Hollyoaks is set to shock viewers with a new storyline involving marital rape.
Laurie Shelby, played by Kyle Pryor, will take his controlling behaviour and sexual harassment to despicable new heights by raping his wife Sinead (Stephanie Davies).
The depraved character has been harassing his colleague, classroom assistant Sienna Blake (Anna Passey), and his behavior has been making Sinead paranoid – something Laurie has appeared to embrace.
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When Laurie sets up a school camping trip with a view to getting Sienna on her own, he cuddles up to her in a tent and she’s horrified at his advances.
The situation spirals out of control when he returns home and rapes Sinead after finding out she tried to rekindle her connection with Sami (Rishi Nair) by kissing him.
According to Digital Spy, the storyline will see Sinead determined to report Laurie’s crime, but his expert gaslighting will have her wondering what actually happened.
Speaking to Metro, a Hollyoaks spokesperson said: “You will see some incredible performances from Stephanie Davis – she is out of this world.
“Hollyoaks has a well-known history of tackling subjects like this and it’s just the start of a long running and intense storyline for the characters.”
Earlier this year, Steph appeared on Loose Women and made a shock admission about her past drinking habits.
The actress, who became a mum in 2017, revealed she was drinking three bottles of wine each morning before she went into rehab.
Telling the panel about her dark times and how she turned her life around, Steph said: “I was in rehab for over eight weeks. People were telling me for ages and I didn’t want to hear it.
“I gave up the fight. It was tiring. I was drinking every day at the end. Probably about three bottles of wine in the morning.”
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When she entered rehab, she was told she had PTSD and suffered panic attacks and anxiety.
She continued: “I was using it to go to sleep because I was having night terrors and I couldn’t sleep.”
Digital Spy reported that the Hollyoaks‘ writers worked closely with experts on the marital rape storyline, which is due to air next week.
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