Ashley Taylor Dawson reveals the next steps in Darren Osborne’s depression storyline

Ashley Taylor Dawson says his ‘Hollyoaks’ character Darren Osborne will be "saved from himself" by Kyle Kelly.
Viewers of the Channel 4 soap have seen Darren battle depression in private since the storyline began in the Autumn, and Ashley has now revealed his character will finally open up to someone about his mental health struggle next week, when he is visited by Kyle (Adam Rickett).
Kyle pays Darren a visit after doesn’t turn up for his planned comedy night, despite having previously been optimistic about the idea, and Ashley has explained how Kyle will help Darren "reflect on his reality".
Ashley said: "Kyle knows how obsessed Darren has been with it, but then Mandy says that he isn’t coming because he’s feeling ill. I think Kyle recognises himself in Darren and thinks he might be depressed.
"[Kyle] feels that he can maybe help, and when he goes to see him, he realises that he was right."
The actor also explained Darren has been dealing with his depression by himself, but will begin to see "the light at the end of the tunnel" after realising he can confide in Kyle.
He added: "I think Kyle sort of saves Darren from himself at the right time. Kyle recognises depression and the symptoms and how Darren is heaving.
"Darren, up until this point, has just been dealing with it on his own and has been trying to snap himself out of it.
"He’s not actually doing very well, so when Kyle hits a nerve when mentioning the word ‘depression’ and explains to him why he’s feeling like that, I think it helps Darren reflect on his reality.
"It makes him realise that he’s finally got someone to confide in, and maybe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. So they become quite close because of that."
And Ashley also spoke about the sound techniques used in the show, which mean some parts of the scenes are muffled and the background is blurred from Darren’s perspective.
He said: "The way that some of the scenes have been shot is to try and get the viewer inside Darren’s head, so they can understand what it’s possibly like.
"It’s a sound and visual way of showing you that you’re not hearing or seeing everything around you. Everything is that intense that you don’t feel anything, and we are hoping to portray the numbness and Darren being completely out of it."