Former Hollyoaks actress takes home Oscar for Best Short Film

She's better known by soap fans as Mitzeee Minniver.

Former Hollyoaks actress Rachel Shenton took home the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for her work on The Silent Child, which she directed with her husband Chris Overton. She also wrote, produced and starred in the film. The film focuses on a deaf girl who gradually learns to communicate with the world after a care worker teaches her sign language. Shenton stayed true to her word and signed her acceptance speech after making a promise to the lead actress, six-year-old Maisie Sly, even though she was trembling with nerves. [caption id="attachment_166276" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Image credit Getty[/caption] "I made a promise to our six-year-old lead actress that I’d sign this speech and my hands are shaking a little so I apologise," she began. "Our movie is about a deaf child being born into a world of silence, it’s not exaggerated or sensationalised for the movie, this is happening, millions of children all over the world live in silence and face communication barriers and access to education. "Deafness is a silent disability, it is not life threatening and you cannot see it so I want to say the biggest thank you to the Academy for allowing us to put this in front of a mainstream audience," she told the crowd. Shenton was also awarded Best Actress for her work on the film at the London Independent Film Festival last year.