Stephanie Davis needed counselling while filming her ‘Hollyoaks’ character’s sexual assault storyline.
The 26-year-old actress – who returned to the soap last year after overcoming alcohol issues – met up with the Rape and Sexual Abuse charity to discuss the plot, which has seen her character Sinead Shelby raped by evil husband Laurie Shelby (Kyle Pryor), and she found the meeting "hard".
Steph – who attended the conversation with her co-stars Kyle and Anna Passey (Sienna Blake) – said: "We all went into a big meeting and I think because of everything that I’ve been through, I found that day hard.
"They came in, I was there, and everyone who was working on the storyline was in the room.
"I don’t know if any of them had been through anything like that before, but I spoke to the charity afterwards and had a good chat with them.
"They were really good, and sensed how difficult I was find-ing it all.
"They asked if I needed counselling while filming it, and I said yes. It really helped me."
Steph also admitted she found it tricky not to take the storyline home with her, but is "really proud" she took the plot on.
She added to the Daily Star newspaper: "When you are filming a storyline like this it’s really hard to leave it at the front door like you’re supposed to.
"Especially when you’re at work all day, you spend more time being that character than you do yourself.
"It was a big test, but I’m really proud that I did."
Steph – who has two-year-old son Caben-Albi – has been recognised for her acting efforts since she returned to ‘Hollyoaks’ last year, after recently being nominated for Best Actress ahead of the upcoming British Soap Awards.
Speaking about the moment she found out about the nod, she recently said: "I couldn’t believe it. Bryan Kirkwood called me, and I was in work at the time.
"I went in the toilet and screamed the place down.
"I was made up, I couldn’t believe it.
"It took a few days for it to sink in."
Stephanie Davis needed counselling for Hollyoaks assault plot
