Hollyoaks

We are proud to have been working with Channel 4 and the team behind Hollyoaks for the past eight months, on a storyline involving four-year-old Dee Dee Hutchinson who has been affected by encephalitis.

The Hollyoaks team approached us last year to see if we would be interested in collaborating with them to make sure the storyline was as accurate as possible.

We were impressed by their eagerness to show the realities behind encephalitis and jumped at the chance to share our expertise.

Dr Ava Easton, our Chief Executive, and Dr Benedict Michael, a member of our Scientific Advisory Panel and Trustee, visited the set and met with the research team early on in the process and have continued to collaborate with them ever since.

Dr Ava Easton and Dr Benedict Michael visit the Hollyoaks set

Naturally, they asked us to keep our involvement secret until the storyline progressed but now we are proud to announce our involvement and hope that you will watch Hollyoaks next week to see more. 

In the coming months, we will be updating you on Dee Dee's progress as well as launching our #OneFamily campaign which aims to raise awareness of encephalitis in children and highlight how we deliver our life-saving support to families touched by encephalitis. 

We hope you will support us and other children who like Dee Dee have had their lives affected by this devastating condition.

Find out more about our involvement, our campaign and our work below.