Hollyoaks to air male sexual abuse storyline featuring Luke Morgan’s teenage son Ollie
The student will be groomed by his football coach as part of the dark new storyline.
Hollyoaks is set to air a dark new sexual abuse storyline.
The new storyline will see football coach Buster (Nathan Sussex) begin grooming teenage student Ollie Morgan (Aedan Duckworth), who made his first appearance on the show just two months ago as the son of Luke Morgan (Gary Lucy).
Luke became the first male British soap character to become a victim of rape in 2000, when he was brutally assaulted by the bullying Mark Gibbs (Colin Parry) during a special late night episode of the show that sparked national headlines.
The latest plot will unfold over the next few weeks as Ollie begins confiding in Buster about the struggles he’s had to face while adjusting to his new life in the Hollyoaks village.
The writers behind the storyline have been working with Survivors Manchester, who they had previously consulted with for John Paul McQueen’s rape storyline in 2014.
Aedan Duckworth, who plays Ollie, told Digital Spy that it was an honour to be given the “challenging storyline”.
He said: “To ensure I accurately depict Ollie’s situation, I have had guidance from Survivors Manchester, and support and advice from Gary Lucy during the filming process.
“I hope to continue to raise awareness around this subject and encourage those who may have found themselves in a similar situation, to reach out and seek the support they deserve.”
Duncan Craig, the founder of Survivors Manchester, said: “It is once again an absolute pleasure to be working with Hollyoaks on another hugely important storyline that is so topical and relevant.”
“Working with producers, researchers, scriptwriters and the cast, we have been able to develop a story that is rooted firmly in the present day and will show the intricacies of grooming and the difficulty in speaking out as a young male.”
He continued: “The team at Hollyoaks has again 100% committed to working with us to ensuring the male survivor sat at home watching the story will feel he is understood.
“As a survivor-led organisation, this is [an] important part of this work.”
The storyline will launch on April 16 on E4.
Hollyoaks airs on weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4.