Hollyoaks will air another heart-wrenching chapter to its ongoing abuse storyline, with Abe Fielding (Tyler Conti) claiming another victim.
Metro can exclusively reveal that Peri Lomax (Ruby O’Donnell) will be raped by serial attacker Abe while unconscious – and will then report him to the police.
Supported by Abe’s other targets Cleo McQueen (Nadine Mulkerrin) and Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter), Peri will tearfully open up about what Abe has done and then seek to bring him to justice.
Having done some digging and realising that the allegations against Abe must be true, Peri bravely calls him out and demands answers.
‘Peri confronts Abe about it and never thinks he would do what he does to her in the moment,’ actress Ruby told me when we sat down to talk about the tough storyline.
‘It’s really sad from Peri’s point of view. She’s confronted him, called him out on it, and then he does that when she’s unconscious, to claim the power back that Peri’s not letting him take.’
In a week of heavy storytelling – in which Ruby admits she spent most of the days filming in tears – Peri will be left reeling by the aftermath of what has happened.
She then breaks down and opens up to her family, after which Leela starts to realise that it has happened to her too, and Cleo also joins the two women as they unite.
Ruby explained: ‘When we were told about the storyline and how it was going to be all three of us abused by Abe in different ways we were pleased we would have some lovely scenes of them coming together and supporting each other, not fighting against each other – and we’ve really had them. There are some lovely scenes of us all together.
‘Abe such a bolshy, manipulating, strong character, – a male way bigger than all of them. I think with the three women coming out and telling their stories of abuse when they all realise what’s happened, they’re like, ‘”let’s not fight each other, let’s come together.”
‘I’m sure the audience are going to want justice for these three very loved characters. Already they’re screaming from the rooftops about Cleo and now Leela. They don’t even know what’s going to happen to Peri yet!
‘When it all comes out that he’s done it to Peri, the three women want to take him down. He’s a horrible character and he needs to be taken down a couple of pegs.’
It’s something that the show isn’t going to shy away from exploring the aftermath of, with Ruby assuring that there won’t be seen to be a quick fix for her alter-ego.
‘There’s a long road ahead for anyone that’s gone through a sexual assault or any abuse with a partner. They’re not all going to bounce back to normal straight away.
‘We need to show that these things can take a toll on your mental health and you’re not going to be OK straight away and you’re OK to sit with how you feel.
‘With the three women we wanted to show all of their different journeys. Obviously with Hollyoaks it moves so fast and with a quick pace, so the audience do have to buckle up for a bit of a ride. We wanted to show each of our characters’ journeys of healing.
‘They’re all going to be very different as the three women take different approaches to how they feel. We wanted to show there’s not a rulebook to how you should feel after it.’
Actor Tyler Conti added that Abe should definitely be wary of what the strength of the three women will lead to for him.
‘I think that will be the downfall – that he underestimates these women,’ he said. ‘And I think that’s a great story to tell, having this egotistical male maniac think he can do whatever he wants but he slips up because these women are intellectuals, they don’t fall at him, and he believes in his own grandiose intelligence and power and manipulative skills.’ And that’s going to be his downfall you know. ‘
Reflecting on how much a loss of control would damage his alter-ego, Tyler describes the intensity of getting into the mindset of an abuser who genuinely believes he is justified – confirming that Abe is of the mind that what he does to Peri can’t be rape as she is his wife.
‘Abe’s worst nightmare is control slipping through his fingers. As soon as the person who he thinks he’s got control of the most and the one person on his side starts questioning a little bit, it’sreal panic stations for Abe, and how else can he now take control?
‘I think he’s super calculated. One of the lines was, “What do you mean rape? She’s my fiancée’.
‘Because we’re a soap, we obviously ramp it up a bit and they want to create these kind of pure evil characters. But I personally don’t think pure evil exists. I think they kind of convince themselves and start to believe their own lies. I think he just talks so much shit that he starts to believe his own horrible, twisted lies. ‘
There’s no doubt that there is a lot to take on when working on a storyline like this, and, while Ruby instantly agreed to take it on, it didn’t come without its anxieties.
However, working alongside Tyler – who she describes as an ‘incredible actor who couldn’t be more different in real life’ – and being supported by production made things very comfortable for her.
‘I’ve been at Hollyoaks for so many years now and I will say this is the most supported I’ve ever felt during a storyline, with production, [show boss] Hannah Cheers, scripts, Tyler, everyone on set. I felt so looked after.’ she smiled.
‘I literally couldn’t have asked for anything more. With sensitive storylines like this you need that in a company and everyone on set was so respectful. I’ve never felt so looked after and I’ve done some pretty creepy storylines! But this is definitely one where my hats off to production and our production manager, because they were really looking after me.
‘When I first heard about the storyline, it took me by surprise and I knew it was going to be hard, but I said yes instantly because of it being with Tyler , if I’m honest.
‘I think he is genuinely one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with. I love him genuinely like a family member and I knew he would treat it with such care and kindness. I’m so glad it was with him.’
It’s a feeling that is shared by Tyler – who recently finished filming with the show and had nothing but praise for the show and his co-stars. Often playing villains, he has relished getting his teeth into such a complex role.
‘I don’t know if this says a lot about me or not, but I really enjoy it,’ he reflected. ‘I would like to think I’m the polar opposite to Abe but I guess we’ve all got a bit of darkness in us – whether you snap back at someone, you’ve been a bit off one day, or you’ve been a little bit manipulative in a certain way and not necessarily realised it until afterwards. It’s kind of finding those parts of you and ramping it up so much.
‘With roles like this, you can push boundaries and go to the extreme. A lot of other characters might be restricted in the realms of naturalism but when it comes to someone who is super evil…’
He adds that the audience reaction on the whole has been positive, although he has had some incidents of death threats from viewers who forget that Hollyoaks is not reality – perhaps a testament to how well Tyler plays the role.
‘It can be quite intense. I don’t take any of it too seriously. I think if someone can’t really differentiate the character from the actor and doesn’t realise what’s real and what’s not, I think probably they might not necessarily be in the best place within their mind,’ he reasoned.
Recently, Metro introduced This Is Not Right, our year-long campaign around violence against women.
Editor Deborah Arthurs said: ‘This Is Not Right is a 12-month campaign addressing the relentless epidemic of violence against women, that aims to both engage and empower our readers.
‘Because despite the troubling rise in violence against women, there is a serious and harmful lack of awareness of its scale that is inhibiting progress towards reversing the trend.’
Soaps continue to be at the forefront of highlighting issues around violence against women. Alongside Cleo, Peri and Leela’s ordeals at the hands of Abe, Emmerdale has been exploring mental, physical and technology abuse with Tom King (James Chase) subjecting Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) to a relentless campaign of control and cruelty.
And EastEnders was hailed earlier this year for scenes surrounding Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) opening up about being sexually assaulted by local pastor, Gideon Clayton (Howard Saddler).
It’s a project that Ruby agrees is important for raising awareness, and she is proud that Hollyoaks remains at the forefront of telling these stories.
She told me: ‘When we view these storylines it’s astonishing and shocks me every single time how many people come forward and say, “Thank you so much for showing this because it helped me,” or, “You showed me a way of healing or dealing with it.”
‘It’s so important not to just do it once 10 years ago, but to keep showing these different storylines for the audience.’
Tyler whole-heartedly agreed, adding: ‘It’s horrible to think but these are super relatable stories that happen day-in, day-out.
‘I think it’s so important to keep telling these stories over and over again. There are so many ways to tell these stories as well.
‘Often, things like coercive control go under the radar and I think it constantly needs these stories to be coming out – and they can be told in so many different ways.’
