Hollyoaks spoilers: Show to air special disability awareness episode with documentary

(Picture: Lime Pictures)

Hollyoaks will make history on Monday when a special disability awareness episode is aired alongside a documentary.

The 15 minute documentary will air ahead of the episode and will highlight the importance of diversity in television before the show celebrates the diversity within the soap when it airs on E4 at 7pm.

Executive Producer Bryan Kirkwood said: ‘At Hollyoaks we really like to celebrate diversity, I grew up in a house that wasn’t very well represented on TV at the time and I really like the idea that there are generations of people, from all walks of life, who can grow up watching themselves be represented on Hollyoaks.’

The documentary will hear from the cast, their parents and crew members all with disabilities and additional needs. The special episode will air immediately after.

In the episode, Nancy (Jessica Fox) organises a disability awareness day at The Bean to celebrate diversity in the village along with a concert. Kyle (Adam Rickett) and Darren (Ashley Taylor Dawson) will share a poignant conversation which will have a huge impact on both of them.

(Picture: Lime Pictures)

The episode will follow Mandy (Sarah Jayne Dunne) around the village as she faces some difficult decisions about her unborn baby. Along the way she bumps into characters with disabilities or additional needs and chats to them, and the encounters will have a profound effect on her and the decisions she has to make over her unborn baby.

She bumps into Brooke who’s been left upset over cruel comments about her autism, and the two bond as they talk about being different. ‘It was a really lovely scene to film with Talia [Grant],’ actress Sarah Jayne said.

She arrives at the concert and sees Oscar, who has a hearing impairment, andall the interactions help her see that though her child will have a disability, they won’t have to be treated any differently.

‘It’s a really eye-opening episode, and it was a real privilege to be a part of,’ Sarah Jayne said.

Speaking of her agonising decision over an operation that could alleviate her baby’s symptoms but also put both their lives at risk, Sarah said: ‘Mandy wants the operation. I think she feels it’s the best option for their unborn child, to minimise the symptoms and the effects of spina bifida.

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‘She knows it’s a massive risk and she’s still unsure about it, but in her heart of hearts, she believes she’s doing the right thing for the baby.’

Sarah Jayne added that the episode is of huge significance as it draws awareness to the diversity both in the show and in real life in the hope it will get viewers thinking.

‘The celebration of diversity is super important, and our show is great at raising awareness,’ she said. ‘You don’t realise how many diverse characters the show has, and I think that’s a credit to itself. There is a real sense of community in Hollyoaks.’

Sarah has been working with a charity called Shine who help people and their families cope with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. In the episode, Mandy wears a yellow jumper, the colour of the charity. She also worked closely with three mums and their children affected by the condition.

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