Soap lovers had their first chance to catch Talia Grant making her debut appearance on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks last night as part of E4’s First Look.
Talia, daughter of famed vocal coach and TV presenter Carrie Grant, has now become the first woman with autism to land a mainstream role on British TV in her role as Brooke Hathaway, who also has autism.
Speaking to the Loose Women panel yesterday, who got to view a short teaser of Talia in her role, she noted that her character doesn’t accurately portray what her life is like, but instead shows a different representation of autism.
She said: “I feel like my character is not exactly like how I am. There are some ways where she’s different, but it’s exciting to show one representation of autism for the people out there who do relate to that clip.”
Speaking about her part in the show, Talia told Loose Women: “I am so excited to be joining Hollyoaks. I have met some of the cast and being on set was fun and everyone was super-nice and made me feel welcome.”
Viewer reception to Talia’s new role has been extremely positive:
Great to see an Autistic character on the show and showing a different view on the condition #Hollyoaks
— Christopher Wood (@ChrisJW1987) July 9, 2018
Fantasticlly done. 👏🏼👏🏼 Thank you @Hollyoaks and well done for introducing a character with #Autism. All the very best to actress @babygtals too. No doubt you'll be a huge and inspiring success in the role. 😀#AutismAwareness #AutismAcceptance https://t.co/n6u5YBOTg1
— AwarenessForAutismUK (@AFA_CharityUK) July 9, 2018
Brooke looks like an interesting new character #Hollyoaks
— Ghosted G (@g_ghosted) July 9, 2018
If you missed Talia’s debut on E4 last night, you can catch Hollyoaks on Channel 4 tonight at 6.30pm.
