Laura Burns tells us about her son Noah who currently stars in Hollyoaks and has been nominated for an award! (BSL)

My son Noah is an 11 year old Deaf boy who plays the role of Oscar Osborne in Hollyoaks. He’s been acting as Oscar since the age of 2 years old and will have been doing this for 9 years in July.

It was pure luck that Noah got involved with Hollyoaks. An old school friend who used to work for the National Deaf Children’s Society gave me the heads up that a production company was looking for a 2 year old Deaf boy who lived in the North-West with blond hair.

Noah fitted every single criterion and so we were invited over to audition.  We had no idea it was for Hollyoaks until we got there. I thought there was no chance he would get it as he was fiddling with the camera, pulling the television round just like a typical toddler would do!

I made a point of saying to the casting agent that I was really pleased that they were casting a Deaf child to play the character of a Deaf child and the next thing we knew, he was given the role and we have never looked back.

When we started initially in 2015, Noah didn’t have a BSL interpreter.  It was difficult as he was reliant on me, but I am also Deaf too. I used to bring my Dad along too to help fill in the communication gaps. It’s very fast paced on set so it was really hard to keep up.

It was only when he got older that he became more aware and struggled to follow and he wanted to know everything that was going on. A close friend asked me one day if he had an interpreter on set which resulted in me asking if it was possible and it was granted immediately.

What a difference it made! He now has his own little team of preferred interpreters.

Noah has grown up with his on-screen family – he really does have the best family on the show. Ashley Taylor-Dawson (Darren) Jessica Fox (Nancy) Charlie Behan (Charlie) and Jimmy McKenna (Jack) make him very much included and including those that have come and gone like Tylan Grant (Phoenix).

Charlie was only 10 when Noah started, and they are very close. There is a true bond there. The crew is also fantastic with him.

We have had TWO Deaf Directors this year working on Hollyoaks which has been amazing as they have been able to communicate directly with Noah about what their expectations of him are, and this has made filming a very smooth process. It has also been great for all the other actors as well as the crew.

We are immensely proud of Noah – especially how he has had to juggle everything and make sure he keeps up with his school work and extracurricular activities as well.  He is becoming more independent in how he preps for his scenes, sits with the cast and rehearses.

He will communicate with the director and put suggestions forward.  I’m no longer having to hold his hand and guide him through it all.

I’m really excited to share that Noah has been nominated for Best Young Performer by the Radio Times for their first ever Soap Awards to be held at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on Saturday 13th July 2024 alongside other excellent young performers from Coronation Street, Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.

Noah was very surprised by this, when he received the news he had just finished a long day on set.  He says he feels good about it.

Noah now wants to experience acting in America. He absolutely loves working at Hollyoaks which has given him a really good foundation.  He has been given a good storyline which is currently being shown on All 4.

He worked on “The Couple Next Door” last year with Sam Heughan, Eleanor Tomlinson, Alfred Enoch and Jessica De Gouw which was a great experience as he got the opportunity to fly to Belgium and Netherlands to film there, experience different set ups and work with a different crew.

It is wonderful how Noah has inspired other Deaf children to put themselves forward to do some acting.  Noah says that Deaf people can do what hearing people do.

When we first started at Hollyoaks, my main request was that Noah must sign regardless of whether it is SSE or BSL and that has been present over the last 9 years. We wanted deafness to be visible on television, not just by the character having a cochlear implant but by also making the show more inclusive and relevant to the viewers.

Now that we have a BSL consultant who is very committed and heavily involved with Noah’s scenes and working alongside the hearing actors, we will definitely see BSL develop more and more on screen.

Good luck to Noah on his nomination!

Hollyoaks is available to stream on All4 and airs every weeknight at 6:30pm on Channel 4 and 7pm on E4.

Edited by Rebecca A. Withey
www.rawithey.com