:

Claire Cooper is one of three of our amazing cast members to have been nominated for an Award at this year’s British Soap Awards! Claire is up for ‘Best Actress’ and we can’t think of a more deserving winner!

This year she has grappled with huge stories and has continued to move audiences to laughter and tears as the most fiery member of the McQueen clan – Jacqui.

Last Autumn she was involved in the one-off ‘King of Hearts’ episode, which saw her rub up against dangerous gangster type, played by Darren Day (no less). The nation’s hearts were in their mouths as Jacqui deliberated whether to take Danny up on his indecent proposal and cheat on Rhys for the price of £2000.

More recently, Jacqui has been embroiled in a dramatic story alongside Gilly Roach, played by Anthony Quinlan. In January she accused him of rape, which he denied vehemently. The nation were divided as to who to believe. In the end, we invited a panel of fans to make up our jury and decide which way the story should go. The verdict was delivered eventually, finding Gilly innocent, on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to convict.

You can find out more information about that story, plus get help and support on issues surrounding rape and sexual assault in our Hollyoaks Trial section.

Claire has managed every story she’s been given this year with grace and skill. She has had some very difficult obstacles to tackle and has taken us on an amazing journey with her right throughout.

Next week, we will be filming an ‘Ask the Cast’, video with Claire, in which she will be responding to your questions. Keep checking our Facebook wall for more details.

Plus, there is going to be an opportunity for fans to ask the stars questions at the British Soap Awards after-party.

Do you have a question you'd like read out to one of the soap stars at the British Soap Awards 2011? Head over to www.itv.com/itv2 for more info...

P.S. Don’t forget to vote for Claire, as well as Emmett and Jenny at the BSAs: www.britishsoapawards.tv

Nominees

If you’ve had your ears to the ground, then you’ll have heard the big news already – Hollyoaks has been nominated in five categories at this year’s British Soap Awards! That fab five list of nominations reads thusly: Best Actor – Emmett J. Scanlan (Brendan Brady), Best Villain - Emmett J. Scanlan (Brendan Brady), Best Actress – Claire Cooper (Jacqui McQueen), Sexiest Female – Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes Fisher), Best Soap – Hollyoaks (us!!!).

The guys have all worked very hard all year to bring us drama that’s kept us right at the very edges of our sofas/bean-bags/futons/other. Emmett has moulded a new village legend in brooding, moustachioed, chewing gum enthusiast Brendan Brady. Props to him.

Meanwhile, Claire brought us big drama, with high stakes in the King of Hearts special. She also helped portray a very difficult and sensitive story in the rape trial case, in which Jacqui took Gilly to court.

And finally, our Jen has been making telly-boxes up and down the land look a lot more sexy since 2006. And she’s still bringing it baby!

We Need Your Votes* *(PLURAL)*

All strong contenders, I think you'll agree. Never the less, they still need your votes darlings. Don’t be shy, do it now: http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/

And remember, you’re allowed more than one vote from each email address, so if you’re the type that dwells on fences, give us a vote anyway – it won’t hurt…it’s just like AV in action.

Ask the Cast

We will be filming an ‘Ask the Cast’ interview with Miss Metcalfe tomorrow. If you have a burning question, post it on our Facebook wall, and keep checking our videos page…

There are lots of reasons to celebrate right now. Let us list just two for you.

1.    Will and Kate are getting hitched. Better still, we get a bank holiday out of it.
2.    It’s Easter. Again, bank holiday (x 2).

And as if that weren’t enough, we’ve got summat extra for you to shout about – the shortlist for the British Soap Awards has been drawn and Hollyoaks is nominated in FIVE CATEGORIES!

The nominees are: Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes Fisher) - Best Actress; Claire Cooper (Jacqui McQueen) – Best Actress; Emmett J. Scanlan (Brendan Brady) – Best Actor, Best Villain; Hollyoaks (us) – Best Soap.

All three cast members were delighted to be nominated. Jennifer Metcalfe says on Twitter:

It’s a fun award. Nice to be up for it! …Thank you for all your messages of support and votes for the Soap Awards... Means so much to me!

She brightened up the competition this year as a contestant on ITV’s ‘Dancing on Ice’. Her fellow nominee Claire Cooper was also made up with the support she’s received so far:

I’m honoured to be representing Hollyoaks, but also myself. I’m absolutely thrilled that the public have got me this far.

