Note: The following article contains discussion of themes including rape and sexual misconduct that some readers may find upsetting.
Hollyoaks will explore the issue of rape within a marriage as Sinead Shelby is attacked by her husband Laurie, Digital Spy can reveal.
The Channel 4 soap has been working with local charity RASA Merseyside on the storyline, which begins on screen next week.
Viewers have already been left unsettled by Laurie's mistreatment of his wife, including the sinister moment that he deliberately hurt her following an argument.
Next week's episodes see Sinead (Stephanie Davis) seek comfort from Sami Maalik as she fears that Laurie is up to no good.
When Laurie (Kyle Pryor) heads off to oversee a school camping trip with Sienna Blake, who he's been harassing in the workplace, he concentrates on engineering a situation to spend time alone with the classroom assistant.
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Laurie deliberately ignores Sinead's phone calls during the trip, and she gets upset when she finds out that Brody Hudson has managed to get through to Sienna (Anna Passey) without any trouble.
Feeling rejected, Sinead launches a kiss on Sami (Rishi Nair), wanting to rekindle their connection from when they first met in the storm last year.
When Laurie returns to the village the following day and finds out what happened, he commits a despicable act by raping Sinead.
The emotional fallout will see Laurie continue his attempts to manipulate Sinead as he tries to make her question what happened between them.
Cast, producers and writers at Hollyoaks have been working with expert advisors while creating the storyline.
Hollyoaks has received acclaim for a number of its recent issue-based plots – including Ollie Morgan's football abuse storyline, which helped the show to win Best Soap at the recent RTS Awards.
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first-look screenings at 7pm on E4.
Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
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