Hayley said there is a “stigma” about partially sighted or blind people working as actors. “I think it is about ignorance because unless you have had that experience yourself, you don’t know what it is like,” she said. “It’s not something you can see unless someone comes towards you with a white stick and people have to make other allowances.” The actress said her father remained “terribly independent” despite the issues with his vision. “He carried on working for a very long time and people didn’t know that he was having problems,” she said. “He was so very lucky because his sight diminished quite slowly, which gave him the opportunity to adapt.”