Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson has claimed that the popularity of online dating apps is partly to blame for the rise in HIV cases.
The 29-year-old actor spoke out as his soap alter-ego Ste Hay will soon be diagnosed with the virus in an upcoming storyline on the Channel 4 soap.
He said that the apps, such as Grindr and Tindr, contribute to the increase of sufferers because they make it easier to hook up with potential lovers, telling the Daily Mirror: “I think Grindr and things like that… Back in the day, if you wanted to have sex with somebody you had to go to a bar, you had to go and meet them.
“You don’t any more – you just tap a button on your phone and can meet somebody 10 metres away, so maybe that’s one of the reasons why.”
Kieron revealed that he has spoken to friends with HIV and charities to ensure that the storyline is accurately portrayed. It would mark the first time that a British soap has featured a gay character with HIV.
“I’ve got friends who have HIV and we work massively with the Terence Higgins Trust and we got some guys in that have HIV and have been through this – we didn’t want to go out on a limb and just blag it – so we spoke to them, researched everything,” he said.
He added: “Because everybody is completely different and everybody’s journey is completely different, and we’re a TV show and we have to bring the show to a wide audience, and there’s a range of emotions you can go through with HIV, it’s not going to be based on one person in particular.”
His co-star Stephanie Davis, who plays Sinead Roscoe, hopes the storyline will educate people on safe sex.
She said: “Hopefully it will broadcast to people how easy it is to go and get checked but also how easy it is to live with, even though you might think it’s the end of the world, you can live with HIV.”
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