MS storyline advises soap storyline

Hollyoaks, the teen soap drama on Channel 4, has introduced a new storyline in an episode this month which involves a character living with multiple sclerosis.

Played by actor Grant Masters, Martin Campbell is to be the on-screen father of 14-year-old Ricky Campbell and will be portrayed as having a progressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS) - something which has caught the attention of the MS Society.

Martin's wife and Ricky's mother has left the family home as she is unable to cope with the disabling symptoms of her husband, which is where viewers were introduced to Ricky's home life.

The charity said of the situation: "The MS Society understands this is likely to be a dramatic portrayal of MS and its symptoms.

"While we have advised script writers on how best to progress the storyline, the ultimate character interpretation is in the hands of the soaps' producers."

It was recently concluded that the addition of a humanised monoclonal antibody called daclizumab reduces the number of new or enlarged brain lesions in patients with relapsing MS, according to the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Read about Barchester expertise in offering multiple sclerosis support.