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Today sees two more of the Freshers cast arrive on set - the deliciously named (not to mention deliciously looking) Bianca Hendrickse-Spendlove and the half-French, half-English, completely cool, Olivier Blanc (son of gastro legend Raymond no less). Those of you who have watched Hollyoaks recently will already be familiar with the Bianca. She plays India’s sister Texas. Unlike Bianca, Olivier is a newcomer to the world of Hollyoaks. He plays India’s ex, Trent.

Before filming up and coming raunchy scenes together, the pair gets acquainted in the hotel bar. Bianca and Olivier resist the temptation of cheap spirits in the hotel bar and instead go for a Mr. Kipling cake. An exceedingly good choice!

Director Flemmo shows Bianca and Olivier the type of shot he’s got in mind for them. The self-facilitating media node that is Ian D. Fleming then proceeds to get out his iPhone in order to show them a video he’s made to exemplify the shot. Warning: The clip contains images of a middle-aged man playing air-guitar. Oh dear!

Jess (Leanne) finishes her scenes with Alex (Lee) in his pants. There’s a round of applause, which is in recognition for Jess’s first shoot - not for putting up with Alex mincing around in his undies!

On the Freshers set, the man in control of curtailing the rowdy behaviour/encouraging this rowdy behaviour is director Ian D. Fleming, AKA ‘Flemmo’. And Alex Carter (Lee Hunter) in his pants has to come under the banner of rowdy…

It’s approximately two or so hours before Alex has to strip down to his pants. And what pants! Modelling a pair of lipstick emblazoned silk boxers, Alex, unsurprisingly, feels a bit uncomfortable and is trying to, erm, acclimatise to his new undergarments.

I hope he’s washed his hands after the pants caper as it’s time for the day’s highlight… lunch! I know, I shouldn’t be getting so excited about a meal, but let me talk you through it… Whilst you very briefly queue to get served you’re presented with bhajis, samosas, spring rolls and pizza slices – and this is just while you wait! When you arrive at the front of the queue you’re met with several choices of modern culinary masterpieces.

One boy, who despite sounding like he’s going to devour everything in sight, is Alex Carter. In the end, the Peter Pan of soap opts for a healthy salmon dish. What a pro! However, not everyone is such a pro!

Food coma casualties (post-lunch napping) = 2.

Just before getting back to set, I swear I hear Alex Carter on the phone to someone about his roof. Reporting on this type of thing may seem like an invasion of privacy, but I’m just worried that perhaps Alex isn’t the Alex of old. Talk of roofs sound like a far cry from the lairy days of Bombhead! 

It’s the first day of filming for Freshers, but there’s no time to settle in, no chance to silently observe the crew and cast, and there’s hardly a break in play to have a breather. Why? Well, reader, I’ll tell you why – TV soap legend Alex Carter has returned to the warm bosom of the Hollyoaks family!

Yes, Alex Carter is back to reprise his role as loveable rogue Lee Hunter, the character he played from 2001-2005. Up until recently, Alex has been acting as a postman in Emmerdale, but just as his postie persona left the ITV soap, Alex began filming his first scenes for Freshers. You thought Lee Hunter was a livewire, well, I can tell you that Alex is just as frisky if not more so!

One person who’s not quite as energetic as Alex – and let’s face it, there’s not many people who are ever as energetic as Alex! – is Jessica Forrest who plays Lee Hunter’s girlfriend, Leanne. There are a few reasons why Jess isn’t quite that fresh today...

Jess’s list of woe!:

•    Jess has just been on holiday to Egypt and, due to delayed flights and what-nots, she tells me, with specific detail, that she’s only had “55 minutes worth of sleep”.
•    The sympathy for Jess increases – she’s got five bites on her legs too!
•    She was also subjected to food poisoning whilst on her jollies.

After some snooping I discover that Jess has never worked on TV before. In fact, she’s just finished her second year of a theatre course in Manchester. She is but a wee, young lass! In comparison, Alex Carter is a seasoned pro! It’s 9.26 in the morning, we’re on location in a hotel and he’s already downing the champers, or at least his character is downing the champers. Rock and roll!

Like Hollyoaks? It was a rhetorical question, of course you like Hollyoaks. Well anyway, allowing that you are of sound mind, you're sure to love Freshers too, a brand-spanking new online drama coming soon to a web-browser near you...

So what's the score? Well, Freshers will be tracking the lives of a disparate group of young hopefuls all about to descend upon Hollyoaks Community College.  That’s right, you’ll get the first glimpse of some of the show’s new characters right here in Freshers – before they even enter the main show.

There are some familiar faces in there too, with Charlotte and Dave featuring, plus some vintage Hollyoaks gold, in the form of Lee Hunter, Hollyoaks' prodigal son, who will be returning to the show with new girlfriend Leanne in tow...

You'll also be able to get closer to your favourite characters than ever before – you’ll be able to buddy up with the likes of Tex, Lee, Charlotte and newbie Jamil on their own Facebook profiles... coming soon.

Even better, we took it upon ourselves to head off to set to get you the latest behind the scenes news for this very here Backstage Blog. Woohoo! Each day you’ll be able to find out the latest on-set gossip and see some sneaky behind the scenes pics too…

What more could you ever want? That was another rhetorical question by the way...as you were.