After getting back with Aaron after their break up how have things been going between them? Do you think things are different now, does Summer think they have a future?
After their initial bust up, then the night with Amy that Summer obviously doesn’t know about, Aaron said he was really sorry for everything, that he only loves her and she took him back. I think she does believe there is a future. They broke up because he'd been chatting to his ex-girlfriend but he explained why, that nothing was going on, that she was just struggling and he wanted to help her and that's it. Summer accepted he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, which actually I do think he was at the time. When they do get back together Summer is completely oblivious to anything that's actually gone up. So I do think she thinks right, this is it now we've got past all of our troubles and we're going to make it work.
So when she realises that Amy and Aaron slept together, how big of a betrayal is that for Summer, because obviously it's her boyfriend and her best friend?
She just can't believe it. The betrayal is huge, there was no explicit break up between them, it was more a series of rows but whether you were broken up for a night or longer it seems it took him literally a couple of hours to go and sleep with her best friend. And as far as Summer’s aware, because she doesn't know the full story at that point, Amy's done the same thing. So it's like betrayal from both sides. If your boyfriend upsets you, you go to your best friend and tell them about it. And if your best friend upsets you you’d probably go to your boyfriend. Summer feels like she's got nobody to turn to because the two most important people in her life, bar Billy and family, have betrayed her.
How does she react first towards Aaron, then towards Amy?
First she gets the story from Aaron that he and Amy have slept together. Obviously she’s heartbroken and breaks up with Aaron and tells him to get out. Then she goes to see Amy and she's fuming. Summer's furious because her and Amy have been friends for so long. From the story that Summer has got from Aaron she thinks that Amy has betrayed her. But when Amy actually does turn around and tell Summer that she didn't consent to this, Summer believes her. After that she’s not prepared to take Aaron on at all.
When Amy tells her the truth, which must be a horrific shock, does Summer instantly believe Amy or is there a part of her that thinks Aaron would never do this?
I think as soon as Amy says it, your gut instinct is to not want to believe it, to not want to believe someone you love is capable of doing that. Her first response is you’re lying, he wouldn't do that but I don't think Summer believes what she's saying because she knows her best friend and she knows she would never lie about it. She wants to fight his corner but I think deep down she knows and when Amy says look, believe me or don't believe me it’s your choice, that’s when Summer straightaway turns and says I believe you, I'm really sorry. It's more that she wants it to be a lie because the truth is so awful.
How important was it to you that Summer reacted in this way? Were you hoping that this is the reaction she would give?
Yeah definitely. Me, Elle and James spoke about it beforehand and we said we hoped that it's not a case of Aaron trying to manipulate his way back in with Summer and we hoped that she wouldn't go along with her boyfriend. So as soon as we got the scripts, I was grateful that in that scene Summer does turn around and believe Amy, and from that point on she's with Amy all the way. She never questions Amy and I think that’s really important because you'd like to think that if you were telling your friend that that happened to you or if your friend was telling you that something like this had happened to them, you would want them to turn around and be with you.
What’s Summer’s response when Amy decides to go to the police because obviously this is someone that she was in love with now looking at a very serious offence?
It's a horrific situation for Summer, as well as everyone else involved because she did love Aaron and I think they have had a really great relationship up until this point. They've been through the mill a bit but ultimately they've always come back to each other. So to see someone that you once loved going through this is horrible. But at the same time it almost makes her hate him more because she knows that he is capable of being a really lovely guy and he's not been. So when Amy goes to the police Summer is fully in support of that and making sure that Amy does whatever is best for her at the time.
How did you react when you heard about this storyline because Amy & Aaron have been together for a long time, they've had a very close relationship, were you shocked to hear that he was going to be capable of doing something like this?
Yeah, I was shocked but that’s what is so interesting about it. I think a lot of people's initial reaction to this storyline has been but Aaron is such a nice guy, he wouldn't do this and I think that is the whole point, that is why we are doing this storyline with Aaron and why James has taken on this role. It’s different to some rape storylines because it’s not a violent attack, he doesn't believe he's doing anything wrong in that moment and ultimately Aaron is still a nice person he's just done a horrific thing and he needs to realize that he's done that horrible thing.
How important do you think it is to tackle the issue of a rape storyline?
I think it's really important, when we've done rape storylines before they have normally been attacks and I think instances like this where there has been no consent happen far more frequently than anyone would like to imagine. I think a lot of young women and young men will have been in situations like this and probably been convinced that nothing bad happened, or it was their friend and they didn't think they were doing anything wrong, or they’re made to think that they were both into it and they both wanted it to happen. I think it is one of the things that gets brushed under the carpet a lot and it will happen frequently. So I think it is really important to shine a light on consent and say actually, this is not okay.
Do you think we'll see a different Summer going forward in relationships with men because although this attack hasn't happened to her, she's going to be deeply impacted because this is a person that she trusted?
Yeah and I think Summer’s trust has been tested a lot in the past already, Todd for example abandoned her and then came back and he really had to work his way back into her life. Summer’s not one to forget quickly and I do think that it will definitely complicate relationships in the future. It will with Amy too who thought Aaron was her friend, he was Summer’s boyfriend, someone who was always lovely and caring and this has happened. It will make them both think what are people really capable of.
Glenda Young
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