‘Hollyoaks’ has been left "deeply shocked and saddened" by claims of racism on the show, and producer Lime Pictures has asked all cast and staff "to share with us any further issues of concern or instances of unacceptable behaviour".
Lime Pictures have issued a statement insisting they have "a zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows", after Rachel Adedeji recently claimed she had experienced racism on the programme, and the producer has launched a series of next steps, including "undertaking an immediate and in-depth review of company and cast liaison across Lime".
The statement reads: "’Hollyoaks’ has been deeply shocked and saddened by issues that have been brought to our attention over the weekend.
"Lime Pictures strives to have zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows, but it is clear we have further work to do.
"We must stamp out implicit bias which means calling out racism wherever and whenever we see it. We will continue to add to our action plan as we continue and broaden our dialogue with cast and staff. We have already launched a series of next steps, set out below:
"We are reaching out to all of our cast and staff that have raised matters to make sure that we address individual issues and concerns;
"We have asked all cast, staff and freelancers to share with us any further issues of concern or instances of unacceptable behaviour that they have not previously raised;
"We are working with unconscious bias trainers to augment Lime’s all staff training to help address concerns raised by cast and staff;
"All BAME staff, freelancers and cast will be offered mentoring from Lime’s senior management;
We will build on our work towards making Lime as diverse and inclusive as possible across all aspects of recruitment and talent retention, on and off screen;
"Lime’s BAME writers and directors schemes will be reviewed and augmented to drive greater inclusivity within the industry;
"We are undertaking an immediate and in depth review of company and cast liaison across Lime;
"We will be producing a ‘Hollyoaks’ podcast where our black cast will share their experiences on racism to their audience.
"We are very conscious that we need to do more and are committed to making changes that we need to make. The onus is upon our company collectively and us all as individuals within our community to tackle racism, and it is a responsibility which all of us here at Hollyoaks are taking on fully."
Several stars have come out in support of Rachel following her claims, which included alleging she was once told "you’re all the same" by a make-up artist.
She wrote in a statement: "I am disappointed with Hollyoaks’ approach with showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement yesterday. Did black lives matter when I was told ‘you’re all the same’ via a make up artist you employed and remains in employment to this day? Did Black Lives Matter when a number of female black actors were forced to drastically change their hair, because if not, the viewers ‘would not be able to tell them apart’? Do Black Lives Matter when my fellow black castmates are deemed ‘angry, aggressive and too vocal?’ Did Black Lives Matter when referred to as ‘bl*****s’ by a senior member of the production team? Do Black Lives really matter to you if over the last four years at ‘Hollyoaks’, I have only worked with one black director? (sic)"
‘Hollyoaks’ has since announced they are "investigating", and insisted they have "zero tolerance on racism".
A post on their social media channels read: "Hollyoaks has zero tolerance on racism. We are taking Rachel Adedeji’s comments extremely seriously and are investigating."