‘The Archers made me realise I was a victim of domestic abuse
I personally find the Archers stero-typically boring. I have to admit in relation to this article however that it is a bit more contemporary and relevant than I usually give it credit for. It tells us:
A high-profile domestic abuse storyline on The Archers in 2015 encouraged many other victims to seek help. One woman has told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme she only realised she had been in a controlling relationship when she listened to the BBC Radio 4 serial.
“The first time I realised what was happening to Helen, I felt something fall inside – your insides turn to water, because it was so familiar, just exactly the way it is,” says Helen Walmsley-Johnson.
The plot on The Archers depicted the gradually unfolding abuse of Helen Titchener by her controlling husband, Rob.
It was praised for its realism by domestic violence charities, who credited it with fuelling a rise in calls to the national domestic violence helpline by almost a fifth.
Ms Walmsley-Johnson says she did not know how to describe what had happened to her 10 years earlier until she heard the story and realised the similarities with her own life.
“The whole love thing, sweeping you off your feet and charming the socks off you, happens very quickly,” she says.
“The control part comes in very slowly underneath all that. So by the time that’s getting a grip on you, you are completely head over heels in love. It’s a distorted version of a normal relationship.”