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14
Oct
Ripon Netflix star fronts modern slavery campaign
A Ripon man, who starred in Netflix hit The Stranger, has joined forces with a modern slavery charity.
Jacob Dudman, 27, rose to fame after featuring in the 2020 Harlan Coben adaptation.
The former pupil of Harrogate's St Aidan’s Church of England School has partnered with Sheffield-based Causeway as part of its Stand with Survivors campaign.
The project hopes to increase awareness of modern slavery and educate people on signs someone could be being exploited.
Causeway today said Yorkshire and the north-east last year recorded some of the highest numbers of referrals for modern slavery support in England and Wales through the government's national referral mechanism.
An estimated 50 million people are currently trapped in modern slavery globally, the charity said, adding more than 100,000 of those cases are in the UK.
Jacob, who lives in Ripon and founded HG4 Productions, created a short film with his team as part of the campaign. A trailer can be viewed on his Instagram page.
He said whilst someone may appear to be moving around freely, they could be under the control of others, adding:
Due to the nature of exploitation and misunderstandings around the issue, modern slavery can be one of the most isolating crimes in our communities.
I am proud to be an ambassador for Causeway and the incredible work that they do. Campaigns like this are vital in our collective stride towards a world free from modern slavery and exploitation.
Please do support Causeway, and most importantly, the survivors they work with. It really does make a huge difference.
Jacob first stepped into the spotlight through his roles as DEV in BBC’s A List and as Doctor Who in the official audio series.
He played Thomas Price in The Stranger, which sees protagonist Adam Price unfurl a myriad of secrets about those closest to him. He also took on roles in Medici and The Last Kingdom, which were also streamed on Netflix, and now boasts nearly 375,000 Instagram followers.
Edwin Buckley, head of communication and engagement at Causeway, said:
Modern slavery does not discriminate, anybody could find themselves affected by it, and statistics show it continues to be on the rise in the UK.
Having Jacob working with us to raise awareness and advocate against modern slavery is so impactful.
Julie Hesmondhalgh, known for her performances in ITV’s Coronation Street and Mr Bates vs The Post Office, is also fronting the campaign, as well as Kerry Godliman, Andi Oliver and Cliff Parisi.
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