In tonight’s EastEnders episode, Nugget (Davinder Gulati played by Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) confronted Will Michell (Freddie Phillips) over filming him having a seizure in the chicken shop and sharing the footage.
A few weeks ago, we saw Nugget having a seizure while waiting in line at McKlunky’s takeaway. He received exemplary first-aid care from his friend Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega), who cushioned his head, helped protect his dignity when he lost bladder control, called his dad Ravi (Aaron Thiara) and walked home with Nugget after he recovered from his seizure.
In this scene, we see Will Mitchell with the group of teens, making a mysterious appearance despite supposedly being on holiday – an inconsistency that wasn’t lost on viewers. He takes out his phone and starts filming Nugget having the seizure.
Yesterday, we saw Nugget find out that a video of him having a seizure was posted online by an anonymous account, leaving him furious. His sister Avani (Aaliyah James) calls it an “invasion of privacy”.
Tonight, Nugget challenged Will in the market, saying it was him who took the video, and he and Ravi went to discuss it in the café with Will and his parents Billy (Perry Fenwick) and Honey (Emma Barton).
Will confessed taking the video, thinking Nugget was pulling a prank and not realising it was a seizure until afterwards. While he said he didn’t post the video online, he admits sharing it with another friend who did.
We had another glimpse of Ravi’s worsening mental health, as he has very little reaction despite Nugget asking him to step in and his obvious distress over the situation.
When to film and when not to film
It is not okay to film someone having a seizure, share it with others or post this on social media without consent. The Epilepsy Foundation says it is unethical and could be illegal to do so. In Nugget’s case, he hasn’t given his consent, so sharing or posting the video anywhere is unethical and unacceptable.
This is a concern that many people with epilepsy have. Recent Epilepsy Action research found 59% of people with epilepsy said they are worried about having a seizure in front of strangers and not being able to control the situation or their safety. Many shared their fear of people walking on by, filming them have the seizure or dismiss them as being on drugs.
However, there are circumstances in which filming a seizure could be helpful.
Epilepsy Action says that while the first priority should be to ensure the person having a seizure is safe, filming someone’s seizure can provide valuable information for their doctor. It can help make a diagnosis, identify the type of seizures a person has and help locate where they start.
The Epilepsy Foundation suggests filming the whole seizure and a short while afterwards, as well as asking some questions to gauge whether the person lost consciousness. They add that the location could give clues as to potential triggers.
They recommend reassuring the person that you won’t share the video with anyone else, sending it directly to them and deleting it if the person asks you to.
You can find updates on this and other epilepsy storylines in soaps on Epilepsy Action’s news pages.
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