose Women and the One Show as ones she would like to work on – I have every faith that with her talent and bright personality this could certainly become reality.

As Yvonne becomes the first deaf cook and food influencer on mainstream television, I would like to congratulate her on this achievement and wish her all the very best going forwards in her career.

By Rebecca Withey

Make sure you tune into Yvonne’s slot on ITV’s This Morning on Thursday 6^th October 11.10am.