Hollyoaks responds to Rachel Adedeji’s accusations of ‘behind the scenes’ racism

Hollyoaks has released a statement after Rachel Adedeji accused the show of racism behind the scenes and slammed its response to the Black Lives Matter movement. 

They penned: ‘Hollyoaks has been deeply shocked and saddened by issues that have been brought to our attention over the weekend.

‘Lime Pictures strives to have zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows but it is clear we have further work to do. 

‘We must stamp out implicit bias which means calling out racism wherever and whenever we see it.  

‘We will continue to add to our action plan as we continue and broaden our dialogue with cast and staff.’

The show detailed a series of steps they have launched in order to ‘stamp out discrimination’  

They wrote: ‘We are reaching out to all of our cast and staff that have raised matters to make sure that we address individual issues and concerns.

‘We have asked all cast, staff and freelancers to share with us any further issues of concern or instances of unacceptable behaviour that they have not previously raised.

‘We are working with unconscious bias trainers to augment Lime’s all staff training to help address concerns raised by cast and staff.

‘All BAME staff, freelancers and cast will be offered mentoring from Lime’s senior management.’

They continued: ‘We will build on our work towards making Lime as diverse and inclusive as possible across all aspects of recruitment and talent retention, on and off screen.

‘Lime’s BAME writers and directors schemes will be reviewed and augmented to drive greater inclusivity within the industry.

‘We are undertaking an immediate and in depth review of company and cast liaison across Lime.

‘We will be producing a Hollyoaks podcast where our black cast will share their experiences on racism to their audience.

‘We are very conscious that we need to do more and are committed to making changes that we need to make. 

‘The onus is upon our company collectively and us all as individuals within our community to tackle racism, and it is a responsibility which all of us here at Hollyoaks are taking on fully.’ 

The statement comes after Hollyoaks actress Rachel slammed the show’s response to the recent furore over the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The star, 28, who plays Lisa Loveday on the Channel 4 soap, took to her Twitter to say she doesn’t agree with Hollyoaks’ recent post addressing the movement. 

Rachel said their response wasn’t progressive before revealing she was aware of racial slurs and injustices happening on set. 

Hollyoaks uploaded a video of actress Kelle Bryan, who plays Martine Deveraux, discussing the movement’s issues. 

A recent surge in interest of the Black Lives Matter movement was kickstarted by the senseless killing of George Floyd, who died after a white policeman, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. 

Chauvin has now been charged with second-degree murder. Floyd was initially arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit 20-dollar bill.  

Kelle, 45, said: ‘As you may have noticed, we have been silent across all our social media platforms in direct response to the horrendous atrocities that have taken place in the USA with the loss of George Floyd. 

‘Black lives really do matter but don’t take our silence as inaction. We have been busy behind the scenes having lots of really important conversations. 

‘We will be kickstarting with a podcast all about racism – how we tackle it, how we face it and most importantly, how we overcome it.’ 

However, Rachel was ‘disappointed’ and directly called the show out over racist incidents she says happened. 

She wrote: ‘Did Black Lives Matter when I was told ”You’re all the same” by a makeup artist you employed, and remains in employment till this day?

‘Did Black Lives Matter when a number of female black actors were forced to drastically change their hair because if not, the viewers ”would not be able to tell them apart”? 

‘Do Black Lives Matter when my fellow black cast mates are deemed angry, aggressive and too vocal?

‘Did Black Lives Matter when we were referred to as ”b****ies” by a senior member of the production team? 

‘Do Black Lives really matter to you if over the last four years at Hollyoaks, I have only worked with ONE black director? 

‘Honestly, the list goes on. Having a black cast member speak on behalf of Hollyoaks to show that the work is being done is not as progressive as you think. 

‘As a matter of fact, very little is being done behind the scenes. Unfortunately Hollyoaks’ response seems to me performative and disingenuous. 

‘It starts within the work place. Systemic changes must be put into practice. Working at Hollyoaks is mostly positive but the experiences I have encountered are a constant reminder of how difficult it is being a black woman in the industry. 

‘I am no longer standing for it. Putting out a podcast on racism and asking your black cast members to teach you how to tackle these issues is the bare minimum.

‘THINK. DO BETTER.

‘I hope Hollyoaks delivers the same energy when #BlackLivesMatter is no longer trending.’ 

Actress Mandip Gill, who played Phoebe McQuee in Hollyoaks until she left in 2015, replied to Rachel’s statement with a series of clapping emojis. 

And Karl Collins, who played Rachel’s onscreen father Louis Loveday in Hollyoaks until 2019, showed his support and praised her ‘bravery’. 

He wrote: ‘Well….. it will come as no surprise that I love this woman who I affectionately call ‘darta!’ ‘I am so proud of her bravery!’    

A Hollyoaks spokesperson said: ‘We are really concerned to read Rachel’s comments on social media about Hollyoaks this evening. We will be in touch with Rachel directly.’