Hollyoaks podcast with Brenda Edwards, Kelle Bryan and Chelsee Healey talk racism

In the latest Don’t Filter Feelings podcast episode, Brenda Edwards, Kelle Bryan and Chelsee Healey discuss their personal experiences of racism, and how it has impacted on their children.

The second Podcast in a series of special episodes in which Hollyoaks cast members and guests discuss racism and their personal experiences, as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to move forward.

In the episode, Kelle discusses her children’s experiences with racism, saying “Unfortunately, my children were exposed to racism from very young… [my son] came home and he was really upset, and at that point I’d raised him to see people as human beings and as people, not as colours….

“I had to have a conversation with [my son] about race and I explained the differences between black and white people and the difficulties that might have, and the implications of that, which he’d already experienced at 5 [years old].

“I think it’s really important that my children understand and have a pride in who they are, an understanding of where they’ve come from and the sacrifices that have been made for them to have the lifestyle that they live, to have the choices they have…”

Chelsee discusses racism towards her daughter “I got the most vile, vile message about [my daughter], actually not too long ago…. I just looked at them and burst out crying… There’s been another time when she came back from nursery, and she said “Mummy, I have brown skin. My friends say I’m brown.” So I just said, my reaction was, “Yeah, but you’re beautiful and brown. Brown is so beautiful” I think she’s a little bit too young now to be having the conversation with her, but just so she knows that brown is so beautiful.

Brenda discusses the response she received on social media after George Floyd’s death, “I had a lot of people messaging me directly on social media saying to me to use my platform to say something, and putting me under that pressure, which I thought to myself, I have no problem with saying what is on my mind, I’ve never had a problem in saying what I believe, and there was a part of me that felt a little bit of resentment. Don’t tell me how to feel.”

The episode is available now across all well-known Podcast platforms, including Spotify, Podfollow, Apple Podcasts, and Acast.