Hollyoaks' Jennifer Metcalfe talks huge change to soap and teases Clare and Mercedes twist

One Hollyoaks icon has nothing but praise for loyal fans of the Channel 4 soap, after a surge in support and "noise" since some big changes were made.

Actress Jennifer Metcalfe told The Mirror how in the past year or so, she's noticed more support than ever from viewers, amid some massive storylines. The soap made some big changes in the past year, from cast and crew cuts to dropping episodes and being heavily digital.

During what was a no doubt worrying time for the cast and crew, the show has delivered some huge plots and episodes - some of which earned them some awards at the British Soap Awards just last month. Mercedes McQueen took centre stage in a cancer storyline that aired some of the most moving and important scenes ever to be shown on the soap.

Now, actress Jennifer has shared her reaction to the support for her and her storyline, but also for Hollyoaks overall. She confessed that over the past decade or just under, it felt to those on the show that the buzz around the soap had died down, and perhaps people weren't as interested in the soap anymore.

But since the transformation, the cast have been overwhelmed with the constant hype and online support for the characters and the episodes. Jennifer also said fans messaging her over Mercedes' health battle has "been amazing".

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She shared: "It has been amazing, honestly. There has been more noice around this show this year than in the past eight years. The feeling amongst us over the last few years was that maybe people didn't care as much."

"Since Hannah Cheers [Executive Producer] has done the big turn around there has been such massive support." Jennifer also teased the big 30th episodes, while she couldn't give much away as much of it was being kept under wraps for now.

What she did say though as that some changes had been made to plans, while she's also suspicious over a sudden flurry of scenes with one character in particular. She said: "Me and Anya Lawrence [who plays Vicky Grant] have had random scenes together that we never get."

As Anya told us and Jennifer: "We never normally have this there's been some nice surprises in the scripts," Jennifer added: "We don't know if that's something coming up for the big 30th or not.

"I say don't tell me cos I am a blabbermouth so I say don't tell me the storylines. But I don't know yet what's happening with it, I've heard they've changed their minds a few times but that's all they are telling us."

The actress also promised more scenes with long-time rival and returning character Clare Devine. She promised Mercedes and Clare would be back with the fiery showdowns, but she also teased something unexpected would happen for them.

Of her co-star Gemma Bissix she told us: "She's a force to be reckoned with on and off screen. The energy she brings to the building it's beautiful. The character is so iconic. There's always a decent clash with her and Mercedes.

"But they do find some middle ground, something they can both kind of bond over this time, even if half of it is a lie. You get that softness out of the two characters. With Mercedes and Clare we see a softer side to their relationship dare I say, and fiery stuff as well."

Hollyoaks is available to stream on Channel 4's streaming service now, while it also airs Mondays to Wednesdays on E4 at 7PM. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and Threads.