{"id":9810,"date":"2022-01-11T21:00:45","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T20:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1545877"},"modified":"2022-01-11T21:23:30","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T20:23:30","slug":"hollyoaks-jennifer-metcalfe-on-why-mercedes-son-could-be-the-soaps-next-serial-killer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/hollyoaks-jennifer-metcalfe-on-why-mercedes-son-could-be-the-soaps-next-serial-killer\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollyoaks\u2019 Jennifer Metcalfe on why Mercedes\u2019 son could be the soap\u2019s next serial killer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The star talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about how death and destruction has brought the magic back to the soap. <\/p>

By Johnathon Hughes\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 11 January 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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It\u2019s stunt week in\u00a0<\/strong>Hollyoaks<\/a>\u00a0which means drama, devastation and, inevitably, death. Among the grieving villagers is Mercedes McQueen, the glamorous, gobby anti-heroine who gives Corrie\u2019s Gail a run for her money when it comes to racking up dead husbands.<\/p>\n

The demise of Mercedes\u2019 current spouse, gentle giant Sylver McQueen (David Tag), is one of the cruellest blows yet in a life full of hard knocks and hurt. And in true soap fashion, the childhood sweethearts had finally reconciled after a rough patch and reaffirmed their love for each other \u2013 just as an enormous explosion engulfed the Chester suburb\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cMercedes feels as if her soul has been ripped out,\u201d sighs Jennifer Metcalfe who plays the brassy brunette, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a> about the tragic twist in the soap\u2019s hour-long special. \u201cSylver was the love of her life, they had such a special bond. She is angry at herself for making their last few months so hard after cheating on him and is utterly beside herself.\u201d<\/p>

Since Metcalfe brought it up, we can\u2019t ignore the fact her alter ego is no saint. Minxy Mercy tried sweet Sylver\u2019s patience numerous times during their marriage with her infidelity, drug addiction and deceit. But of all her many husbands (four including Sylver, though one she wed twice. And now all of them are six feet under\u2026) he was the one who forgave and forgot the most, curbing her self-destructive streak and providing a calm stability in her stormy world. Surely she\u2019ll go off the rails without him?<\/p>\n

\u201cSylver was the safe bet, the one she was always meant to be with,\u201d continues Metcalfe. \u201cBut getting a happy ending for about five minutes then having it ripped away is the story of her life, isn\u2019t it? Losing him was a total shock to her, and to the audience who loved them together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real sting in the tale was the part Mercedes\u2019 10-year-old son Bobby Costello played in his stepdad\u2019s death, deliberately leaving him to rot in the rubble of swanky cafe Salon de Th\u00e9 de Marnie, scene of the carnage, as punishment for having previously planned to leave his mum and abandon the family.<\/p>\n

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There were chilling demon-child vibes when Bobby emerged from the collapsed coffee shop and lied to Mercedes that Sylver was nowhere to be seen inside the building, seconds before it collapsed and sealed his fate\u2026 In the coming weeks Bobby\u2019s bad behaviour continues, but does Mercy suspect the extent of her son\u2019s sinister streak?<\/p>\n

\u201cHer head is in the sand, but some things don\u2019t sit well with her,\u201d she admits. \u201cEventually his behaviour becomes more obviously worrying but Mercedes still chooses to deny there\u2019s something not right with him. Bobby is clever and worms his way out of things, she wants to believe he\u2019s her perfect little boy but everyone around her starts to make her question him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first she puts his issues down to losing Sylver, his father figure. She uses all kinds of excuses but it\u2019s quite unnerving to watch how creepy he gets!\u201d Especially considering Bobby\u2019s lineage: he\u2019s the grandson of Hollyoaks\u2019 most notorious serial killer, Silas Blissett, the chess-playing pensioner who made a terrifying return for the soap\u2019s 25th<\/sup> anniversary in 2020 and tried to abduct the boy.<\/p>\n

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In a neat touch, Bobby flashed a sly smile as he played a game of chess after the explosion \u2013 is this a clue he\u2019ll be following in his gruesome granddad\u2019s footsteps?<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes, maybe Silas was like Bobby when he was a kid?!\u201d laughs Metcalfe. \u201cIf Mercedes knew Bobby left Sylver to die would she protect him? I\u2019m not sure, and that\u2019s what makes the storyline so interesting going forward. What would a mother do in that situation? For me, there\u2019s nothing I wouldn\u2019t do for my little boy (Metcalfe has a four-year-old son, Daye, with ex-partner Greg Lake from reality show Geordie Shore). However, you can only protect them so far before you end up making it worse!<\/p>\n

\u201cHow Mercedes deals with Bobby will show a side to her we\u2019ve not seen before, but she can\u2019t ignore the fact he could be a danger to the world. It\u2019s going to be a long-running storyline and I\u2019m looking forward to getting my teeth into it, and I love working Jayden (Fox, who plays him), he\u2019s amazing and a proper little character.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The stunt is the most ambitious event Hollyoaks has attempted within COVID-enforced restrictions. Pre-pandemic, the soap was synonymous with spectacular set pieces and big budget blow-ups. Metcalfe, a veteran of many on-screen disasters in her 16 years on the show including fires, crashes and even being trapped on a ferris wheel (\u201cShe probably caused most of them!\u201d), proudly declares this week as Hollyoaks back to its best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was lovely how normal it felt to be filming a stunt in a big group for the first time in ages, and to be creative again. Personally I sometimes found it hard having to be two metres apart from the cast, especially in emotional scenes. I knew it was necessary and we did the best we could, but we had to sacrifice a lot and it felt a bit flat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did PCR tests twice a week in the month leading up to the night shoots so by the time we were on set we could be pretty free. To get closer to the other actors brought back a bit of magic and these episodes are definitely Hollyoaks at full force.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s only right that Mercedes is centre stage \u2013 since her introduction in 2006 she has been at the heart of the show and become one of its most popular faces. Attracting drama and heartbreak as only a soap leading lady can, the irrepressible, outrageous Mercedes McQueen personifies Hollyoaks\u2019 identity in the way tart with a heart Kat Slater does in EastEnders, or Mancunian matriarch Bet Lynch did in Coronation Street. Mercy has earned her place in the pantheon of iconic strong women the genre is built on.<\/p>\n

Metcalfe is up for any challenge the job throws at her, and there have been plenty. Managing to make someone who has been, at times, utterly reprehensible (when she was shot in 2019 practically the whole cast were suspects) still so loved by the audience is no mean feat. Her enthusiasm for the role is infectious and she remains admirably committed to keeping the character fresh.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI haven\u2019t consciously tried to make Mercedes likeable but because I love playing her, and the writers love her, they keep this gentle side where she can be vulnerable and loving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does take effort,\u201d she candidly admits. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve accidentally created this character, it\u2019s been years of communication and ideas on both sides. Like any relationship it\u2019s been an effort at times! Today she is a good, complex and interesting person that fans like watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loved this\u00a0Big RT Interview<\/a>? Check out these\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n