Rachel Adedeji To Leave UK Soap ‘Hollyoaks’ After Raising Questions About Racial Discrimination

Lime Pictures has confirmed that Hollyoaks actress Rachel Adedeji is leaving just days after she raised questions about racial discrimination on Channel 4’s soap.

The All3Media-owned company said Adedeji handed in her notice last year, meaning her decision to leave came before she went public with concerns about the treatment of diverse cast members.

Lime said: “Rachel made the decision to leave Hollyoaks to pursue other opportunities earlier last year which saddened us at Hollyoaks as she is one of the leading cast members in the show.

“However, the notice period did allow the writers time to give Lisa Loveday an extremely gripping exit storyline. Viewers will see this story play out later this year as her final scenes were filmed shortly before lockdown.”

Adedeji’s rep added: “It had always been our intention for Rachel to leave the show after a period of time. She loved her time on Hollyoaks and the exit storyline was openly discussed with the producers and her together, in a collaborative format.”

Lime is investigating her claims, which included the accusation that cast members were referred to as “blackies” by a senior figure in the production team, and female black actors were “forced to drastically change their hair” for fear that viewers “would not be able to tell them apart.”

The company said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the issues raised by Adedeji and others, and added: “Lime Pictures strives to have zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows but it is clear we have further work to do.”