Hollyoaks star Rishi Nair ‘feared’ gritty far right storyline: ‘I was apprehensive and scared’

Hollyoaks star Rishi Nair has admitted he was apprehensive about the soap’s far right storyline when it was first announced. The actor, who plays Sami Maalik, feared how the sensitive subject matter might be handled by producers, but eventually his mind was eased after realising how brilliantly the soap has dealt with heavy topics such as Ollie Morgan’s horrific grooming ordeal.

In an exclusive interview with Metro.co.uk, Rishi began: ‘To be completely honest, when I first heard we were doing this storyline naturally I was quite apprehensive about doing it. It’s never been done before and you don’t know exactly what the details are going to be.

‘But I’m so happy with the way it’s going. It’s a storyline that really does need to be told. For a lot of viewers, especially younger viewers it’s kind of the first time they’re watching something like this.

‘Unfortunately it does still happen today. It happens all the time and I think it’s an issue that does need to be addressed.’

Rishi continued: ‘Personally, I feel quite proud to be a part of this storyline. I hope that it gets that message across the way we want it to. I’ve never scrutinized a script so much because every word needs to be correct because it can really change the meaning of the whole scene.

‘It’s been tough doing it because things haven’t been easy to film and the content is heavy, but equally, as an actor it’s scenes that I’ve enjoyed the most.

‘I was apprehensive and scared to do the storyline, but then I looked at the way they handled the sexual abuse storyline last year and mental health, and they’ve done them all right.’

Hollyoaks continues Monday at 6.30pm on Channel 4.

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