Claire has had some tough stories to contend with this year, including the rape trial case, which saw Jacqui take the stand against Gilly:

It’s been a tough year for Jacqui, and a challenging year for myself as an actress, but the stories I’ve been given have really helped me grow and develop and I just hope I’ve taken the audience with me.


And finally, we caught up with the double-nominated man who plays old double B himself, Emmett Scanlan:

Genuinely, even to be considered at the start of the process is an honour, but to be short-listed is beyond anything. The fact that this is a public vote absolutely floors me and the fact that Brendan Brady strikes a chord with people out there makes me proud to be part of this whole story. Since the start I’ve been thrown in the deep end and I’ve just had to teach myself to swim.

Asked about the rest of the team he said:

The support has always been there from everyone – from the producer, to the writers to the crew – all of these people have allowed me to have that freedom to express myself. I feel like all the hard graft has been done already – by the producer and writers – and I’ve just been able to put my own personality onto that and test the boundaries every day.

We asked Emmett to tell us why people should vote for him at the British Soap Awards:

Oh no, for me, that whole competitive element just doesn’t even come into it. Every day I get to express myself and create and play –for me that’s enough. If you’ve invested half an hour of your life to watch this show, then all I can say is thanks. Award or no award, I’ve been winning since I started out here.

Well, Emmett’s humility is admirable. Never the less, these guys need your support more than ever. To vote for them, go to: http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/

And remember – you can vote more than once, and from different email addresses! Do it now!

Your votes have been counted, the shortlist is in and we are delighted to be able to confirm that yours truly (Hollyoaks, that is) has been drawn in a wopping five categories for the British Soap Awards!

In the category for sexiest female, we are represented by the foxy Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes). She has been raising the pulse of the male population recently in her storylines alongside the Costello boys and after some years on the show, she definitely still knows how to fill out a pencil skirt!

Relative rookie to the show, Emmett J. Scanlan (Brendan) has done fantastic work in getting himself nominated in two different categories - 'Best Actor' and 'Villain of the Year'. Brendan forms one half of the most talked about couple of the year. No, we're not talking Will and Kate - it's 'Stendan' of course. The man behind the tash is already a legend in the village.

Meanwhile, Claire Cooper is nominated for 'Best Actress'. She has done sterling work this year portraying a very delicate story, in the rape trial case that saw Jacqui take Gilly to court. 

And finally, we're nominated for 'Best Soap'. For that we have to thank everyone who has put such hard work this year into making Hollyoaks the swankiest soap of them all, but also to you lot, for supporting us.

The work's not done yet though guys. Keep casting your votes, we need 'em! To vote for your favourites and avoid disappointment, go to: 

http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/

In tonight’s show, we will be joined by a brand new female cast member. Jenny's appearance on our screens comes shrouded in mystery. Rhys may think she’s digging his charm, but her real motives soon become clear.

The character is played by Daisy Turner, sister to Lacey, who played Stacey Slater in that other tv soap…what’s it called again? Oh yeah, ‘Eastenders’, that’s it. We caught up with Daisy to talk about joining the team, and about how proud her sister must be to be seeing her joining the cast of such a world-renowned long-running drama!

PS…to learn more about Jenny, check out her cast profile…


How does it feel to be joining the cast of Hollyoaks?

Fantastic! This is my first big tv role so it’s all really exciting!

Have the rest of the cast looked after you so far?

They’ve all been really lovely, yeah. It’s been great working with them!

Can you give us any indications of what Jenny’s going to bring to the show?

She doesn’t take any crap, but she’s also got a very vulnerable side. I think we’re going to get to see both sides of her character. I was really happy with her, because I’ve always wanted to play a bitch, but it’s been great for me to be able to play out all the different shades of her character.

Were you and your sister always acting as children? It must have been a very dramatic household.

Yeah, we’ve both always acted, but I was a bit of a tom-boy when I was younger, to be honest. I had horses to play with and I just loved mucking about.

When you saw your sister Lacey on the telly, did it push you on to follow in her footsteps?

It did in a way. I saw what my sister was doing and I thought, ‘I want that’, but then, we’ve both always acted and I’ve done this on my own – I’ve worked hard for it, so it’s good to see that paying off!

Don't miss Jenny's first scenes, tonight (Friday 15 April), 6:30pm, Channel 4!

