My social life as a wheelchair user
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Imagine being dressed up for a night out with friends and being thrown out of a bar because your wheelchair is considered a fire hazard. When 18-year-old Maddie Haining was ordered to leave a nightclub in the UK it prompted a wider discussion about disability and accessibility in different countries around the world. Four wheelchair users - Maddie in the UK, Brian Muchiri in Kenya, Nadia Leila Carelse South Africa and Haleigh Rosa in the US - share some of the obstacles they have encountered when trying to socialise. Their experiences range from drunks in bars grabbing their wheelchairs to people praying for them in public. Even a simple visit to the toilet can become a problem. “I’ve encountered issues, even in a restaurant that’s accessible, where the wheelchair accessible bathroom has been used as storage,” says Haleigh Rosa, from Florida, USA.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Shall we get cracking? |
| 0:08.7 | You've got a BBC podcast coming up. |
| 0:10.8 | These were immensely popular. |
| 0:13.0 | But if you also like looking back, |
| 0:14.7 | then the BBC has loads of history podcasts to offer. |
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| 0:20.7 | From epic events. It was the year 1666. Two personal stories. |
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| 0:38.4 | Hello, I'm James Reynolds. |
| 0:40.2 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:44.3 | In BBC conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences. |
| 0:49.0 | This time, we get a glimpse of what it's like to socialise when you're in a wheelchair. |
| 1:01.7 | Music at a glimpse of what it's like to socialise when you're in a wheelchair. Imagine how you'd feel on an evening out with friends in a nightclub when after only five minutes |
| 1:08.5 | you're asked in front of everyone there to leave. |
| 1:12.7 | This happened to 18-year-old Maddie recently in Manchester, here in the UK. |
| 1:17.7 | Her experience was captured on social media. |
| 1:20.5 | The club, which has since apologised, initially said it was because her wheelchair was a safety hazard. |
| 1:27.3 | It's all prompted a larger conversation about disability and accessibility. |
| 1:32.7 | We decided to hear then from four wheelchair users across the world about their experiences |
... |
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