{"id":36257,"date":"2023-08-29T01:01:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T23:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1877357"},"modified":"2023-08-29T09:43:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:43:48","slug":"emmerdales-karen-blick-on-aftermath-of-lydias-rape-ordeal-she-just-wants-it-to-go-away","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/emmerdales-karen-blick-on-aftermath-of-lydias-rape-ordeal-she-just-wants-it-to-go-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Emmerdale\u2019s Karen Blick on aftermath of Lydia\u2019s rape ordeal: \u2018She just wants it to go away\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cShe\u2019s thinking about others. What will this do to Sam?” <\/p>

By Laura Denby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 29 August 2023 at 23:01 PM<\/p>

\n\n

This article includes discussions of rape and sexual assault that some readers may find upsetting.<\/em><\/p>\n

Karen Blick has revealed new details about the aftermath of her Emmerdale<\/a> character Lydia Dingle\u2019s rape ordeal at the hands of old friend Craig Reed (Ben Addis)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Craig recently came back into Lydia\u2019s life<\/a>, offering her a cleaning job at his office. In scenes airing next week, Craig sexually assaults Lydia at work, and amid her distress she resolves to keep what\u2019s happened to her a secret.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emmerdale is working closely with Rape Crisis England and Wales, <\/a>who tell us that 1 in 2 rapes against women are carried out by their partner or an ex partner.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other media at a recent press event, Blick explains what drives Lydia to keep quiet about the attack: <\/span>\u201cShe\u2019s thinking about others, \u2018What will this do to Sam?\u2019 She just wants it to go away.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s fearful about being believed; she does not want to upset her family. That\u2019s a big thing, we see Lydia in the aftermath, when she goes back to the Dingles, and Sam and Mandy are there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Exploring further why Lydia doesn\u2019t go to the police, the actress admits: \u201cThat was something I wondered, and then as soon as I played the scenes I completely understood why she did not go to the police.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lydia\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Lydia is left traumatised when she is assaulted by Craig.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cI felt a real empathy, sympathy and understanding for her behaviour, because she feels guilty, she feels ashamed. She feels that it\u2019s somehow her fault that she has put herself in that situation, which is completely incorrect. Lydia is at work when this happens, Lydia is very, very clear to Craig in that she says: \u2018There is nothing between us.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jayne Butler, CEO of Rape Crisis, explains another distressing reason why women in Lydia\u2019s position choose not to report rape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might have a real fear about the perpetrator finding out, and the repercussions of that, either for themselves or for others around them. Particularly in this context, where the person who\u2019s assaulting you is someone that you know,\u201d says Butler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ben\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Craig will gaslight Lydia after raping her.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cThat could be a partner; it could be someone else who\u2019s living with you, it could be somebody who knows where you live. It could be your boss, and have massive implications for you at work; so there\u2019s lots and lots of reasons why people might choose [not to report rape].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Blick reveals, Craig\u2019s manipulative behaviour adds to Lydia\u2019s trauma in the aftermath: \u201c[Lydia\u2019s] having to go into work pretty much every day, back to the place where it happened, seeing the perpetrator who\u2019s denying it even happened and her version of events.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been gaslighted and that\u2019s just compounding her day to day life, and how she\u2019s able to cope or not cope, and the self-doubt, feelings of guilt, \u2018people are not going to believe me\u2019. As time progresses as well, for Lydia, that becomes worse, because she\u2019s saying \u2018Well I\u2019ll become even less credible, if I\u2019ve left it this long,\u2019 which is all hugely incorrect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Asked about filming the harrowing scenes in which Craig attacks Lydia, she tells us that the story was given the respect it deserves: \u201cThey were handled incredibly sensitively, as you can imagine. A number of weeks before we filmed the scenes, Tim Finn, the director, contacted me and we had a meeting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked through the script, we talked through the scenes, we talked through the shots. He was clear in terms of: \u2018This is what I want to portray, these are the feelings, this is the story that we\u2019re going to be telling.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe meeting with Tim reassured me,\u201d Blick explains. \u201cI knew that Emmerdale were going to handle this sensitively and well. I felt completely safe in that particular way. And also we had an intimacy co-ordinator, we had a rehearsal as well, in situ so where we were going to be filming the scenes with the intimacy co-ordinator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo we had time and space in order to get this right. The intimacy co-ordinator\u2019s input was really important in terms of myself and Ben who plays Craig: \u2018This is where your hands will go, they will not go anywhere else.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n