Channel 4 viewers issued trigger warning ahead of disturbing opening scene in new series
Channel 4’s new two-part drama I Am Helen puts toxic masculinity in the spotlight.
The latest edition of the award-winning I Am anthology series follows a woman, played by Nicola Coughlan, and her five-year relationship with her partner Steve (Joe Cole), who is becoming increasingly influenced by online ‘manosphere content’.
“Told through a female lens, the story examines the pressures and expectations placed on women while confronting the realities of toxic masculinity and the damage it can create in modern relationships,” Channel 4 says ahead of its release next Monday and Tuesday.
Deadline reports that the opening scene tackles the subject of strangulation during sex, with the UK government bringing in legislation last week to ban pornography featuring choking.
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The trailer shared by Channel 4 last week shows the following trigger warning: "Scenes if violence and aggression that some viewers my find distressing."
“Even though it looks raw, we planned it so everyone feels safe,” Cole, 37, said. “Those boundaries also mean you can push the emotion further.”
“Sometimes, especially in the States, there’s so much red tape before you get to the performance and the heart of what you’re trying to achieve,” he added.
“Luckily, Nicola and I built trust right at the beginning.”
Coughlan, 39, said on The Graham Norton Show that filming was ‘really intense’ and that it got to the point that she wanted to quit.
“It is such an unusual project as it is completely improvised and quite a tough subject matter,” she explained.
“I felt sick every day with nerves and thought, ‘When can I quit? I want to go home.’
“You really don’t know what the show is until you see it, and it is strange to watch it back.
“It was quite mad and a very different way of working – a really intense but amazing experience.”
Coughlan said she was drawn to the role because of Dominic Savage, the writer and director behind the acclaimed series.
“People ask what drew me to the role, but there was no role: I was drawn to Dominic as a writer and director,” she told Radio Times.
“I’d found some of the previous stories in the I Am anthology incredibly affecting, and I think the best work you make is when you get on with people and have a shared ethos. I left thinking, ‘What a nice man’. I would also say that he’s a wizard.”
I Am Helen airs Monday 16 November at 9pm and Tuesday 17 November at 9.15pm on Channel 4. Catch up on C4 streaming.
Anish Vij
