“I’m able to see, in my own way, the TARDIS, Daleks, Cybermen and so much more. It’s something money can’t buy” – Louis story

My name is Louis Moorhouse. I’m a 22-year-old music production graduate and if there is one thing you should know about me, it’s that I am a HUGE fan of Doctor Who. I also happen to be completely blind.

I lost my sight at 18 months old due to Neuroblastoma, a type of children’s cancer. Despite this, my parents were always keen for me to have exactly the same opportunities as my sighted peers, and so was I.

My parents first discovered Living Paintings when I was around two years old, as a way of giving me access to the visual world of picture books and learning. At 22, I’m still using their service now – which is a testament to just how much this awesome charity benefits my life. I very much believe that while people like me who are blind or visually impaired are, unfortunately, physically different in that we can’t see, beyond this we are no different at all and should be given access to everything that sighted people have access to.

My parents first discovered Living Paintings when I was around two years old, as a way of giving me access to the visual world of picture books and learning. At 22, I’m still using their service now – which is a testament to just how much this awesome charity benefits my life. I very much believe that while people like me who are blind or visually impaired are, unfortunately, physically different in that we can’t see, beyond this we are no different at all and should be given access to everything that sighted people have access to.

Since I was a toddler, one of the many things Living Paintings has done for me is bringing characters to life; whether it be Postman Pat and  Thomas the Tank Engine earlier on, to Luke Skywalker or even the Mona Lisa as I grew up. I’ve had the chance to meet them, understand what they look like, and appreciate them just as much as my sighted friends. But there was something missing.

I’ve been a Doctor Who fan for as long as I can remember – but I had never fully met the weird and wonderful characters, monsters, aliens and devices from the show. One day, in early 2021, an idea came to me as I was walking my guide dog, Kizzy. What if Living Paintings could create something that would help me, and so many other blind and visually impaired Doctor Who fans, experience the visual extravaganza of the Whoniverse?

After a little further planning, I contacted them to pitch my idea for a Doctor Who Touch-To-See collection. They thought it was a great idea. But they are a small charity and they simply didn’t have the funds to create something that would do the fans justice. I wasn’t going to let that stand in the way – so I decided to launch a campaign to raise the money they needed.

What followed was an absolute whirlwind. The campaign caught the imagination of fellow Doctor Who fans and quickly spread. I appeared on BBC News, Doctor Who cast and crew were sharing the campaign further and raising more awareness of it, various newspapers were running stories about it, and Living Paintings even fixed up video calls with some heroes of mine, Tom Baker and Nick Briggs – the voice of the Daleks himself! It was the maddest eight weeks of my life, in the best way.

The campaign was being shared around the world by fans and stars of the show and, before I knew it, we’d raised almost £25,000.

It feels amazing that these are now being released, that this idea is now a real, tangible thing that any blind or visually impaired Doctor Who fan can access. Throughout, I’ve supported Living Paintings in the production, having input on the scripts and the tactile pictures – working alongside them to make sure that they provide the best experience for other blind and visually impaired fans like me. The end result has blown me away. I’m able to see, in my own way, the TARDIS, the Daleks, the Cybermen and so much more. It’s something money can’t buy.

I’d like to say a big thank you to everybody who donated to the campaign – particularly the incredible Doctor Who community who really championed it and supported me.

If I could sum up what the most important part of this experience has been, I would ask a sighted person to imagine this…

Close your eyes and imagine you can never open them again. This is how it is for me, and so many others, when I want to read a book or watch my favourite TV show. How are you going to do that? How important is that to you? As a sighted person, how would that make you feel? Then imagine Living Paintings comes along and suddenly, you gain a rich understanding of what all of those characters from books and TV look like. That’s what Living Paintings do, is to put everyone on a level playing field when it comes to accessing these pictures.

Louis meets ‘voice of the Daleks’ Nick Briggs

Louis meets his hero, Tom Baker