Hollyoaks Later:
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Interview with Emma Rigby (Hannah)
We catch up with Emma Rigby - AKA Hannah Ashworth - who tells us all about her thoughts on filming Hollyoaks Later, and reveals she's actually a festival virgin!
What was your first thought when you read the storyline for Hollyoaks Later?
I read the storyline and I was really excited, I couldn’t wait to start filming. It was a good storyline in that it showed a really different side to Hannah’s character. She evolves and becomes more mature and streetwise. There’s a definite change in her by the end of the episodes – at the beginning I thought it was really fun and I thought it would be exciting to film. I loved the idea that the storyline got quite dark and bleak, and it was something that I’d never been a part of. All of the locations were really interesting and there were new characters to work with – I couldn’t wait to get started.
Do you think this is a natural progression for Hannah?
I think it’s something that came completely out of the blue, but I think it’s then better at the end when she comes back into Hollyoaks. You don’t have to have watched both shows to know what’s going on, but you will definitely see a change in Hannah’s character. She grows up a lot more and I think she goes from being a little girl to an independent woman. She’s been in a cocoon in Hollyoaks and I think what goes on in Hollyoaks Later sets her up for life in the real world.
Do you think Hannah will ever be able to shake her good girl image? Would you want her to?
No I don’t think she’s going to be able to shake it because she’s always a bit of a geek at heart but I like that image and I think you always need people like that who are sensible and always stick to the rules. But also she’s got nice qualities and I think you’ll see in Hollyoaks Later that Hannah really isn’t a wild child and it doesn’t suit her at all and she’s kind of horrified by what’s going on at the festival. She tries to join in and let go, but doesn’t do it that successfully.
What was it like being on location? Do you prefer it to being on set?
It was completely different; I find it really strange, even just the convenience of being able to go to the toilet isn’t there. When we were filming on the dunes at Formby beach there was quite a walk to get to the toilets, so you couldn’t just bob off and go to the toilet or go and make yourself a cup of tea. It was very different, I felt like I was doing a mini film!
Did you and the filming crew draw a crowd when you were out on location?
There was one really funny thing when we were filming at Ainsdale beach and we had to strip off in the scene. The shoot was from 4pm til 4am and this was the last scene. There was already a crowd of people who had to come at three in the morning to watch and we had to strip off and it was really embarrassing. I have no idea how they found out we were there, I just thought ‘I hope no one has a camera!’
Have you ever been to any festivals?
No, I was a festival virgin so the experience at Wakestock Festival was my first. Although we didn’t go out much, we were just filming. It was absolutely pouring down at Wakestock, but it was funny. It was hard getting what we needed because the sound was so loud at the festival, I nearly lost my voice from shouting over the music.
What was your favourite moment during filming for Hollyoaks Later?
Well we were in a field and I was on the character Jamie’s shoulders and there was a band on so we were dancing. I got off his shoulders and was running around. It was pouring down with rain and we were all dancing in the mud, and it was such a great feeling because we were all really relaxed and having fun.
Hannah seems to have been attracted to a couple of music types in the recent past. Is this anything like yourself?
I do love musicians, yeah. I’m kind of in awe of anyone who can play the guitar. I love Paolo Nutini and James Morrison... and McFly of course!