Fair City actors hope domestic abuse storyline will encourage victims to seek help

"It's a very strong yet dark storyline."

Fair City actors have said that they hope the soap's domestic abuse storyline will encourage victims to seek help. The upcoming scenes will see Will attack partner Cristiano following a relationship counselling session. Actor John Cronin, who plays Will, told RTE that his character's abuse is the result of his own insecurities around his sexuality. "Will growing up in the '80s in Dublin internalised a lot of homophobia that he had been hearing and had suppressed the side of himself that was attracted to men," he said. "And now it has ended up coming out later in life in a destructive way. "What had started as a double life with issues of control, he now blames Cristiano for the loss of his family and that's what we see really coming out in tonight's episode." Rodrigo Ternevoy, who joined the Dublin-based drama as Cristiano in 2016, added that he hoped the scenes - and the fallout of Will's behaviour - will encourage victims of similar circumstances to speak out. "It's a very strong yet dark storyline and I really hope it will bring light to the issue of domestic abuse so that people going through similar can reach out for help," he said. "Tackling domestic abuse with same-sex partners will hopefully open up the topic for discussion." The scenes depicting Cristiano's attack are set to air during tonight's episode. Fair City continues on RTÉ One tonight at 8:00pm.