Channel 4’s Hollyoaks has joined forces with charity Causeway on a new short-form documentary called Groomed and Exploited. The doc, which is available on Hollyoaks’ social channels, sees Hollyoaks actors Isabelle Smith, Tamara Wall and Anya Lawrence talk with real-life survivors of criminal and sexual exploitation.
The connection came about because of a recent Hollyoaks storyline which has explored criminal and sexual exploitation with the show’s younger cast members. Causeway advised on the storyline and is represented in the new social video doc.
The documentary, filmed on the Hollyoaks set, speaks to people including Melanie, who has lived experience with sexual exploitation. She talks to Smith about how her difficult upbringing contributed to her being vulnerable to being exploited.
Melanie’s story is intertwined with clips of the Hollyoaks storyline, to show the parallels between the two. She stated: “Growing up in a dysfunctional home I witnessed a lot of violence… this led to my behaviour being very dysfunctional, getting into the wrong crowds of people, taking drugs and alcohol at a very young age…”
Smith and Lawrence also visit a group of 16 to 18-year-olds at Liverpool-based college, LIPA, to discuss the importance of knowing how to spot the signs of exploitation. In addition, LIPA students watch clips from the Hollyoaks storyline and discuss the importance of highlighting the different perspectives of child exploitation.
Causeway representatives Iona and Chad discuss their aims to educate people on the signs of child exploitation. Chad stated: “The more people who are able to spot the signs, the more people we prevent from being exploited in the future.”
