Yahoo News Coronation Street's James Craven discusses response to Aaron and Amy story
Note: This story discusses topics including rape and sexual assault.
Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street star James Craven has opened up about the response to the Aaron Sandford and Amy Barlow storyline.
Recent scenes on the soap saw Amy experience a horrific ordeal on a night out when Aaron raped her, with new scenes set to see the pair come face to face again as Amy turns to drink and is rushed to hospital.
Speaking about the hard-hitting storyline, James – who plays Aaron – admitted that he has struggled a bit, especially in having to view things from his character's perspective.
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"It was always clear to me that what he's done is wrong," he said. "But I had to try and think about everything from his point of view, and he just doesn't think he's done anything wrong. The reason that he reacts and defends himself in the way that he does is because he truly believes he's innocent.
"It's quite a difficult thing when he's outwardly defending himself and you know that he shouldn't be defending himself. As an actor you have to try and find a way to rationalise why he does what he does because he's not an evil character."
The actor explained that the reaction to the storyline has been "really varied", though the fact that conversations have been taking place is "great".
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"Some people have come at it from a similar point of view to Aaron, and obviously while it's wrong, they understand that he didn't know what he was doing, it was potentially a lack of education and he's got himself in this awful situation and it's had terrible, terrible consequences," James admitted. "It is a story about his journey to realising that and accepting that.
"Whereas other people have viewed it as rather than him trying to defend himself that he's gaslighting Amy into believing that he's done nothing wrong. That was never the way that I thought about it but it's really interesting to see how other people have viewed it."
The star said it was "so important" that the storyline has sparked conversations about the importance of consent, noting: "It's such an important thing to tackle, especially in young people.
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"Not only is it opening up conversations about consent, about what is right and wrong, but it is also important to reassure people if they have been through something like this that they shouldn't be made to feel like it's okay.
"So if anyone of any gender has experienced sexual abuse or something of this nature, it's important to let them know that there is stuff that they can do about it, and it's never acceptable for something like this to happen. I think that's the main thing and it's so great to get people talking about it because the fact that they are shows how relevant it is and how important it is."
James also revealed that Aaron has "a very long way" to go on his journey: "I think that for me that's what this story was always about, a good person was always kind, loyal and caring, doing something terrible that has terrible consequences that affect his closest friends. It's something that could potentially ruin his life and it's about his journey to accepting that and coming to terms with that."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Coronation Street has been working with the Schools Consent Project on Amy's storyline.
If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, who work towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
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