Interview: Can Seb Save Alina?
Will Seb's mission to save Alina lead him into danger?
Harry Visinoni told us his thoughts on Alina's modern slavery storyline.
How much did you know about modern day slavery before this storyline?
I knew that modern day slavery went on and that it was a bigger issue than was commonly known. I was pretty aware of it and I’ve heard of these situations happening before even though it’s not really something that people realise is all around.
How aware is Seb about modern day slavery and the situation that Alina is in?
Seb is pretty ignorant about the actual scale of these operations, but when he sees Alina in this grimly furnished back room - it is pretty obvious what the situation is. He can see clearly that Alina is in a situation of forced labour, but he doesn’t see the danger of what he is getting himself into. He is too reckless to realise that he can’t just turn up at the nail bar and save her.
How much danger is Seb in?
He is impulsive, he acts first and thinks later. He thinks he is the hero and it will all be alright, he doesn’t consider the danger. He has experienced very brutal situations growing so he doesn’t really worry about the consequences of things, but he is putting his life at risk because he is messing with some dodgy people.
Tell us about when Seb calls the police.
He doesn’t know what to do and he is so unaware of what the best thing to do is so he takes the advice from older, wiser people to make the decision to call the police.
What is going through Seb’s head when he says goodbye to Alina?
He is heartbroken. He believes that she is the love of his life. He feels like he will never feel that way about anyone again.
What is Seb’s first thoughts when he is confronted by Nikolai?
Seb thinks, "Okay, this scrap is on, let’s get down to business." His survival instinct comes over him and he feels that he needs to defend himself.
What were the fight scenes like to film?
They were fun to film, for me it was a lot of flopping on to crash mats! I always love doing those action scenes and trying to make it look as real as possible. Seb has been in a lot of scraps but every time we film fight scenes it is different.
What has it been like to work on this storyline?
I have enjoyed working on this storyline the most because it’s been a privilege to be trusted with a real issue like this. I’ve loved working with everyone on this storyline and the scripts have been intense.
What response have you had from people about this storyline?
People have said that they are really enjoying the storyline, so I have had a lot of positive feedback. Seb is not a moody teenager anymore so people have seen a different side to his character.