'Hollyoaks' is to air a special unconscious bias episode.
Kelle Bryan as Martine
The ep, which will air on Wednesday night (14.04.21) on E4 and Thursday night (15.04.21) on Channel 4, is to capture an entire day from the perspective of Martine - played by Kelle Bryan - the Black matriarch of the Deveraux family, as she faces a serious health issue after finding a breast lump.
Martine's love-rival Grace Black (Tamara Wall) also needs medical attention on the same day.
The special episode will follow the experiences of the two women that day, Martine’s struggles as a Black woman filter through in a range of encounters - highlighting microaggressions towards her - as viewers see Grace’s alternative experience from a White woman’s shoes.
'Hollyoaks' have also created a 'Don’t Filter Feelings' podcast episode as a companion piece to the TV ep, which has been written by Karla Marie Sweet.
Andrea Ali - who plays Martine’s daughter Celeste Faroe - believes the "powerful" episode will get people thinking.
Speaking about the special ep on the podcast, she said: "It was done in a way which was so raw and literally so accurate.
"I think it will cause people to stop and look at themselves, to look at the environments they’ve been in.
"I think people go, 'It’s either racist or it’s not.' But then there’s a space that sits between which are the microaggressions, which are the experiences of Black people as a whole feel.
"It was articulated so well that you have no choice to look at that and go, 'I have to now think about whether or not ‘I’ have ever been in a situation where I have been unconsciously-biased towards someone because it's highlighted so blatantly in these episodes.' And it’s so powerful."
Richard Blackwood - whose character Felix Westwood is torn between his ex Martine and new flame Grace - added: "It’s really weird because of all of those micros (aggressions) that were shown, I’ve been through, but in the previous 10 years it wasn’t micro it was just in your face.
"So it’s nice that Karla could teach me the new way that people are showing their racism."