Hollyoaks star Jeremy Sheffield has said playing evil Patrick Blake is an actor's dream and he has been surprised at how much effect his storylines can have.
The former Holby City actor plays headteacher Patrick in the Channel 4 soap, who is domestically abusing his partner Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) by controlling her.
Jeremy said: "Nasty Patrick Blake, I love it. It's really an actor's dream, he's a complex, evil, nasty man and it's a great role to play."
The storyline has formed part of a wider campaign, This Is Abuse, highlighting abusive relationships that the programme has been working on with the Home Office.
He continued: "We've had an incredible reaction from people and hopefully it's done a lot of good."
Jeremy also admitted it had been a surprise to him that soap storylines could be so effective and influence viewers so much.
Asked if he'd thought Hollyoaks was the sort of programme that could do that, he said: "I have to say, I didn't. I've done [episodes of] Coronation Street before, but I haven't done a soap before and you forget how effective soap can be.
"You're in everybody's living room five days a week, so as much as it's entertainment, it also has the power to really change people's lives which is exciting. It's a great honour to be part of that."
