For just over a year, Nigel Bromage has been running Exit UK, a volunteer network that offers support and help for people trying to turn their back on the far right.
But his steady stream of “a couple of enquiries a week” is turning into something bigger, since Hollyoaks made the bold decision of steering much-loved character Ste Hay towards radicalisation and racism.
In recent months, viewers have seen Kieron Richardson’s character become increasingly involved with a group who – it’s clear for most of us to see – are racist, far right activists and the slow-burning storyline will reach a key turning point tonight, with a special episode that includes a violent, racist attack.
Hollyoaks contacted Nigel, a former far right activist himself, “around 12 months ago” and the relationship marks the first time Exit UK has paired up with a television show.
He tells HuffPost UK: “We sat down and thought this would be a really good idea to do [because] not only do we like the fact Hollyoaks has a young audience, we thought this would be a really different clientele to open up our messaging to.
“I wanted to really make sure it [Hollyoaks] was going to actually challenge the issues around the far right,” he explains. “We have been approached by others to talk about what we do, but we’ve always wanted to make sure that if anybody is going to look at and cover this then it has to be done from a realistic point of view.
“We want to make sure it shows the realities and the dangers of getting involved in the far right so that it puts people off.”
While continuing to run the group, he’s consulted on scripts, advised actors and held meetings with the production team, to make sure their storylines are as accurate as possible.
“All the scripts I’ve gone through, I ask, ’How realistic is this? Is this what happens in the far right? Is the recruitment process very similar?,” he says. “And where sometimes it’s not been quite realistic we’ve said, ‘Actually we have some alternatives, this is what might happen or this’, and then Hollyoaks have been brilliant.
“They’ve taken it on board and altered things, the whole idea is to make it as realistic as possible.”
One of those suggestions is featured tonight, as Ste can be seen attending a football match with the group, who are not wearing team shirts or carrying scarves with logos. “We explained that people involved in the far right would dress smart casual, maybe in designer gear,” Nigel says. “There might be a little [team] badge if anything.”
They then sat down with the actors involved, including Kieron Richardson and Ray Quinn (who plays Jonny Baxter, one of the men grooming Ste).
“We explained how the far right operate and this is why they might target you,” Nigel says, praising the soap for choosing to do this storyline with a much-loved character. “They’ve got a genuine guy who is down on his luck and they’ve shown how these guys have manipulated him.
“Ste is now blind to what everybody else can see, because he’s been groomed into believing the individuals and the group ideals. He doesn’t see the reality of it.”
It’s not just Exit UK who have advised on the storyline either, as in an unexpected move, the Home Office provided producers with information too, including a factsheet on Prevent, an initiative which aims to safeguard people vulnerable to radicalisation and terrorism.
The Home Office has had ongoing discussions with the Hollyoaks team, meeting producers and scriptwriters, while also providing background information to ensure factual accuracy.
Tonight’s special episode isn’t just about Ste’s radicalisation though, and for the most part it plays out in two locations; the pub, where Ste and his new group are, and the Maalik family dinner table, where an equally important conversation about racial identity is taking place.
Rishi Nair plays Sami Maalik, the driven lawyer who arrived in the village two years ago, and one scene sees him deliver a moving speech as Sami weighs up his feelings on being British, Indian and Muslim.
“When I saw that speech, I was really happy with it because it’s something I can relate to personally as well,” Rishi tells HuffPost UK. “Of course, I’m playing Sami but there was a lot of Rishi in it as well.
“Growing up, I never really saw anything like that.”
His on-screen family will continue to see their story overlap with Ste’s as they become the focus of much of his hatred and Rishi praises the Hollyoaks’ team’s decision to make Ste’s racism “less blatant”, explaining that when the episode sees the two groups – the Maaliks and Ste’s friends – meet, the confrontation makes his character wonder: “Is this racial or not?”
“I think it’s kind of in real life as well,” he says. “If you experience any kind of prejudice or racism, it’s almost that thing in your head thinking, ‘Am I overthinking it? Is this racism?’.
“You’re second guessing and think, ‘well maybe I am overthinking it and this isn’t happening’. But then as the week goes on it becomes clear that it is.
“I think we can all recognise if someone is shouting in your face and it’s racist… We can all recognise that as racial hatred.
“But the way the guys are playing it, it’s very subtle and it’s kind of with a smile on their face. If viewers are seeing that it can kind of get them talking.”
Hollyoaks may sometimes be seen as the younger, smaller and unpredictable sibling of the three big hitters in Soapland, but it has an unrivalled track record when it comes to innovation and pushing boundaries.
In 2016, they focussed on sexual consent (two years before EastEnders did the same), while just last month a ground-breaking disability awareness special was screened.
In 2009, they were the first soap to air a week of “non-linear” episodes (a move that Emmerdale tried for the first time seven years later) and were also the first to introduce a gay character living with HIV (no other soap has done this since Hollyoaks did in 2014).
Viewers may sometimes be critical when storylines seem to cycle through each drama, but far from hoping other soaps steer clear of emulating Hollyoaks’ radicalisation storyline, Rishi hopes it could inspire them.
“I’m really proud to be part of that first UK soap storyline tackling the issue,” he says. “But when you see it in the news, these things are happening more and more.
“I hope to see more people tackle this issue, I know people don’t like to but they do need to talk about it and essentially that’s what we want, we just want to start a conversation.”
And it seems it is working. When the BBC covered Hollyoaks’ storyline plans last year, the number of enquiries Exit UK receives “went through the roof”.
“We’ve had everyone from people who are 16 years old, to ones who have been involved in the far right for a number of years,” Nigel says.
When people – either those wanting to get out of the far right, or their families – contact them, Exit UK offer a non-confrontational service which focuses on education about the realities of the far-right.
Nigel says the timing of the Hollyoaks storyline is perfect.
“Up until the formation of Exit just over 12 months ago there was nobody you could really sit down and have a non-judgemental conversation with,” Nigel explains. “There is an increase in people looking at the far right as if they have got answers, when we know they haven’t.
“We need to show the reality of how these people operate – they’re convincing people they do have answers and are a voice for the voiceless, so we’re in a dangerous time.”
Exit UK has now received funding and from April, they’ll be employing part-time staff to help manage enquiries.
“We couldn’t survive as a volunteer network anymore,” he says. “We need people on the end of a phone line working on this everyday.”
Hollyoaks’ special episode airs tonight at 7pm on E4 and tomorrow (Thursday 14 March) at 6.30pm on Channel 4. Find out more about Exit UK here.