Trigger Warning: This article contains content related to domestic abuse.
EastEnders is a soap opera with several storylines, be it good or bad. One such storyline has saved the life of a domestic abuse survivor in the real world. It feels nice to see how impactful television is and its role in people’s lives. A domestic violence survivor came forward and spoke about how Chantelle Atkins and Gray’s storyline saved her. Keep reading to find out more!
EastEnders Helped A Domestic Abuse Survivor: Details!
Trigger Warning: This article contains content related to domestic abuse.
A woman who kept her identity anonymous opened up about her experience with domestic violence. She said that she would have been killed if she had not watched the BBC One soap.
Long-time viewers know that Chantelle was killed in 2020 when her abusive husband, Gray, pushed her onto an opened dishwasher loaded with sharp cutlery. Even then, she kept asking for help but he left her to die to protect himself.
It has been four years since that storyline rolled out; a domestic abuse survivor mentioned that while watching those scenes, she could relate to them so much. The survivor added that she had gone through abuse from her partner, Bradley Trigg, for almost eight years.
She claimed that she was beaten until she would black out and suffer seizures. While speaking to Coventry Telegraph, the woman talked about how she could parallelly compare herself to Chantelle. She added, ‘I was watching the storyline, I was thinking “this is me. I am Chantelle”.
The woman continued by saying that Gray killed Chantelle, and that is when it hit her. “If I don’t get out and I am living Chantelle’s life, he is going to end up killing me, ” she added. It was at that moment that she realized that she needed to get out.
She also collected evidence by documenting her injuries by setting up an Instagram profile and collecting 130 photographs. The domestic abuse survivor mentioned that all of this started when he began checking her phone but later moved to using violence to control her.
The reason why she opened up about this is because she would want other victims to come out and speak up. The woman also highlighted the huge impact that EastEnders had on her during all this.
We send power to the woman, and EastEnders for bringing such storylines and awareness. For more EastEnders updates & news, keep following Soap Opera Daily for more updates! Tell us about one of your favourite storylines of the show in the comments below!
