Rachel Shenton, famed for playing Mitzeee Minniver in Hollyoaks, has once again opened up about her momentous Oscars glory. The actress and her fiancé Chris Overton scooped an Academy Award for The Silent Child at this year's ceremony. Appearing on Friday's Good Morning Britain, Rachel confessed she never dreamt that her story would win something as huge as this. "I remember having this idea [for the film] in my bedroom when I was living in LA and calling Chris," she shared. "He said, 'Write it. If it's rubbish we can delete it. No-one ever has to see it.'" The star added: "I would never have dreamt of this happening."
© Photo: Getty ImagesRachel Shenton and fiancé Chris Overton pictured with Maisie Sly at the 2018 Oscars
The Silent Child tells the story of a profoundly deaf four-year-old called Libby (Maisie Sly), who lives in a silent world until a social worker, played by Rachel, teaches her how to communicate through sign language. Rachel, who hails from Stoke-on-Trent, was inspired to write the story by her father, who went deaf two years before he died, when she was just 14. The actress added: "He's the reason I learned sign language and got involved with the deaf community. He was the person I was thinking of up on stage, wishing so badly he was watching me from the audience. I know he'd be incredibly proud."
STORY: Hollyoaks star Rachel Shenton wins at the 2018 Oscars
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe couple won an Academy Award for The Silent Child
During her acceptance speech, Rachel touchingly used sign language. Of that moment, she explained: "It's still surreal that they [Oscars] belong to us... I didn't regret signing [my acceptance speech], but was worried I wouldn't manage to sign it all. But I managed. It was a close subject to my heart." Speaking about the film's young star, Rachel added: "She's so much cooler than we are about this whole thing. I think she was more excited to go to Disneyland the day after than she was about going to the Oscars."
STORY: Oscars 2018: All the winners
