Hollyoaks actress Ashling O'Shea has shared footage of the moment she confronted a man who was allegedly following her through London at night. The soap star, who played Nadira Valli on the Channel 4 show between 2022 and 2024, wanted to 'publicly shame' the man who was repeatedly stalking her while she was waiting for a bus near Shepherd's Bush Green, west London.
In a video she posted on Instagram, the actress bravely tells the man, who was wearing a black puffer jacket and grey cargo trousers: 'You've been following me this whole time. I came over here, you've been following me the whole time. I've gone to multiple bus stops, shall I just film you? Every time I move, you're following me. Go where you need to go, I've got your face on video, why don't you just go somewhere else? Go away now, leave me alone.'
Ms O'Shea claimed the man followed her across the road and tried to speak to her multiple times. She says that he 'persisted' despite her clearly ignoring his approaches. She continued: 'Once I got to the bus stops, he stopped saying things - probably because there was the odd person around to hear. He continued to follow me. I changed bus stops several times. I walked up and down that road, changing direction frequently. He kept following. When there was someone (a man) at a bus stop I sat in with them and he waited just a few steps away. I did this a few times.'
The actress said that she only felt able to confront the stalker because there was a man present, adding: 'I had a witness.' She clarified that she 'felt backed by his presence, not by his words or action'. The actress said she spoke to another man at a different bus stop who 'heard, understood, watched the behaviour but also said nothing and got on his bus'.
She added: 'After this confrontation, when I was able to actually go to the bus stop I needed, there was a man waiting there. I explained the situation and wanted to know if he'd be there a while. I didn't want to be alone while that creep was still lingering around just in case. I didn't know whether that confrontation truly scared him off, or just put pause on his plans and made him angry.'
She said she was 'grateful' to the men who helped her but she added: 'I wanna be clear that no one spoke up or took any direct action. And that's okay, we have no idea how dangerous a person might be and sometimes it's enough just to feel seen. But sometimes it's also just really scary knowing you don't necessarily have back up, you just have a witness to whatever might be about to happen to you.'
Viewers blasted the man's behaviour and sent messages of support to Ms O'Shea, with one saying: 'I've dealt with this experience too. It's disgusting! I'm sorry you went through this. Good on you for filming and sharing! It's a shame that it had to happen - I hope you're okay.'
The video has attracted nearly 30,000 likes and comments, with Ms O'Shea later adding: 'Comments by non-followers are now off because what we're not gunna have is heinous racist, xenophobic nonsense on this post or my account. That's not what I'm about and more importantly that has nothing to do with what this post was about. Let's focus on the right things here. Or keep it moving.'
