2 hours ago
1
It may not be the first TV programme to describe itself as being “more than just a dating show”, but Hold My Hand is undoubtedly the first to focus exclusively on British Sign Language.
“We’ve been waiting to get a show of our own for such a long time,” says Heroda Berhane, one half of the deaf identical twin presenting duo, Hermon and Heroda. “People have never seen our culture, our identity, the way we discuss the things. So it’s a dating show, yes, but it’s not just about dating; it’s also revealing our identity and our culture, and that has never been seen before.”
The twins – who have more than 125,000 followers on their shared Instagram lifestyle account Being Her – are hoping to bust what Hermon calls “a lot of myths around deaf people being unable to do things because they think that we can’t communicate the same”. Their collaboration with the dating app Tinder in 2023 led with the headline statistic that 71% of 18- to 24-year-olds would not feel confident dating someone who uses BSL as their primary form of communication. According to the British Deaf Association, the UK has 150,000 BSL signers, of which 87,000 are deaf themselves.
“It’s just another language,” Heroda explains. “It’s another world that you have to be curious about and lean into, learn, be open and don’t be afraid.”
“Especially for hearing people,” says Hermon. “They speak a lot, and they sort of hide behind their language and their words. But for deaf people, we sort of peel off those layers to express ourselves in a different way and really show our emotions, rather than hiding behind words, so we become a bit more vulnerable.”
All contestants on LumoTV’s Hold My Hand are either deaf, or children of deaf adults (Codas) who would have used British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate with their parents. The size of the deaf signing community also meant Hermon and Heroda were more likely to know the contestants sitting in front of them.
“It’s a very small circle,” says Heroda, “so we had to just pretend that we didn’t know the people and carry on. There’s a little bit of acting as well in that.”
Fortunately, the pair are both actors in their own right, but they admit they had to stop themselves from joining the fun too.
“There were so many things we wanted to say, because of our deaf identity and culture,” says Heroda. “We had to be careful.”
There’s plenty to discuss in each of the three episodes in the first series, which also boasts a dedicated instalment with LGBT+ singletons. A “this or that” round has contestants opening up on whether they prefer morning or evening sex, while another has the singletons matching lube and lingerie to their rightful owners.
“Us deaf people, we’re very open, very blunt, very straight to the point, very honest,” says Heroda, “and I want [hearing people] to see that.”
She adds: “I really hope that hearing people realise, ‘Gosh, deaf people, we’re the same. There’s no difference. We’re all the same. We’re human.’ What’s most important is the humanistic side. There is love, there is sex, there is joy, there is flirtation, and there’s vulnerability as well. We’re exactly the same.”
Hermon agrees: “We’re similar, but what is difficult, of course, is communication barriers. We have to learn from one other. You speak the language that I cannot hear, and I speak a language that you don’t understand.”
“It’s more party-like – lively – the way we communicate,” concludes Heroda. “There’s more depth to the communication, rather than just hiding with words and relying on mood or facial expression. So actually, I just want them to see that there’s more authenticity, maybe.”
While the series lands just in time for Valentine’s Day on the dedicated – but arguably lesser-known – streaming channel LumoTV, producers believe a strong and fun dating show format celebrating deaf identity has “huge mainstream potential”.
“For too long, the use of British Sign Language has been treated as an afterthought in mainstream entertainment and reality TV,” says LumoTV CEO Camilla Arnold. “With this series, we’re flipping that on its head.”
