Claire Cooper lauds Hollyoaks rape trial (VIDEO)

Hollyoaks star Claire Cooper believes Hollyoaks broke new ground with the rape case involving her character Jacqui McQueen being tried by a real jury. Last month 12 members of the public decided the outcome of the case in which Gilly stood accused of her rape in February. He was found not guilty. Claire told wahtsontv.co.uk at the British Soap Awards: "I think we handled it really, really well. We did something that no one has ever done. We interacted with the audience. They got to choose the outcome. "Was I happy about the outcome? It's difficult to say because the outcome for Jacqui wasn't what she wanted, but certainly the audience made its choice. There wasn't enough evidence, which reflects society..." Claire was a nominee in the best actress category of the British Soap Awards, which screen on ITV1 on Wednesday evening. Watch the interview with Claire Cooper:

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.