RACHEL Adedeji has quit Hollyoaks after four years – as the racism row surrounding the soap rages on.
The actress – who has played Lisa Loveday for years in the Channel 4 soap – made the decision to leave the show last year and her exit was filmed shortly before lockdown, The Sun Online can exclusively reveal.
Lisa’s exit from the village will air in the next two months.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online, a Hollyoaks spokeswoman said: “Rachel made the decision to leave Hollyoaks to pursue other opportunities earlier last year which saddened us at Hollyoaks as she is one of the leading cast members in the show.
“However, the notice period did allow the writers time to give Lisa Loveday an extremely gripping exit storyline.
“Viewers will see this story play out later this year as her final scenes were filmed shortly before lockdown.”
Rachel’s spokesman added: “It had always been our intention for Rachel to leave the show after a period of time.
“She loved her time on Hollyoaks and the exit storyline was openly discussed with the producers and her together, in a collaborative format.”
Last week Rachel spoke out about a series of racist incidents that happened backstage on the show – and was backed up by other cast members.
Rachel accused Hollyoaks of being “performative and disingenuous” before listing the show’s shortcomings and said “systematic changes must be put into practice.”
Her comments have lead the show to launch an investigation, and now a number of Rachel’s co-stars have come out in support.
The soap has issued a statement saying: “Hollyoaks has zero tolerance on racism. We are taking Rachel Adedeji’s comments extremely seriously and are investigating.”
Posting to her Instagram Stories and Twitter, Rachel condemned the show, writing: “I am disappointed with Hollyoaks’ approach to showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement yesterday.
“Did Black Lives Matter when I was told ‘You’re all the same’ by a make up artist you employed, and remains in employment til this day?”
The former X Factor contestant was responding to a video posted by the show which involved her on-screen aunt Kelle Bryan.
Rachel went on to detail some of the list problems at her workplace – including the lack of diversity in the directing team and shocking slurs from a senior member of production.
She said: “Did Black Lives Matter when a number of female black actors were forced to drastically change their hair, because if not, the viewers ‘would not be able to tell them apart’?”
Rachel continued: “Do Black Lives really matter to you if over the last four years at Hollyoaks, I have only worked with one black director?”
Suggesting this was just scratching the surface, Rachel added: “Honestly, the list goes on.
“Having a black cast member speak on behalf of Hollyoaks to show that the work is being done is not as progressive as they think. As a matter of fact, very little is being done behind the scenes.”
Many of her co-stars came out to support her including, Karl Collins, who plays her on-screen father Louis Loveday, wrote in response: “Well….. it will come as no surprise that I love this woman who I affectionately call ‘darta!’.”
“I am so proud of her bravery! #speakyourtruth @RachelASongs #noliestold #BlackLivesMatterUK #BlackLivesMatter.”
Ross Adams – who plays Scott Drinkwell – added: “Sending you love, respect and solidarity. I commit to doing better, to educate myself and to stand by anyone facing discrimination anywhere.”
Meanwhile Nadine Mulkerrin, who plays Cleo McQueen, simply wrote: “I love you darling”
Simone Loveday actress Jacqueline Boatswain added: ‘The truth will set you free!!! Speak on it!”
Yesterday soap bosses announced they are bringing in “unconscious bias trainers” as part of a plan to stamp out racism on the show.
Lime Pictures – which produces the soap for Channel 4 – has released a statement confirming it is taking action after several cast members went public with their stories about racist treatment backstage.
A spokeswoman said: “Hollyoaks has been deeply shocked and saddened by issues that have been brought to our attention over the weekend.
“Lime Pictures strives to have zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows but it is clear we have further work to do.
“We must stamp out implicit bias which means calling out racism wherever and whenever we see it.
“We will continue to add to our action plan as we continue and broaden our dialogue with cast and staff.”
Lime Pictures set out a number of measures it was introducing to try and combat racial inequality among its cast and crew.
The statement continued: “We are reaching out to all of our cast and staff that have raised matters to make sure that we address individual issues and concerns.
“We have asked all cast, staff and freelancers to share with us any further issues of concern or instances of unacceptable behaviour that they have not previously raised.
“We are working with unconscious bias trainers to augment Lime’s all-staff training to help address concerns raised by cast and staff.”
All BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) staff, freelancers and cast will also be offered mentoring from Lime Pictures’ senior management.
The statement added: “We are undertaking an immediate and in depth review of company and cast liaison across Lime.
“We will be producing a Hollyoaks podcast where our black cast will share their experiences on racism to their audience.
“We are very conscious that we need to do more and are committed to making changes that we need to make.
“The onus is upon our company collectively and us all as individuals within our community to tackle racism, and it is a responsibility which all of us here at Hollyoaks are taking on fully.”
