‘I remember the first day he came to the school, he was like nothing we’d ever seen,’ Rhona said. ‘He was funny and loud and the teachers were running around after him, giving him whatever he wanted. He was so cool. We thought he was fantastic. And I remember the audition. After I finished mine, an Emily Dickinson poem “Because I could not stop for death”, he came over to me and put his hand on my head and said “I’ve found my girl,” and I thought my heart was going to burst with pride. And this feeling I had. That was the main thing. He made me feel special – no, more, it was like he treasured me. I was fifteen. I’d never felt like that before. Or since.

‘The filming was, well, it was brilliant. Learning my lines, the different takes and set-ups. I’d thought about acting, but by the end of the film I was sure that it was what I wanted to do. And he, well, he encouraged me, talked about my potential, said he’d help me. And I believed him. We became friends, or so I thought. We had private chats and he told me how he found me so easy to talk to and how sincere and genuine, how unspoilt I was, how women were usually a pain in the neck, how they always wanted something from him, and how our friendship was pure and good, and how he was so glad he’d found me. That kind of thing. He gave me gifts. Small things he must have got through his job. Advertising stuff. A couple of pens. A T-shirt. Nothing much. I see that now. At the time though … Anyway, he said we’d keep in touch after filming ended, that I needn’t worry about that, and he’d arrange a special treat, and I was to tell nobody, because by rights he should be doing something for the school, for the whole school, and Sister Bernadette, because only for her he wouldn’t have been able to bring in the film on budget. He used all those kinds of movie terms like “on budget” and “rough cut”, and I felt like I was learning at the feet of a master. And that everyone else was a waste of my time. My family. My school friends.’

‘Did anyone apart from you know what was going on?’