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EastEnders’ grooming storyline involving vulnerable Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) takes a dark turn next week when manipulative police officer DC Craig Ingram (Matthew James Bailey) pressures her to sleep with him.
Recent weeks have seen Amy grow closer to the creepy cop after he was originally assigned to investigate the violent attack on incel Joel Marshall (Max Murray).
Amy eventually confessed to Craig that it was her who had bludgeoned Joel over the head out of revenge for his sex crime against her friend Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James).
But rather than turn Amy in, Craig has used her confession to get closer to Amy, who is also emotionally fraught over her stepmum Denise Fox’s (Diane Parish) ongoing treatment for blood cancer.
Seeing Craig has been somewhat of a distraction from her problems, but she currently has no idea that Craig has been suspended from his job following claims of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague.
Next week, he steps up his agenda towards Amy when he invites her over to his, but she is unsettled when he suggests they sleep together.
Later, the investigation into the claims made against him at work concludes, and Craig’s suspension turns into a full dismissal.
His devastation at losing his job prompts Amy to start asking questions, but he paints himself as the victim to her, before then revealing he plans to leave Walford.
However, he later manipulates Amy further when she suggests slowing things down between them – but when Amy’s dad Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) shuts her out as he struggles to cope with Denise’s illness, it only serves to push her closer to Craig once more.
With Craig managing to make Amy feel increasingly isolated from her family, the bosses have previously confirmed that eventually she will come to see him as the only person in her life who she can trust, putting her in grave danger.
EastEnders bosses have been working with Barnardo’s and End Violence Against Women to tell Amy’s story and raise awareness of the warning signs of grooming.
Lynn Perry, Barnardo’s Chief Executive said: ‘We welcomed the opportunity to provide expert advice on this storyline – which is a powerful reminder that there is no stereotypical victim or perpetrator of grooming. Young people from all walks of life can be targeted and fall victim to controlling behaviour – and many are often unaware that they are being groomed.
‘We hope this important storyline can highlight how subtle the signs of grooming can be and how it builds over time. To any viewers who recognise themselves in this story – who may be currently experiencing abuse or might have in the past – we hope this storyline shows you that the abuse was not your fault and we encourage you to seek support. We appreciate the writing team’s professional curiosity and determination to get this story right.’
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday 28th September at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
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