I agreed to sign for Leeds United when I was 15 years old. I studied for my GCSEs at home and then moved over to Leeds in the summer of 2000. I was into my third season when I was in a car crash in the summer of 2002. I have been in been in a wheelchair ever since.
I was in hospital for three months and started playing basketball the following year. I now play for the Knights and have played for Ireland in 2 European Championship Finals. At the start of 2009, my basketball club received an e-mail stating Channel Four were looking for a wheelchair user to star in a new groundbreaking show named Cast Offs. I thought ‘well I have nothing to lose’ so got in touch with them – two auditions later I was offered the part! We filmed for 7 weeks and I loved every second of it; I have since landed a role on “Doctors” and started filming early January. I am currently trying out for the GB men’s basketball team. Enough time will have passed since I played for Ireland, so I could be eligible to play for GB in the Paralympics in 2012. That’s my life up until now but there will be more to come… believe me!
Peter Mitchell