HOLLYOAKS actress Jorgie Porter feels like she is having a break from bringing up two kids when working on the soap – despite gruelling filming schedules and long scripts.
The 38-year-old admits looking after son Forest, three, and 22-month-old daughter Peony is “exhausting” and “crazy” at times.
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Jorgie, who plays bubbly Theresa McQueen, tells The Sun on Sunday: “Having two kids so young is very intense. I didn’t expect it to be as crazy as it is. It’s been extreme.
“And work is tough. Hollyoaks is non-stop. You don’t get any downtime.
“I’m very tired and I get baby brain where I forget stuff. But I get a break when I’m getting my make-up done or having my lunch.
“It’s nice to be able to eat without having a child climbing on me.
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“As a mum, you become a climbing frame. No one tells you that before you have children, but it happens.”
Jorgie returned to the set after her second maternity leave last year — and now, some months on, she says she is finally learning to successfully juggle home and work life.
Laughing, she says: “I can see a light at the end of the tunnel now.
“It’s not always easy but they are the best kids ever. They are so much fun. I think it’s going well.”
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Jorgie used to love partying — and at her baby shower, when she was pregnant with Forest, she told her guests: “Please, everyone, get drunk for me!”
But now it’s a different story. When Jorgie gets a night away from home for a VIP party, all she wants is an early night.
Even after May’s Bafta TV Awards at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, she refused to party and headed back to the family home in Manchester.
Jorgie says: “When I get a night off, it gets to 9pm and I’m asleep.”
It was a tough road to motherhood for the actress and her fiancé, property developer Ollie Piotrowski.
She and Ollie, who has 11-year-old son Alfie from a previous relationship, suffered two miscarriages, including the heartbreak of losing quadruplets in 2021.
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She found love second time round with Ollie in 2020, after they briefly dated six years earlier. It was a turning point in her life.
She had never planned on starting a family, but Ollie said he could see himself having children with her — and she saw her future change.
The following Christmas, he proposed at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perth and Kinross.
And now that their family is complete, the couple are planning their wedding.
But Jorgie says motherhood has also changed how she views her body — and she plans to do more photo shoots in the future.
For years, her sexy look helped her become a cover girl for lads’ mags Nuts, Zoo, FHM and Loaded.
Jorgie has said she found it “em- powering” — and in 2012, she was even voted Hottest Female Soap Star by FHM readers before releasing her first calendar, packed with snaps of her in skimpy outfits.
But as she gears up to turn 40 on Christmas Day next year, Jorgie is keen to change the format.
She says: “I would like to keep doing photoshoots, absolutely.
“But obviously they’d be different now. They might not be as sexy.”
Jorgie’s parents spilt soon after she was born, so she was brought up by her mum and late gran in Salford, Greater Manchester.
After training at The Manchester School of Acting, she found fame on Hollyoaks in 2008 at just 20 and has had a full-on career ever since.
In 2012, she was runner-up on Dancing On Ice and returned for the All Stars series in 2014.
She took part in I’m A Celebrity. . . Get Me Out Of Here! in 2015, making it to the final and finishing fourth.
Geordie Shore’s Vicky Pattison was crowned the Jungle Queen.
The following year, Jorgie left Hollyoaks and appeared in reality shows including Celebs Go Dating and Celebrity Haunted Mansion.
She also spent two years in LA having acting lessons and toured the UK in Fame: The Musical.
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But in 2020 she visited the Hollyoaks set to film a Come Dine With Me special and decided to return after four years away, making her comeback as part of the soap’s 25th anniversary.
Jorgie said she realised that the role made her happy, adding: “I prove myself by playing Theresa.
“I can get my teeth into gritty storylines.”
And she has had plenty. Her first, in 2010, involved Theresa shooting Calvin Valentine, played by Ricky Whittle, on his wedding day — and after she was revealed to viewers as the killer in a series of flashbacks, she was sent to prison.
And in 2020, Theresa was manipulated by serial killer Silas Blissett (Jeff Rawle), who she was secretly dating, supplying him with information which he used to anonymously blackmail her family.
Theresa has remained a high-profile character, with many storylines focusing on her being a mum and the realities of raising a rapidly maturing teenager — including her 16-year-old daughter having sex with a classmate.
Jorgie reveals she continues to get asked to appear in reality shows but has turned down all offers since having children.
She says: “I need a minute before I take on anything else.
“I used to always have two jobs at a time. I was always busy.
“I used to do other projects but now I just do Hollyoaks.
“If anything else comes up, I’m like, ‘Put that to the side, that can wait’. I have my family life at home and Hollyoaks, and that’s it.”
The soap has seen major cuts in recent years due to tightening budgets at Channel 4.
In February 2024, ahead of Hollyoaks reducing its output from five episodes a week to three, around 135 production roles were lost, including 20 cast members.
But the show continues to produce special episodes too, including last year’s 30th anniversary crossover with Brookside.
They also did four separate Christmas specials in December 2025, released as a box set on Channel 4, with each episode focusing on a different family, including the McQueens.
The show was nominated for the Serial Drama gong at this week’s NTAs alongside EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
And Jorgie says that she is always proud of Hollyoaks’ issue-led storylines.
She adds: “Usually, we are the first to do something. Our boss, Hannah Cheers, is a genius.”
The actress still loves her job — and whenever people question why she doesn’t move on, she instantly gives the answer.
Jorgie says: “I’ve stayed for so long because of the people.
“The cast and crew are wonderful — they let me be me.
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“I get to have fun, and the storylines are also amazing. I love it when we get to do stunts and have big explosions and things like that.
“I love Hollyoaks. I don’t want it to ever end, I want it to be there for ever.”