Hollyoaks star Jennifer Metcalfe has revealed that there are no lengths Mercedes McQueen would not go to in order to protect her nearest and dearest from a deadly threat.

The former pub landlady has fought off numerous foes in her time and always come out victorious and her latest battle involves someone quite close to home – she just doesn’t know it yet!

Gemma Johnson (Tisha Merry), who has become rather friendly with Mercedes, has been conspiring to get her out of the picture so that she canswoop in and steal her man Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas).

Mercedes is currently none-the-wiser about what Gemma is up to but this is Hollyoaks we’re talking about – it’s only a matter of time before the truth spills out. And when it does – our Merce will be on the warpath.

‘If she thinks that something that is hers is threatened, there’s no end that I don’t think she’d go to,’ star Jennifer told Metro, teasing a possible confrontation between the two characters

Be afraid Gemma, be very afraid!

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Mercedes, as viewers know, is currently embroiled in the curious case of the vanishing of Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson), who disappeared while on a spa day out with her and Leela Dexter (Kirsty-Leigh Porter).

Jennifer told me that her on-screen alter-ego is ‘gutted’ about Ste’s disappearance and admits that she feels ‘partly responsible’.

‘She was driving, she was the one who said, “There’s a spa day here, you should come with us,” explained the star. ‘There’s a bit of a sense of guilt there. And just: “What the hell? Where did he go? How’s he just gone missing in a service station?”

Upcoming scenes will see suspicions mount and fingers pointed, with pretty much everyone in the show a suspect as Mercy and Leela lead the charge to locate Ste – or at the very least find out what’s happened.

‘They’re not taking any prisoners!’, exclaimed Jen. ‘The village comes together and starts questioning everyone at one point! Obviously, James [Nightingale] has not long been back [so he’s in the frame]. Mercedes has got history with him as well.’

And it’s not just James that is the subject of Mercedes’ frustration, with newly released Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) also targeted by her. ‘Everyone is getting the finger pointed at them!’, Jennifer teased. ‘Because Sienna hurt Cleo, [Mercedes] carries that loyalty to her cousin, so it’s added fuel to the fire.

‘Storylines like this are great, because our characters haven’t done owt together for years, or you might have one scene a year. Anna [Passey] is great, it’s nice to have her back.

‘We did a great scene in the village where Mercedes and Leela are questioning her. Again, golden. Strong characters doing a big long scene. They’re my favourites.’

Jennifer was full of praise for co-star Kirsty and shared her glee about Hollyoaks exploring the Mercedes and Leela dynamic once again. ‘ They’re two northern girls, both from a similar background.

‘The scenes are always great. We did a really big scene in the car. It was about ten pages long, and you’re like, “Holy Moly!”.

‘And they’re not even doing anything, they’re just down-to-earth girls, strong characters – and I think Kirsty’s one of our strongest actresses on the show; she’s amazing.

‘I love a scene where there’s no big drama or stunts or anything – It’s just two people having a good old chat – and I love working with her.’

We’ll just have to wait and see how the Ste story pans out but, 20 years on since her debut as Mercedes, Jennifer told me that she’s still enjoying playing the iconic character – in fact even more so now.

‘The show has gone through different changes, and massively in the last couple of years,’ she reflected.

‘The storylines now are a lot quicker. They start and end quicker. They reach their peak quicker. It’s only three episodes a week to tell the story and shorter episode lengths. It’s so fast-paced and, honestly, it took me a while to get used to it.

‘I was like, “What? We’re telling this story so quickly!” but now I get it. We’ve found our flow, and I think it works better than it ever did.’

Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 6am on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.

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