Lisa Riley says TV drama Three Girls will help many more
Lisa Riley has urged victims of child grooming to ‘speak up’ – after her role in a TV drama offered her a chilling insight into the Rochdale scandal.
The actress, who featured in Wolverhampton Grand Theatre’s panto last year and is returning in December, played Lorna Bowen in BBC One’s harrowing ‘Three Girls’ about the victims of the scandal.
She played the mother of two grooming victims and Riley said filming it had made her ‘angry and more angry’.
The three-part drama, which was screened this week, looked into the abuse suffered by young victims and failings by authorities.
Riley, aged 40, wrote on Twitter yesterday: “I’ve been inundated with your stories regarding child grooming. You must speak up – talk.
“With Three Girls you have a voice!”
She also said: “Let’s pray this true story helps all the thousands of girls in the UK” and “I can’t thank you all enough for your comments, other than saying I am honoured to my core to be able to help other girls in UK.”
In the show, Lorna’s daughter Amber and Ruby were victims of grooming and abuse by a sex ring in the north-west town.
Their names have been altered to protect their identities, however Riley met the actual victims to get an insight into their suffering.
Speaking on Loose Women, Riley said: “We knew it would have a reaction and it’s important it had a reaction.
“We had three and a half months filming it last August and it cocooned my life. I got angry and more angry.”
The former Emmerdale actress added: “I’m so honoured to have played the part of Lorna and give these girls a voice because they were ignored over and over again.
“I just want the girls to stay safe. They’ve seen it, they’re over the moon with how its been portrayed. It’s their story and they feel that justice has been done.”
Riley said filming some of the scenes was distressing.
She said: “The hardest I’ve felt as an actress was when my youngest [on-screen] daughter had to go and have an abortion. The real life me was behind the monitor.
“I couldn’t get angry because portraying this scene to the best of my ability will help thousands. It’s three girls, but you have to remember it’s more like 2,300 girls.”
Three Girls is based on the true experiences of three young victims of the 2012 Rochdale child sex grooming scandal. Nine men were eventually convicted for a string of offences.
