Hollyoaks and Beat work together to ‘bash’ stereotypes

Lucy – who is also the Executive Producer on the show – explained that these storylines are always driven by character and “what would they do next in the world as it is today”.

She said their preferred method is to speak to charities very early in the development process to make sure the storyline will actually work. The show’s research team will then be able to “establish if it is something that we could or should be doing.”

In some cases the decision is made that the plotline would be too triggering for the audience or cause too many compliance problems. But even scenes that are potentially harmful can be brought to life if carefully managed, as Martha Williams explained.

Another key factor of charities and production companies working together is to provide nuance to storylines that otherwise risk becoming oversimplified.

Martha highlights Hollyoaks’ decision to make the eating disorder part of an Asian, male character’s storyline as a great example of this.

Lucy said one important way to make sure that stories avoid stereotypes is by speaking to people with lived experience of the issue being depicted.

‘Often charities are very good at introducing you to people who in the right environment feel comfortable enough to share their stories so we can make sure that we aren’t creating the stereotypes that we all know about but we’re finding the nuance, and the nuances that are particular to that character,’ she said.

‘Hopefully over a period time you build up a level of trust with charities, so they come to trust you as well.’