Yahoo News Hollyoaks star reveals big fallout from Lily's self-harm
Warning: This article contains discussion of self-harm, which some readers may find upsetting.
Hollyoaks star Lauren McQueen has spoken in-depth about Lily Drinkwell's self-harm storyline, which begins on screen in emotional scenes tonight (July 28).
Lily will resort to self-harm after she's humiliated by her love rival Yasmine Maalik in Friday night's E4 first-look episode, marking the beginning of a tough journey ahead for the troubled teenager and her family.
Lily and Yasmine both have their sights set on bad boy Prince McQueen, but when he decides that Lily is the girl for him, Yasmine gets her revenge by pouring a box of Alfie Nightingale's crickets down her top.
As Lily frantically tries to get the pesky creatures off her, she pulls off her jumper and accidentally exposes her scar to everyone, leaving her in turmoil after so many weeks of trying to keep it hidden.
Speaking about the upcoming scenes, Lauren revealed: "Lily is mortified and humiliated. After weeks of self-confidence issues and struggling to come to terms with her permanent scar, she's been worried about being judged for having insecurities. She's fighting to become the carefree girl she used to be.
"The viewers will see her instant shock and regret when she self-harms in order to gain control of her emotions and silence the chaos in her head. With everything that's been going on in the Hutchinson/Drinkwell household, she's ashamed and embarrassed to tell anyone about it, even when Diane finds her bloody towel."
Revealing how she's handling her biggest story so far, the young actress continued: "The first day of filming the scenes was very intense. I've never had to deal with a storyline as serious and important before, so I really wanted to do it justice.
"It was my first time working with the director Karen Kelly so I was a little nervous, but she was really supportive and before each scene we really thought about how we were going to play it, and what Lily was going through at that moment.
"The challenging scenes have allowed me to experiment with emotional depth and have given me more confidence on set, especially with the help from the amazing directors and crew. I've been learning as an actress every day.
"Before filming, Ross Adams (Scott), Alex Fletcher (Diane), Nick Pickard (Tony) and I had the chance to work with the Hollyoaks writers, storyliners, researchers and two charities – Samaritans and Mind.
"It was really helpful to do this as a family, because not only will the storyline affect Lily, it will eventually affect everyone. We got to ask questions, which related to our upcoming scenes and got to listen to personal accounts from a woman who had experienced self-harm.
"For my own research, I also looked further into what the triggers might be and why people turn to self-harm, which I related to Lily and it helped me prepare for each scene.
"I wanted to do this to get a real insight into self-harm and it helped me get into Lily's mindset. Even though it was heartbreaking to read, it made me more aware that self-harm is happening every day. It made me determined to get it right, to bring awareness and encourage young people to seek help by watching the storyline."
Lily's storyline is part of a wider mental health campaign that Hollyoaks has been running this year, titled #DontFilterFeelings. Lily's cousin Scott was also part of the campaign earlier this year when he tried to take his own life in devastating scenes.
Lauren added: "It's so important that Hollyoaks portrays this storyline because a lot of young people who self-harm are too ashamed to tell anyone, and scared of what people might think of them. We want to encourage anyone who is self-harming or knows someone who is, to seek help and realise that they don't have to suffer alone.
"We are definitely going to continue to see Lily's vulnerable side as her self-harm starts to become addictive. Although she thinks the few seconds of harming herself helps to take her pain and traumatic memories away, she instantly feels annoyed and ashamed again.
"She starts to put on a brave face like Scott throughout his suicide storyline, and hides her cuts from her family and Prince, with a few lies along the way. However, she is desperate to put a stop to it all."
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7pm on E4.
Readers affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans free on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk).
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