Quotes from Rachel Shenton

To be honest, the first thing that hits you when you step off the plane in L.A. is just how eager people are to help you out here - or, at least, that's what I've found.

It's really important to remember that disability is diversity, and that disabled actors and disabilities are something that is hugely under-represented in film.

Dad could speak with a strong voice. And luckily, he was very good at lip-reading, so he was able to disguise his deafness well. He tried various hearing aids but would find them fiddly and uncomfortable, and worse, they often made horrible high-pitched noises.

I always say deafness is a silent disability: you can't see, and it's not life-threatening, so it has to touch your life in some way in order for it to be on your radar.

My ideal would be to hop both sides of the Atlantic to work, as I'm sure every actor would.

Deafness and sign language are extremely close to my heart.

Millions of children all over the world live in silence and face communication barriers - and, particularly, access to education.

We need to be a bit kinder and more aware of what is really important.

The 3,000th episode is a great milestone for 'Hollyoaks,' so it was just really nice and a big honour to play a part in it.

I stay in touch with a lot of the cast - Jess Fox, Jen Metcalfe and Nikki Sanderson and probably more that I've missed out. It's a cliche, but it really is like a family at 'Hollyoaks.'

Being at the first post-Weinstein Oscars was amazing. It felt like there's a spotlight on diversity.

I've seen the needless struggles that deaf children and deaf people face, and that gave me the impetus to write.

I like to think my accent isn't strong enough, but it's funny: I get people coming up to me in America and saying I sound like Mel B. She's from Leeds. They just hear a British accent and probably can't quite work it out.

Australia is on my to-do list - I have never been, and everyone says how wonderful it is.

Living in Los Angeles is pretty cool.

For me, film is an extremely powerful way of conveying a message to a mainstream audience.