Domestic abuse takes many forms and can happen to anyone
As Coronation Street star Kym Marsh backs Refuge’s #HereForHer campaign and launches her new show Murder At My Door, DANIELLE DE WOLFE finds out more
BEST known for her role as Michelle Connor in ITV soap Coronation Street, actress and presenter Kym Marsh is now set to take on an altogether darker challenge. Joining forces with the Crime + Investigation channel, Kym will present new real-life series Murder At My Door – a show uncovering the shocking stories of innocent individuals murdered in their own homes by people they had grown to know and trust.
It’s a launch that links closely with another of the 44-year-old’s recent projects, as the voice of domestic abuse charity Refuge’s #HereForHer campaign.
The subject has been high on the agenda since the beginning of lockdown, with the charity recording a surge in demand for help and advice, alongside an increase in the number of calls to its hotline.
Speaking out in support of abuse victims, Kym is using her platform to raise awareness of the increasing number of people who are suffering in silence.
Here, we chat to the TV star to find out more...
What initially drew you to the refuge campaign?
I HAVEN’T been a victim of domestic abuse myself but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to get involved. I think anybody should want to get involved because it’s not acceptable, full stop, and it needs to be stamped out.
What we need to do is continue to support people, continue to support the victims of domestic abuse, and Refuge are doing such a wonderful job doing that.
The extent of their work is mindblowing – the amount of time and dedication and help that they give to victims of abuse is just unbelievable.
How do you think your voice will support the #HereForHer initiative?
WHAT I want to do is to get the message out there, to reach out to the victims who think they might be being abused, and to encourage people to speak out so that they know there is a big community of people there to help them.
Let’s not forget abuse takes on many different forms.
It’s not just about the physical side of it, there are lots of different forms of abuse and I often think that people tend not to talk about it; it’s almost a taboo subject and people feel it’s a private matter and don’t necessarily realise that it’s happening.
Ellie Gould, 17, was murdered by Thomas Griffiths last November after she ended the relationship with him to focus on her A-Levels
It’s a subject that links to your new show, Murder At My Door?
WHILST it’s not directly linked to domestic abuse, it is linked to those personal relationships, you know, those people you can trust, those people that you think you can rely on.
People that you love – that is the ultimate betrayal, isn’t it? To think that someone who could be that close to you would want to do something like that to you.
It’s completely alien to us; that’s not something that we ever expect or think would happen – but then again none of the victims ever thought that would happen to them either.
What attracted you to the Crime + Investigation series?
I’VE always been a fan of the channel because I think the stories they tell are important, always.
The show itself does explore that darker side of Britain really, and it does highlight the fact that people can be killed in such a way by people that they love.
They show the lengths investigators have gone to catch the person responsible and to bring them to justice. So it interested me a lot and I just wanted to be the person to tell those stories.
Did you find filming an emotional experience?
IT was quite a harrowing show to work on, in the sense that listening to the stories and the bravery of the families of the victims is just mind-blowing.
The series features the murder of Ellie Gould, which is a particularly recent story...
YEAH. That was so recent. I think they were so incredibly brave to be talking about it. But they’re doing it for the right reasons and I have nothing but respect for them.
It’s something that will stay with them forever and they’ve been so brave in sharing their stories – but they are important stories to tell because these things really happened and they can happen to anyone.
What element of filming did you find the most challenging?
I FELT a sense of responsibility really, because I just wanted to make sure I did the job right and that the families and friends of those victims would be happy with the job that
I’d done.
That I’d done the job right for them, really. Hopefully I’ve done that and they feel like I’ve done it justice.
Murder At My Door launches on Crime+ Investigation at Monday at 9pm
For help, advice and more information about the #HereForHer campaign, visit the Refuge website refuge.org.uk