How Shropshire health experts played vital role in Oscar-tipped film of Stephen Hawking story
It has been tipped to win a string of Oscars – and a key part of it is borrowed from an NHS clinic in Shropshire.
Wheelchairs used by actor Eddie Redmayne in the film about scientist Stephen Hawking were sourced by a centre in the county. And one of the chairs dug out of a dusty NHS storeroom has now gone on display.
The journey from Shropshire to feature film started with a call from the producers for chairs that resembled the ones Professor Hawking has used through his life.
The search eventually landed on the Shropshire Wheelchair & Posture Service in Shrewsbury.
The film, The Theory of Everything, is expected to bring Redmayne an Oscar for Best Actor. He uses a number of chairs, mirroring the ones Professor Hawking used as his illness took hold.
They range from cumbersome manual chairs to the early electric model that is now on show in Shrewsbury.
The film, depicting the life of Professor Hawking, has already had success at the Golden Globes and has been touted for Oscars glory.
The filmmakers behind the movie were struggling to secure an accurate version of the wheelchair which Professor Hawking used in the 1970s, but staff at Shropshire Wheelchair & Posture Service in Shrewsbury stepped in to make sure their portrayal of one of the world's most renowned scientists was as accurate as possible. It got involved after the production crew appealed to the National Wheelchair Managers Forum for helping finding a 1970s wheelchair.
As chairwoman of the group, Krys Jarvis, who is also wheelchair service manager at the Wheelchair & Posture Service, was able to help as they had one at their base in Shrewsbury.
Mrs Jarvis said they had been thrilled to be able to help.
She said: "When I was first contacted it was very exciting to be potentially involved in the making of a film. The researchers were extremely grateful as the acquisition of authentic, now obsolete wheelchairs was proving challenging.
"The film shows the level of determination needed to overcome the limitations of disability and the role that technology plays in achieving everyone's full potential, which is the aim of our service when assessing each individual. The wheelchair is now proudly on display in the reception at Shropshire Rehabilitation Centre."
The theory of Everything is based on the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, written by Jane Wilde Hawking, about her relationship with her ex-husband, his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease and his success as a theoretical physicist.
Both Krys Jarvis and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust are included in the film's credits, which Krys and her colleagues went to see it at the Old Market Hall.
It was a proud moment for members of Shropshire's Wheelchair & Posture Service, who help to meet the posture and mobility needs of thousands of people with a long term disability of all ages across Shropshire.
