Former BCA student makes TV debut as deaf and non-verbal actor

A former student at the Berkshire College of Agriculture has made his TV debut as a deaf and non-verbal actor.

Jude Powell stars alongside Adrian Scarborough and Vanessa Emme in the third series of The Chelsea Detective, now streaming on U, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Acorn TV.

The 21-year-old uses British Sign Language to communicate and portrays ‘Jake Green’ in the episode titled Myths and Legends.

Jude told the Advertiser that he had ‘many amazing experiences’ working as an actor on the show.

“When I communicate with hearing crew members on set, I have a talented and wonderful BSL interpreter who supports me,” he added.

“Sometimes, I can lip-read a little and understand what they are saying, and they always use gestures, which helps me to get moving quickly.

“One unforgettable moment was in July 2024, when the crew quickly sang 'Happy Birthday' to me using sign language on my birthday while we were working - a gesture that truly made my heart melt.”

Jude said it was ‘jaw-dropping’ to see the set in action with hundreds of crew members filming on location around Kensington, Chelsea, and Battersea.

His character works behind the bar at a Chelsea pub and, in his spare time, is a mudlark on the Thames foreshore with his friend, Stacey Ford, played by Emma McDonald.

The Creative Media graduate said he moved to the 'mainstream' BCA from a secondary deaf school in St. Albans in 2020 and was the ‘only deaf person in my classroom’ but received ‘excellent support’ during his time.

Originally from Lewisham and raised in High Wycombe, Jude had initially ‘abandoned his passion for acting’ in favour of filmmaking when he was 12 years old.

His school produced and submitted a short film to the Into Film Awards, which allowed them to walk the red carpet at the Odeon Leicester Square in 2017 and meet Daniel Craig and Eddie Redmayne.

Jude joined Deafinitely Youth Theatre shortly after, undertook a BSL Acting Intensive course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama last year and recently joined the National Youth Theatre.

“After securing the role of Jake Green in The Chelsea Detective, I became even more eager to continue acting,” he said.

“When [I’m] in front of the lens, I feel a bit pressured because I’m working on a very professional TV set, in a new environment, and I only have a few minutes to quickly meet the hearing actors before filming starts.

“I have been studying acting in London, but it’s a very different experience compared to studying and working as a professional actor.

“I’m grateful for having studied acting, and if it weren’t for that, my story would have been different.

“I’ve come to realise that it doesn’t matter if your career ends up in a different field than what you originally studied — like mine, which started with a media course — what’s important is using the experience you gained from it.”

Jude will soon mark his Netflix debut having landed a role in a new TV series which is currently in the pipeline.