Yahoo News Hollyoaks star reveals rape story for Holly and Nick
Hollyoaks airs dark scenes in Friday's E4 first look episode (May 26) as Nick Savage strikes again by raping his girlfriend Holly Cunningham.
The disturbing storyline begins when Nick's graduation celebrations are disrupted by Zack Loveday letting slip about how he's recently kissed Holly, sending Nick into a jealous fury.
Nick sets out to humiliate Holly by confronting her at his graduation party, despite the fact that he's recently had his own secret affair with Tegan Lomax.
Once the couple are back at home, Nick suggests to Holly that they should put the past behind them and urges her to get things back on track by sleeping with him.
In an eerie reminder of Nick's previous encounter with Ellie Nightingale, Nick then forces himself on Holly when she hasn't given her consent.
Here, Amanda Clapham – who plays Holly – discusses the disturbing storyline development and how her character reacts in the aftermath.
Can you tell us how this storyline begins?
"It begins with an episode where we will follow Holly throughout her whole day. This day is filled with ups and downs for Holly and Nick as a couple and finally a huge argument erupts that nearly breaks them up for good.
"Holly decides to stay with Nick, but his way of making things up to her is not what she had in mind. They sleep together, but against Holly's will.
"Afterwards, Holly is confused and upset and doesn't know how to process what has happened. She keeps going over and over what has happened in her head."
Does Holly turn to anyone for help?
"She lashes out at Ellie, blaming her, but eventually she gets upset and tells her what happened. Ellie tries to support her and help her process it as much as she can. Ellie encourages her to speak to the police, but Holly is not ready for that as she still doesn't quite understand what has happened. With Ellie's help she ends up telling her mum, which also helps her come to terms with it."
How is Holly feeling as things progress further?
"Holly is just in a dilemma, really. She doesn't know whether to take Ellie's advice and risk being in the same situation as Ellie where no-one believes her, or just to keep quiet."
Did you have any guidance from charities before starting work on the storyline?
"We have had support from Rape Crisis and The Mix charities. I had meetings with our research team and spoke to Rape Crisis about people they have worked with in a similar situation to Holly. One thing that really stood out to me when speaking to them was that when someone is in a relationship where their partner has been accused of rape, or it is happening within the relationship, it is the last thing you want to believe that your partner is capable of.
"When you know all of the good aspects of their personality and spend all of your time with them, it doesn't matter what anybody says, you struggle to believe that they are capable of rape. Holly is in denial and knows all the great things about Nick and doesn't want to think about the aspects of their relationship that she is unsure of.
"The Mix have also been really helpful. They have posted tweets with really useful links for viewers to use where they can talk to someone if they are experiencing anything they have seen in this storyline. They have both been a great support and we would not be able to tell this important story without them."
How do you feel about Hollyoaks portraying the storyline?
"I think this storyline is really important for Hollyoaks to portray because there will be many viewers that have found themselves in similar situations and not known what to think or who to turn to. It is incredibly important for us to explain what consent is and I think this story does that in such an identifiable way.
"Holly and Nick are a young couple and some people, before watching this, may struggle to understand how rape can happen within a relationship. I am hoping that as this storyline unfolds, this will become clearer. There will be viewers that don't understand or agree with Holly's response, but this is all the more reason to tell this story so we can keep talking about consent."
How have you found working with Ben Ryan Davies (Nick) and Sophie Porley (Ellie) on this storyline?
"Ben and Sophie have both been great to work with. They feel as passionately about the storyline as I do and have both worked really hard together, so that when it came to playing my part in the storyline, we all helped each other.
"We all get on really well and keep each other going when the story gets tough. Although it is necessary to tell the story with such truth, it can sometimes take you to a dark place. But having Sophie and Ben with me when working on these scenes, and I have to say Steph and David who play Cindy and Dirk too, it really did keep me going and helped me to remember the importance of why we are doing this."
How would you have described Holly and Nick's relationship before this happened?
"Holly and Nick's relationship has always been about the fun and the chasing but there's not a whole lot of security between them, especially for Holly. Nick enjoys flirting and getting Holly to have sex in public places and filming their sexual encounters.
"This is not what Holly is used to and she only goes along with it in fear of him thinking she is boring. It has never been plain sailing and the fact that their relationship takes a dark turn is not at all surprising."
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7pm on E4.
Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information 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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