Coronation Street star James Craven says playing the role of Aaron Sanford became difficult as the theme of non-consensual sex was explored on the ITV show.
Aaron and Amy Barlow’s relationship is set to go through turmoil in upcoming scenes as Aaron makes the choice to have sex with Amy without her consent.
After realising that something is wrong, Amy confronts Aaron but he is oblivious to the fact that he had made a huge mistake.
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Sharing his thoughts on the difficult story which is set to air on ITV in coming weeks, James told Daily Star and other press that he found it difficult to understand Aaron’s actions.
He explained: “I think the hard part for me when we go this story was to to sort of justify why he reacts in the way that he does because obviously me as James knows that it’s wrong.
“But to sort of find a way for the character to justify his actions was quit a hard thing.”
The actor also highlighted the care that was needed on set to ensure that he and Elle Mulvaney who plays Amy was comfortable.
He added: “The most important think for me was to make sure Elle was comfortable at all time. You know if there wasn’t anything she wasn’t happy with that we changed that immediately.”
In order to bring the story to life, Coronation Street researchers worked alongside The Schools Consent Project, a charity established in early 2015.
The charity sends legally trained volunteers into schools to deliver a number of workshops on the legal definition of sexual consent and key sexual offences.
After working with Coronation Street producers, Monica Bhogal, Director of The Schools Consent Project shared further insight.
She said: “The Schools Consent Project firmly believes that learning about sexual consent laws allows young people to understand their rights and responsibilities and empowers young people by providing them with the skills, confidence and knowledge they need to make safe respectful, healthy choices around sexual consent.
“We are delighted to have been consulted on this storyline which conveys important messages around the topic of sexual consent with care and sensitivity.
“Its inclusion in such a wide-reaching show emphasises the crucial need for consent conversations and the power of consent education,” she added.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
