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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Katie Fitzpatrick

Meet the Hollyoaks star breaking down barriers for disability by playing a sexy soap villain

Hollyoaks star Rhiannon Clements has made a huge impact since arriving in the soap last November as minxy new villain Summer Ranger, and it's a role she's deeply proud of for more reasons than one.

Rhiannon, who is captivating audiences as the twisted cupcake maker, has praised the Channel Four show for its on-screen representation of disability.

The Manchester-based actress has a shortened left forearm and this has never been the focus of her character or explained, it's just how Summer is.

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Summer arrived in Hollyoaks village last year after her father Cormac Ranger was left in a coma after being attacked by Brody Hudson and Warren Fox and she has since been exacting revenge following his death.

Summer has been exacting revenge for her dad's death (Hollyoaks/Channel Four/ Lime Pictures)

At the same time as plotting Brody's downfall, while claiming to be in love and wanting to marry him, she's also been busy seducing his ex- fiancee, Sienna Blake, in sexy soap scenes.

The character of Summer was written without a disability in mind, something Rhiannon says is crucial in showing an honest depiction of her own experience and many others.

Rather than default to the well-worn trope of a less able-bodied person being at a disadvantage, with Summer Hollyoaks has strived to redress the balance by allowing the character’s strength, independence and vengefulness take centre stage.

Rhiannon, who grew up in Blackburn, was enrolled in dance classes when she was four by her mum to boost her confidence.

Summer with her soulmate Sienna (Hollyoaks/Channel Four/ Lime Pictures)

After realising that dance wasn't for her, Rhiannon attended youth theatre, studied drama at GCSE and she 'found her fit' at The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) North in Wigan.

She lived in Wigan while training and moved to Manchester in 2019.

It was at the end of the first lockdown that she landed the role of Summer.

"I was supposed to do a show at the Royal Exchange as lockdown was imposed," she recalled.

"I thought 'will I ever work again? the industry is just not what it was' and 'will I get an opportunity like that again?'"

She landed the role of Summer last year (Hollyoaks/Channel Four/ Lime Pictures)

Speaking about her sizzling role in the long-running soap she said: "I'm super proud.

"What's really refreshing, and shouldn't be but it is, is that there's no mention of Rhiannon's disability within Summer, it's just something that exists much like it exists for me without defining me.

"It's brilliant to see representation through Summer that's like 'you can have a disability and be a villain, you can have a disability and do all these horrible things.'

"Someone with disability can do that."

Summer has seduced her fiance Brody's ex Sienna (Hollyoaks/Channel Four/ Lime Pictures)

She added: "I think there's a lot of inspiration porn almost - 'aw aren't they doing well for themselves? it must be really sad. It must be really difficult.'

"It's not a defining characteristic of that person which it hasn't been with Summer and she can do all these horrible things and that's never really highlighted.

"It's refreshing for me to get a role and a script where nothing is mentioned about it.

"I'm really proud that Summer is this entity which is very damaged and very complex.

"She multi-faceted but nothing is reliant on her physical attributes, much like they aren't with real-life."

The Blackburn-raised star is proud of her role (Hollyoaks/Channel Four/ Lime Pictures)

Taking centre stage in one of the nation's favourite soaps is a place Rhiannon never dared imagine she could reach while growing up.

"When I was growing up even, being from the north, I always thought the arts cost a lot of money," she said.

"I didn't have a lot of money to go and train and go to Stagecoach like a lot of people were doing.

"I never saw anyone really with any disability - certainly with a physical disability - on stage or screen.

Rhiannon with disability activist Monique Dior Jarett (Hollyoaks/Channel Four/ Lime Pictures)

"I didn't see myself fitting anywhere within that based on how I look.

"I've always had this bit of a battle of 'I don't look right' and 'where's my fit?'- a difficult self-worth.

"'Am I good enough to be doing that?' and 'I don't look like anyone else' and 'they're going to get the real pretty girls who are really slim, that's what's going to get the castings.'

"Especially when I used to go for the dancing. My body just didn't move like everyone else's.

"It's always been a bit of a 'I really want to do it' but the likelihood of that happening is very slim because of my own personal barriers that I've put on myself and then things I've never seen happen.

"I've never seen representation, never seen it out there. "Growing up in Blackburn it was never really a thing.

"It didn't come on my radar."

And Rhiannon promises there's lots more to come from Summer.

"I love playing Summer. She's a lot of fun to play," she said.

"To mess with the existing dynamic on the show has been really good to play."

Rhiannon is one of the Hollyoaks cast to feature in a small series of documentaries with someone of a shared experience.

She met Monique Dior Jarett, a model, dancer and disability activist, at her Altrincham studio.

This week’s Hollyoaks:IRL episode saw Rhiannon and Monique in conversation, as they explored issues surrounding positive representation of disability in TV, film and the arts.

Rhiannon and Monique, who last year made history by being one of five disabled personalities to appear on the cover of Grazia, discussed the obstacles faced by the less-able bodied community, and how vital it is that the media creates inclusive spaces.

In the penultimate documentary Monique tells viewers: “No matter how many times people told me I couldn’t do something, I just did it anyway.”

Episodes of Hollyoaks:IRL premiere with a sneak preview on Snapchat Discover on Tuesdays, followed by full episodes available across Channel Four socials each Wednesday.

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