Mother of murdered Northumberland schoolgirl says Netflix show 'Adolescence' is eye opening for parents
The series shares unsettling similarities to what happened to her daughter.
Last updated 25th Mar 2025
The mother of a murdered Haltwhistle schoolgirl Holly Newton says a new Netflix show is heart-breaking and eye opening for parents.
15-year-old Holly Newton was stabbed to death in Hexham by her ex-boyfriend in January 2023 after he could not accept their relationship was over.
The Netflix drama Adolescence stars Stephen Graham and newcomer Owen Cooper, and deals with a very similar story to Holly as well as touching on misogyny and social media issues.
Micala Trussler, Holly's mum, says that the show portrays a really important message.
She said: "For me it wasn’t an easy watch, it was really hard and very emotional. It’s not even so much about what that boy has done, it’s how that has affected the family.
"It was a really hard watch, but I do think it’s so important that people do watch it.
"It’s basically telling the story of the family and how it’s affected them, but also how this young boy has got in that position in the first place.
"Teenage boys and young boys now are watching a lot of pornography and things online. They’re role models in their life as well. We’re not meaning to but we’re pushing them that way.
"That’s where the idea of the educational package comes from as well. I think I’m focusing on the victims of domestic abuse, not just young girls but young boys as well, because we all know it goes both ways. But I just think should there be a package out there for the perpetrators.
"It’s an important message and it makes you look at it from a different view. My view has always been different to that view because I’m not in that position, I’m in the other position.
"I do think we can do more to help the perpetrators and stop this from happening by getting to the root cause.
"Teenagers do spend a lot of time in their rooms. We don’t know what they’re doing or what they’re watching.
"I don’t think everything is in parents control, I do think social media need to take a lot of responsibility. Parents, teachers, we all have a responsibility to help these children."
She continued to say: "They were a normal family. He had a business, and they were just a normal family living in a normal house. Everything was normal.
"It’s shown people that this can happen to anybody. There’s no point anybody sitting here thinking that my son or daughter wouldn’t do that."