Soap star Lucy joins battle against bullies

The 20-year-old plays Coronation Street’s Bethany Platt, who on screen is currently involved in a storyline where she is being bullied.

Lucy regularly receives messages from isolated youngsters in a similar situation, something that influenced her decision to get involved with BulliesOut.

She said: “Bethany is feeling very isolated at the moment and it’s that feeling that there isn’t anyone she can talk to that really seems to resonate with viewers who have also been bullied.

“I’ve had lots of tweets from girls around the same age as Bethany saying they too feel alone. That’s one of the reasons why I was so motivated to work with BulliesOut.

“Fortunately I’ve never been directly affected by bullying, but I have spoken to family members who suffered bullying at school.

“It can be terrible because it’s no longer confined to the classroom. I love Twitter and Instagram, but it’s easy to see how the bullies can reach you at any time.”

Since 2006, BulliesOut‘s mission statement has been “to increase individual self-esteem and community cohesion through positive and innovative interventions and empower individuals to maximise their impact and potential.”

Linda James MBE, of BulliesOut, said: “We are delighted to have Lucy join us as a celebrity ambassador and we hope this will help encourage young people to speak out against bullying.”