Hollyoaks - Interview with David Ames (Carter Shepherd)

7 November 2023

Some powerful scenes are set to air when John Paul finally discovers Carter’s ulterior motive as the pair hash it out at the gym, can you tell us about this?

John Paul finally puts two and two together and realises that Carter’s meetings, his group workshops that he has, his therapy sessions, happen to have a certain weight to them. The weight is particularly religious. It is effectively conversion therapy. He’s speaking to different men with different things going on in their lives and one by one he is ensuring they believe that this is due to their choices when it comes to sexuality, and that sexuality is a choice. He tells them that you choose to give in to your sinful desires and sins of the flesh. Well, of course, we all know it’s not a choice, we all know that people are just who they are, and that is most certainly not a sin.

Why do you think now more than ever it’s important for Hollyoaks to be airing a Conversion Therapy storyline?

It’s very important to be telling this story as it’s very of the moment, it’s constantly back and forth in the news at the minute that our present conservative government under Rishi Sunak are thinking of scrapping banning conversion therapy again, something they pledged to get rid of months even years ago.. It is very important that we are illustrating quite how corruptive this practise is. Carter isn’t just a man with an evil plan he too has been put in a position where religion has made him feel less than and therefore it’s corrupted his mind and made him feel he needs to pass it on to those around him. Not only that, you see the affect it has on other men in this situation. Other people who are susceptible to those who they look up to, they’re shown the ‘way’ and usually this unfortunately takes the guise of religion.

Is it difficult to get into the mindset of someone like that?

I have to say it’s been difficult. There is a tremendous amount of self-loathing that goes on when I’ve researched this and when I’ve read interviews with those that have been through it and come out the other side thankfully. When you watch documentaries or exerts online which show interviews with people undergoing it, people who are still performing these ceremonies and these therapy sessions, there is so much self-loathing, so much hatred, almost certainly most of it is due to a particularly religious upbringing. Them being told that they are disgusting that they are less than, there’s so much damage that comes to that, so much that so many people had to unpick later in life. To get in that headspace is quite exhausting at times you realise. For me I tend to realise that that’s something people have been going through, I was very fortunate I never experienced this. I certainly experienced my own personal element of shame and being scared of who I was and who I wanted to be, and I wasn’t sure whether I would be accepted. Panicking that those that I love and who love me will no longer love me. There is so much involved in that, so to get yourself into that headspace it takes a lot. You realise there’s a lot of hatred there, you realise there’s a lot of bigotry, there’s a lot of anger, and a lot of hurt. It always sounds a little bit actor’y, to be like, I don’t want to carry that home with me darling. It’s hard if you’re spending twelve hours a day in a headspace whereby you should feel shame constantly. Trying to get that emotion out of you, you inevitably get into a bit of a funky headspace, so it’s nice that I work with James Sutton.

What’s it like working with James Sutton?

It’s been a real joy because in between these heavy moments that we’ve had, we’ve made a joke, or we’ve done stupid voices and made each other laugh. That’s needed. That’s why we will happily mess around for a little bit because we make each other laugh and that’s been really nice it helps break things up. I hope James feels the same! Unless it’s just a one-sided thing and he’s like ‘god I wish this clown would shut up’.

Why do you think it’s important for Hollyoaks to show the contrast of togetherness during the issue storyline covering conversion therapy?

It’s like any other person or any other community, we have light and dark. We have terrible things going on in our community at the minute. It’s lovely to celebrate being in a community that has each other’s backs and that’s what is really lovely. We’ve got a long way to go, yes there is an ongoing battle to trans people. Equally if we pull together we are stronger than all of this, and we’ll get through this. We will continue to grow and gain strength we’re not going anywhere we’ve been here all along its just we’re not hiding anymore. When you show those moments of darkness and you show those moments of troubles that we have, and issues that we’ve still got in our community, or through external factors, if you’re showing that then show times of celebration show the times of love show the times that we lean on each other and are there for each other and show up.

Following his shock romance with John Paul, Carter sets his sights on Maxine. Why does he go for her, what can you tease about this connection moving forward?

Maxine is a single parent. Maxine is an incredibly sweet lovely person. She also I think just fits the bill for Carter. He’s imagined himself in a heterosexual relationship with two children, this is the dream that he’s had since he was younger and the one that he constantly wishes he could have. He sees a glimpse of it so he goes for it, but it is a relationship that is tainted because it’s what he wants but it’s not necessarily right.

Will he use his position of power as headteacher to his advantage?

I think Carter is aware of his moral and social standing and he has always held that in very high esteem, sometimes to his detriment, and to other people’s detriment. He cares too much about what people think. He’s absolutely petrified of being made a fool of, and that is something that plagues him. It controls a lot of his choices in life. I believe he does feel the power of the position that he holds, but with it comes the pitfalls of that. You can’t slip up, you can’t make a fool of yourself you can’t make poor choices because they will come back tenfold.

John Paul has just found out Carter’s motives, how do they move on from that?

Carter promises John Paul that he won’t do it again, and Carter agrees. That might not necessarily pan out exactly as John Paul had hoped and as Carter promises. Other circumstances occur and Carter sees a chance to help someone and unfortunately within him wanting to help people, it’s that age old thing of do you do things to help people or do you do it for the way it makes you feel, is there a selfless act? Carter symbolises that, he wants so desperately to help people because in his eyes it makes him closer to God, it makes him a more religious a more payas a more rounded person. Unfortunately then he doesn’t do what’s then right for that person and then his judgement can be clouded when it comes to that.