‘Hollyoaks’ have teamed up with The Children’s Society to work on its county lines storyline next year.
The Channel 4 soap are hoping the hard-hitting plot, which will see characters Juliet (Niamh Blackshaw), Charlie (Charlie Behan), Sid (Billy Price) and Ella (Erin Palmer) groomed to carry out criminal activity, will show parents and youngsters "the signs" of what to look out for if their kids or someone they know is being affected in real life.
County lines is a term used when drug gangs from big cities expand their operations to smaller towns, exploiting children and vulnerable people.
Bryan Kirkwood, Hollyoaks’ Executive Producer, said: "’Hollyoaks’ has a good model for telling real-life stories that are happening to our audience right now.
"We have a strong and award-winning formula of how to talk to young people without them feeling lectured.
"A recent statistic found that 40 per cent of people who watch ‘Hollyoaks’ watch it in a traditional way, at home with family or friends. So, we are in a very strong position to start vital conversations in the living room.
"County lines child exploitation is terrifying and every month the writers come in telling stories of their children’s schools on lock-down, or weapons being confiscated. It’s in the news and in our court systems.
"We want young people and parents to know the signs and what to do if you think it’s happening to your child or someone they know."
The Children’s Society have applauded Hollyoaks’ decision to highlight the issues of county lines in one of its huge storylines for 2020.
Mark Russell, chief executive of the charity, said: "Day in day out we see the devastating impact that criminal exploitation and grooming of children through county lines operations has upon young lives.
"These criminals groom children into trafficking their drugs for them with promises of money, friendship and status. Once they’ve been drawn in, these children are controlled using threats, violence and sexual abuse, leaving them traumatised and living in fear.
"This can happen to any child in any community and we applaud the bold move by Hollyoaks to shine a light upon this serious issue by bringing it to a fictional suburb of what is seen as a relatively affluent city.
"We welcome the opportunity to offer advice to the writers and cast to help ensure the story is portrayed in a way which shows the terrifying reality of exploitation."
"It’s really important to raise awareness of these very real dangers among children, parents and the wider public, and support everyone in spotting the signs of child criminal exploitation."
The soap’s ambitious flash forward episode, which will air on December 27th on E4, will zoom 12 months into the future to New Year’s Eve 2020 and show how life has changed dramatically for the teens in Hollyoaks village who have been affected by county lines.
Hollyoaks team up with The Children’s Society for county lines plot