Show us how much you care – vote Hollyoaks at the British Soap Awards! Today is your last chance to exercise your democratic right, before the short-list is drawn up for the British Soap Awards. This is what your ancestors fought for – don’t waste your vote!

Hollyoaks has nominees in every category. Nominated for ‘Sexiest Male’ are Rob Norbury (Riley Costello), Ashley Taylor Dawson (Darren Osborne) and Craig Vye (DC Ethan Scott). Rob plays rising football star Riley Costello, whilst Ashley and new chunk-of-hunk Craig were both involved in the Heatworld special episode, where we saw both guys flexing the pecs for Heat’s ‘torso of the week’ competition.

Our girls nominated in the sister category, ‘sexiest female’ include a couple of stalwarts – Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes) and Jorgie Porter (Theresa). They’ve both been brightening up our screens for a few years now. Cheryl Cole lookie-likey (i.e we’re looking and we likey) Rachel Shenton (Mitzeee) is also nominated.

We have three right bruisers and blackguards nominated in the ‘Best Villain’ category. Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox) deserves a place in the list for defying death and coming back to haunt the village once again this year. His partner-in-crime Emmett J. Scanlan (Brendan Brady) is also nominated. We’ve seen some really powerful scenes from Emmett this year, throughout his abusive relationship with Ste Hay and the after-math of his murder of Danny Houston. And then there’s Jeff Rawle, who plays Silas – the smooth-talking, RP serial killer himself. We wouldn’t want to catch any of those geezers on an off day.

For best actor, we have a pick between Kieron Richardson (Ste Hay), Emmett J. Scanlan (Brendan Brady) and Anthony Quinlan (Gilly Roach). All three have grappled with huge stories this year. Stendan’s abusive relationship has had us screaming at the telly, whilst the rape case involving Gilly dealt sensitively with a delicate issue.

Meanwhile, in ‘Best Actress’  Victoria Atkin (Jason Costello), Claire Cooper (Jacqui McQueen) and Jorgie Porter (Theresa McQueen) are all competing for the spoils. Victoria bravely dealt with a radical story of a young girl experiencing Gender Identity Disorder this year and did so very emotively. Meanwhile, Jorgie and Calire have also had huge stories to contend with, not least the fall-out surrounding revelations about Theresa’s murder of Calvin and the rape trial between Jacqui and Gilly. Again, we couldn’t call it, but they’ve all moved us massively.

Oh, and of course, for ‘Best Soap’ – there’s only really one sensible choice – why Hollyoaks, of course.

Don’t miss your chance to have a say. To vote, go to:  http://www.britishsoapawards.tv/

Welcome to this week’s blog from the Hollyoaks music department.

This week’s musical highlights on Hollyoaks include:

‘You’ll Be Mine’ by The Pierces – This is the latest single from talented siblings ‘The Pierces, an American duo who have slowly been building a name for themselves since recording their debut album way back in the year 2000. Even though that date always sounds like it should be in the future, it’s now most definitely in the past. We chose the song to soundtrack a menu sequence in which we see Rae withholding a photo of Heidi and Gaz’s secret liaison, whilst an oblivious Carl thinks all is well. The lyrics “I could always stay and work it out/Wondering if you still wanted me/But there are so many things to doubt”, seemed particularly relevant to their rocky marriage. We also got to see Lynsey in a towel, always a bonus.


‘Month of May’ by Arcade Fire –.So Gaz’s dirty secret is out and ex-footballer Carl is putting those years of training to the test as he hotfoots it out of the pub to catch the young swine who has cuckolded him right under his nose. This pounding tune from recent Brit Award winners Arcade Fire provided the perfect energy and tension to mirror the chase on-screen.

Check out our spotify playlist for more of the tracks used on the show this week: 

http://open.spotify.com/user/hollyoaksfacebook/playlist/4WzrSZhjDvbikudRf81Fwi

On Our Stereo:

“Girls Fall Like Dominoes” – Nicki Minaj

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e37nkp5qXKE

Charismatic songstress Minaj pinches the huge chorus from Big Pink’s “Dominoes” and turns it into a slinky pop number. Not, unfortunately, a paean to the deep-pan traders at your local pizza emporium, but more a story of a promiscuous lifestyle, it is big tune nonetheless.

More musical goodies await on next week’s episodes of Hollyoaks, so until then…

James & Kate

In this clip from an up-coming episode, Liberty treats us to an enchanting rendition of Adele’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’.

