Coronation Street actor Jack P. Shepherd has said that his character David Platt's sexual assault storyline has succeeded in getting people talking.
In scenes that aired in March, David was raped by his friend Josh after a night out together. Since then, viewers have watched David struggle to cope in the aftermath of the assault.
Shepherd welcomes the response the storyline has gotten from viewers, saying: "The storyline has got people talking which is exactly what we set out to do.
"When you are playing a part, you get on with telling the story but to see the effect it has had is very rewarding so it has been great."
He added that "he wanted to get it right because it is such an important story to tell."
David admitted to Shona that he has been raped and then tells Emma that he wants her to move out, which Shepherd says "are steps towards David facing his demons head on".
When David hears Johnny talk about Aidan O'Connor, who committed suicide earlier this month, David finally realises that he needs to talk about what happened to him and not bottle it up anymore.
Shepherd explained: "Even though David is very extreme in his behaviour sometimes, no one knew what Aidan was dealing with in the same way that no one really knows what David is dealing with, apart from now Shona.
"We have David at his lowest ebb but he realises that he wants to live, he wants to fight these feelings. And he realises he can’t move on until he opens up and for Josh to get punished he has to talk."
David tells Shona that he wants to report Josh to the police, which Shepherd says took a lot of courage. "It’s what he has been afraid of since the ordeal but everything changed from the moment he told Shona and she believed him. And after hearing Johnny pour his heart out to Peter, he knows that talking about it is the only way to move forward", the actor said.
"In David’s head it is all about Josh owning up to what he has done and admitting that he raped David because at the moment he is still saying that it was consensual and that’s really eating David up."
The actor added that the most important thing about the storyline is to help get people talking.
"This is the most important part of the storyline because it has always been less about the ordeal and more about how David deals with the aftermath. Hopefully people will start talking about the storyline and it could help someone who has gone through something similar to realise they need to open up and speak to somebody", he said.
If you have been affected by any of these issues please contact the Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 778 888 or the Samaritans on 116 123.
