Making great British TV drama is an uphill struggle. Yet Code of Silence is a reminder that, if there’s a smart idea on the table, winning a commission can be a doddle. After the pitch, it took just eight hours for ITV to come back to Mammoth Screen with a “yes”.

“Polly Hill [Head of Drama] and Kevin Lygo [Managing Director, Media and Entertainment] saw immediately that this was a new and arresting way to tell a contemporary story,” says Damien Timmer, Chief Creative Officer and founder of Mammoth Screen, a subsidiary of ITV Studios.

ITV Global, the distribution arm, came on board very quickly, followed by BritBox, which bought the US rights. “In a world where it’s sometimes hard to put things together, this was pretty effortless,” says Timmer.

The series, airing this month, follows Alison Brooks (Rose Ayling-Ellis), a deaf police canteen worker whose ability to lip-read catches the attention of two detectives (Charlotte Ritchie and Andrew Buchan) investigating a criminal gang. When Brooks meets the gang’s newest recruit, Liam (Kieron Moore), she falls deep into a high-stakes world of risk and duplicity.

Partially deaf writer Catherine Moulton had the idea when she went to her first lip-reading classes in 2021 and discovered that only around 30% of speech is lip-readable. “I learned that you’re guessing the rest based on context, what you know about the person and the setting you’re in,” she says. “That’s exactly what a detective does. It felt like a natural fit ­that there should be a show about a lip-reader who works with the police.”

It certainly felt so for Mammoth Screen, whose previous productions include The Tower, Noughts + Crosses and Endeavour. “We saw potential to tell a mainstream thriller, but with a unique difference. That can intrigue audiences – hearing or non-hearing – around the world,” says Timmer.

TV shows with deaf characters have been scarce. Back in 2006, BBC drama Soundproof used a blend of British Sign Language (BSL) and speech, with partially deaf actor Joseph Mawle learning BSL for the role. In 2010, BBC One’s The Silence told the story of a deaf girl who witnesses a murder. Deaf creatives such as Charlie Swinbourne – the writer/director who created storylines in EastEnders (starring Ayling-Ellis) and Casualty (starring Gabriella Leon) – have helped integrate deaf stories into mainstream TV.

Now, in 2025, things have moved up a gear, with BBC drama Reunion – also featuring Ayling-Ellis along with Matthew Gurney as a newly released deaf prisoner – winning acclaim.

Moulton says there is “a big prize to be had” for broadcasters who embrace broader stories. “Around a quarter of people in the UK have some form of either deafness or hearing disability. That means you're missing out on stories that could appeal to at least a quarter of your audience,” she says.

Ayling-Ellis agrees: “The amount of [viewing] choice we have means that all broadcasters are looking for something that has never been done before, especially within drama. I hope this is the first wave of many new stories.”

Ayling-Ellis signed up to front Code of Silence with only an outline script, and relished playing the savvy woman who is unfulfilled by her job in the police canteen. “When she is asked to work with the police – even though lip-reading isn’t exactly what the police think it is – she will do anything to prove she’s more capable than society believes. That’s why I was excited to play Alison.”

Liam, the gang member, sees her frustration, leading to a dynamic that blurs the line between Alison’s professional and personal lives which then unravels over six tense episodes.

Filming took place late last year in Hertfordshire, around Hemel Hempstead and Watford; luckily, Watford police station had just moved to new premises, leaving an empty office.

Bryony Arnold, Co-Director of Deaf & Disabled People in TV, was brought in as a producer. Timmer says: “She has an existing relationship with Catherine Moulton, and we felt the show would really benefit from the wisdom and experience of one of the industry’s leading accessibility advocates.”

With Arnold’s help, the production recruited a wealth of deaf, disabled and neurodiverse (DDN) crew to reflect the show’s themes. Only 7% of television employees are deaf or disabled, according to Ofcom, so she put out a call on social media, which attracted close to a thousand applications. Each head of department welcomed at least one member from the DDN community.

Pauline Stone, Accessibility Super­visor for the production, along with ITV’s in-house Accessibility Coordinator, ensured that the needs of all the production team were catered for – a move that amounted to around 5% of the production budget. Modifications included a photo list of the cast and crew (“which makes it easier for everyone who has to remember a hundred names as quickly as possible,” says Arnold), an easy-read call sheet, a BSL interpreter on set every day and a coach for a neurodiverse crew member to ensure they fully understood the day’s schedule.

All parts of the production were wheelchair accessible. “One brilliant thing they did was make the dining bus fully accessible by adding ramps and taking out chairs underneath tables,” says Arnold. “It was the first time in my career that I’ve been able to get on a dining bus.” Ayling-Ellis says: “The accommodations made it inclusive. It didn’t feel like a big deal and it didn’t stand out.”

Code of Silence also acted as a pilot for a fast-tracked, freelancer-friendly version of the Access to Work scheme, a government employment initiative to remove barriers for disabled people. Currently, the wait time for applications to the scheme is 35 weeks. Arnold says: “The problem with our industry is that, the moment you get a call, you need to start next week.

“So Pauline and a team streamlined the assessment and did the application on the person’s behalf, and then provided support with accessibility requirements until the application could be signed off. It was quite a stressful process, but I’m interested to know what the findings are.”

The hope is that, in front of and behind the camera, this production has set a new standard for the industry. Ayling-Ellis and her colleagues trust that it will, at least, reduce the hesitancy associated with DDN conversations. She concludes: “It’s important to not be scared of making mistakes or feel like you’re going to offend anyone. You need to talk to us to learn and work together.”

Code of Silence is on ITV1 and ITVX from 18 May.