‘Hollyoaks’ is to launch a podcast about racism.
Kelle Bryan – who plays Martine Deveraux on the Channel 4 soap – revealed the show’s social media went silent for 24 hours earlier this week following the death of George Floyd, who passed away after a police officer knelt on his neck while restraining him in the US.
His death has sparked numerous Black Lives Matter protests around the world, and the 45-year-old star said ‘Hollyoaks’ will be playing their part by releasing a podcast about how people can "tackle, face, and overcome" racism.
In a video posted on the soap’s Twitter account, she said: "As you may have noticed we here at ‘Hollyoaks’ have been silent for the last 24 hours across all of our social media platforms.
"And that’s in direct response to the horrendous atrocities that have taken place in the USA with the loss of George Floyd. Black lives really do matter.
"But don’t take our silence for inaction. We’ve been busy behind the scenes having lots of highly important conversations and we’ll be kick-starting with a podcast all about racism – how we tackle it, how we face it and, most importantly, how we overcome it.
"So stay tuned. Take care, stay safe."
It comes after ‘Hollyoaks’ aired a far-right extremism story last year.
Rishi Nair – who plays Sami Maalik – admitted he felt "really proud" of Hollyoaks’ hard-hitting radicalisation plot, because it helped school kids overcome "horrific" racist bullies.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I’ve had people message me who have suffered from horrific racist abuse.
"I’ve had messages from kids in school saying, ‘I’ve noticed this person wasn’t happy and now I realise they’re being picked on, and now I realise it was actually racism.’ And they’ve been able to do something about it.
"These stories you hear make the process worthwhile. If it changes one person’s life it was all worth it.
"For it to be the first time to be covered by a UK soap, I’m really proud to be a part of that."