She said: “One of the best parts about being an actor is that you get to play these roles and enter a whole new world, and playing Trish in Broadchurch, I got to work with amazing women at the charity, including counsellors and survivors themselves.
“I was so moved by all the grace and generosity and that’s how I got involved in 2016.
“I knew a little bit about sexual violence and survivors, but obviously throwing myself into that role, and the way that it changed the way sexual violence was portrayed on television as well, it opened up a whole new conversation about that and I was very proud of it.”
Ms Hesmondhalgh said any money donated would “make a huge difference to a chronically underfunded service” which supports nearly 4,000 people a year in the Dorset area.