Hollyoaks’ cast talk ‘women’s safety issues’ from own experiences

#WhyShouldI

“I won’t wear my hair up in a ponytail on my own because that’s easier to grab” – Lily Best

Hollyoaks is launching a brand-new digital series in the week of International Women’s Day, entitled Why Should I? aiming to highlight gender disparity and the precautions women take on a daily basis to ensure they are safe.

The project begins with two powerful short films, in which a number of Hollyoaks cast members share their experiences around personal safety. The cast members included are Alex Fletcher, Eva O’Hara, Ruby O’Donnell, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Annie Wallace, Vera Chok, Lily Best, Ariana Fravel, Dawn Hope.

The second part of the series involves their male co-stars watching and discussing the touched-upon topics. The cast members involved are Richard Blackwood, Owen Warner, Gregory Finnegan, Gabriel Clark, Dominic Power, Chris Charles, and Matthew James-Bailey.

“Since hitting puberty, there have been a plethora of different situations that I’ve been in that have compromised my safety or made me uncomfortable. I know I’m not the only one” – Eva O’Hara

Why Should I? commences the same week in which the Channel 4 soap aired a special episode exploring the unwanted experiences women face on a daily basis, and the labels they are unfairly branded with. The soap will continue to explore the topic of women’s safety, and misogyny, throughout the year.

On Tuesday 8th March, Hollyoaks’ Why Should I? campaign video was premiered to a number of influential women at a special International Women’s Day event in London. The video was posted today at 5pm on Hollyoaks’ YouTube channel.