Hollyoaks storyline boosts abuse charity

The Hollyoaks storyline shows father Ste Hay being physically abused by his son Lucas

A charity that supports parents who are abused by their children has said it has seen a big surge in interest after working with Hollyoaks on a recent storyline.

The Channel Four soap approached Parental Education Growth Support (Pegs) in Shrewsbury for advice before broadcasting the scenes, which involve a father being abused by his son.

Michelle John, the founder of the charity, said more than 100 people got in touch after the first episode of the storyline, to seek help.

She said the soap had "done a really, really good job at portraying the reality of what so many parents experience".

Pegs offers support for families suffering from child-to-parent abuse, as well as workshops and training for professionals.

Ms John said the makers of Hollyoaks had reached out, asking for advice on how to portray the issue, and her staff had met writers, actors and other members of the production team.

She was full of praise for them and said: "They have really wanted to understand what child-to-parent abuse is so they can show the reality on screen."

The Hollyoaks storyline follows the changing relationship between Lucas Hay and his father Ste, which turns into an abusive one.

Recently, viewers have seen Lucas attack his father and then lie about it, claiming he was being assaulted by Ste.

Ms John said it had raised awareness and added: "Since then we are consistently seeing people say we found you because of Hollyoaks."

Some of the calls, she said, had been from friends, family and neighbours who were asking for help in broaching the subject.

The Hollyoaks storyline has further to run and Ms John said it was good to shine a light on a subject which needs addressing.

She said: "That's the way we create change, by awareness, by starting conversations."