Shola Lee

2 months ago | kritik.com.my | Shola Lee

By Shola Lee"Are they going to think I'm going to steal stuff from here?"That's the question Chantelle remembers asking herself after starting a new job and wondering whether or not to share her Romany heritage. Chantelle, 23 from Bedfordshire, says she's proud of her background but has sometimes been "nervous" to share it because of negative portrayals of her community in the media. "When you watch films, it's always like, 'Oh, these are the Gypsies, they're the bad guys,'" she explains.

2 months ago | bbc.com | Shola Lee

Why I hesitate to tell people I'm a GypsyBBC/Little Venice StudiosChantelle (left) features in Stacey Dooley's new documentary Growing Up Gypsy, which follows three Romany women as they navigate everyday life"Are they going to think I'm going to steal stuff from here?"That's the question Chantelle remembers asking herself after starting a new job and wondering whether or not to share her Romany heritage.

2 months ago | bbc.com | Shola Lee

How 'deaf rage' inspired groundbreaking sign language thrillerGetty Images/Ben MontgomeryWriter William Mager spoke to the BBC about how "deaf rage" and 70s thrillers inspired his new series Reunion"Every day, as a deaf person, you're reminded of your deafness," says William Mager, writer of new BBC thriller Reunion. These reminders can range from having to face medical appointments with no available interpreter to being excluded from important decisions about your own life, he says.

Mar 12, 2025 | bbc.com | Shola Lee

I can't justify my teenage shoplifting, says Stacey DooleyBBC/Little Dooley/Daniel HarrisonStacey Dooley spent time with retail workers who experience shoplifting first handAre we turning into a nation of shoplifters? That's the question Stacey Dooley asks in her latest documentary. 
The presenter reveals she herself shoplifted as a teenager, as part of the BBC programme on the rise in retail theft in the UK. 
Dooley explains she would steal eyeliner and mascara at around 13 or 14 years old.

Feb 22, 2025 | bbc.com | Shola Lee

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Gill Sayell was just 14 years old when she competed in Copa 71 - an unofficial women's football World CupFormer England and Liverpool goalkeeper David James has painted 'lost Lioness' Gill Sayell for the BBC's Extraordinary Portraits series. Here is her story. "I had to pretend to be a boy."Gill Sayell remembers her first football match clearly.