Stephanie Beacham

Film and TV actress Stephanie Beacham was born completely deaf in one ear and with some hearing loss in the other. She now has a 40 percent hearing loss. Studying drama at RADA, Stephanie didn't tell anyone that she was deaf when she first started; "I went there on a scholarship and, at the end of the first year I came top in everything. Then I told RADA I was deaf and I asked them to send me to a specialist. I made sure they knew I was worth it."

Home cinema – Clearly better

Sitting in the cinema you feel like you're in the middle of all the action due to the digital sound processing and speakers. Home cinema systems are designed to do the same. We tested the latest home cinema technology to find out if it will help you enjoy TV and movies even more.

Product test: Staying alert to home sounds

Using a multi-alerting system is one way to make sure that you are alerted to the important sounds in your home such as the doorbell, a smoke alarm or a baby crying. There are many different types of multi-alert systems but they all work in a similar way; by picking up sounds from around the home and sending a coded radio signal to a lightweight, wearable vibrating pager or a portable flashing light receiver. We put four systems to the test comparing installation and ease of use.