Abi Philips came into the show as Liberty last year after recording her own song, ‘Missing You’, which was used in Steph’s dramatic final scenes.

She is currently working on her debut single “Summer Sunshine”, which will form part of her debut album, which is also underway. Enjoy!

Plus, you can find more of Abi's music and info at: http://abiphillips.com/

Annie Cooper will burst onto our screens this week as Alex, a sexy blonde vixen who throws the cat amongst the pigeons when she tempts young football super-star Riley to play away from home. Will she be able to net him?

We caught up with Annie for a little natter. Read what she had to say...

Without giving away too much, what can we expect from Alex?

You can expect to see a couple of feathers being ruffled, a touch of flirting, a little bit of flirting and a whole lot of fun…;-)

Was it fun playing the new sexy vixen in the village?

Yeah, it’s always fun playing a baddie and getting to be naughty…

How were you cast for the part?

My casting agent called me up and arranged for me to meet with the casting directors and it all went from there…

Do you think that Alex is a good fit for you?

I think she’s great fun.

What was your initial reaction when you found out that you may get to do some sexy scenes with Rob Norbury (Riley Costello)?

I actually didn’t find out until after I’d got the part, but I do think he’s cute. It’s a good-looking cast, they’re a hot bunch!

We’ve had a look at your CV. You’ve done loads. Including loads of ads - Sunny Delight, Pringles, Dominos Pizza…are you just a big fan of junk-food?

Ha, ha! The Pringles one was the best - I got to eat loads of those. I actually try and eat really healthily though. I’m a vegetarian…well, episcatarian…

Well, I was going to pull you up there – you’ve also done a Birdseye Fish-fingers advert too haven’t you?

Oh yes, of course!

Did you get a wink from Captain Birdseye?

No, I was only a kid though…that would’ve been really wrong!

We also noticed by looking at your CV that you did a Music video for Basshunter. We’ve met him before at the Hollyoaks Music Show, he’s , erm, a bit of a character isn’t he?

He’s amazing! He’s got so much energy! And he’s a fellow Swede like me!

I didn’t realise you were Swedish!

Well, I was born there, but then my parents moved here.

Jonas (Basshunter) is quite fond of the ladies too isn’t he? Did he come onto you?

I’m saying nothing!

Could you tell us something fans may not already know about you?

Well, I used to be a gymnast – I trained in Moscow with an Olympic team. I’m also a big animal lover – I’ve got a cat and a dog.

Were you a fan of Hollyoaks before you came onto the show?

Yeah, I’ve always loved it and I have lots of friends who have been in and out of the show.

What’s the best thing about the ‘oaks?

I think it’s its pace. And it’s just more exciting than other soaps.

After the first day of the on-screen rape-trial on Monday night, we hosted a live chat with experts Fiona Elvines from Rape Crisis, Dr. Cath White from St. Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Manchester and Hollyoaks producer Gareth Philips.

In tonight’s Channel 4 6.30pm show, a public jury will give their verdict and find Gilly either guilty or not guilty of raping Jacqui McQueen. The jury is made up of 12 members of the general public who we invited to deliberate the case to act as a ‘fictional jury’, giving their verdict, which was final. This group was made up of a broad selection of people between 18-70 years old.

Straight after the verdict is given in tonight’s episode, we’ll be hosting another live-chat (7pm). Once again, we have invited along experts; including barrister Paul Dockery, Hollyoaks producer Gareth Philips, and a representative from Rape Crisis.

Fiona works for Rape Crisis, who provide specialist services for women and girls that have experienced a rape or another form of sexual violence, whether recently or in the past. Paul Dockery will be there to explain the legal procedure of a rape trial in court, whilst Gareth is on hand to answer questions about the Hollyoaks rape storyline.

If you have any questions about this storyline or about the issues that it covers then join us at: http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/trial/chat/ at 7pm. We are not able to answer every question that comes through, but we will read through them all.

For more information about these issues and the on-screen story, visit: http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/trial/

Within the trial section of the Hollyoaks e4 site, you will find filmed vox-pops with characters, as they give us their pre-verdict opinions, issue-based videos with the case, as well as links to help and support.

On Monday we will also be releasing extra footage from the trial story. If you would like to see what would have happened had the jury gone the other way with their verdict, then come back to: http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/trial/

Plus, if you or someone you know has been affected by rape or sexual violence then there are organisations out there who can help you. For further information visit: http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/help-and-support/rape.html