Rishi Nair: Hollyoaks’ far-right plot should be hard watch

Rishi Nair says Hollyoaks’ far-right extremism plot should be a "hard watch" because racism is "really uncomfortable".
The 28-year-old actor – who plays Sami Maalik – admits the Channel 4 soap is going in the right direction if it’s having such a reaction to the hard-hitting storyline, because "you can never paint [racism] in a good light".
He said: "When we had that first special episode that aired, a lot of people were saying, ‘Hollyoaks shouldn’t be doing this. It’s so difficult to watch.’
"Essentially that’s what we wanted. We wanted it to be a hard watch because racism is hard, you can never paint that in a good light.
"We wanted people to feel uncomfortable watching it, because if you do see racism, it is really uncomfortable."
For months now, ‘Oaks’ fans have seen Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) be groomed and radicalised by a far-right group, and the storyline will take a sinister twist in a series of episodes this week.
Harvey Virdi – who plays Misbah Maalik – is glad the plot is raising awareness for people of all ages.
She is quoted by Digital Spy as saying: "I’ve had so many people, ranging from young people to grannies, come up and say, ‘Oh it’s really tough watching that at the moment. It’s really hard’.
"It’s wonderful to have that range of people all talking about the same subject and bringing their perspective to it."
Harvey previously admitted she didn’t realise just how prevalent far-right groups were until she started researching the storyline.
She said: "I think we’re doing it because it’s something that needs to be talked about and I don’t think many people are aware of it – I know I wasn’t. I didn’t realise how prevalent it is.
"Finding out that these groups actively use social media to target vulnerable and lost people – and then try to influence the way they see the world – is actually quite scary. I think that’s why it’s really important for a show like Hollyoaks to try to raise that awareness.
"It’s a challenge because of the time we go out. We don’t air after the watershed. But it’s also exciting to explore something this serious in that 6.30pm timeslot, to make people aware."