‘The news is out!’ Coronation Street casts Hollyoaks legend as love interest for major character
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Former Hollyoaks star Gemma Merna has joined the cast of Coronation Street.
The actress, 40, is best known for playing Carmel McQueen in the Channel 4 soap, who died in 2014 after a train crash and a gas tank exploded.
Now, Gemma is swapping the village for the cobbles, as she joins the cast of Coronation Street as a character called Rebecca.
Taking to Instagram, Gemma shared a picture of her outside the Rovers Return Pub to confirm the news. She is wearing a mint green suit and black heels, which could well be from her character’s wardrobe.
In the caption alongside her Instagram image, Gemma proudly wrote: ‘The news is out. I’ve been keeping a little secret. I am thrilled to announce that I’ve landed my dream job on @coronationstreet!
‘Can you believe it?! I’ve wanted to be on Coronation Street since I was a little girl. Being born and bred in Manchester, it’s truly a dream come true for me. It’s been on my vision board for over 10 years, and finally, I got the chance to walk the cobbles. I can’t even believe I’m writing this.’
She added: ‘I think the best part was ringing my mum and telling her. To my dad, nana, grandad, and grandma, who all watched it for many years, and were huge fans. I hope you’re proud of me up there. Rebecca will be gracing your screens in the next coming weeks.’
Rebecca will be a part of a love-interest plot involving solicitor Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson). She will only appear in a handful of episodes, as the storyline will be short.
Recently, it was reported Hollyoaks has axed 20 cast members following news of its reduced weekly episodic output.
The Channel 4 soap, which currently airs five times a week, will drop to three offerings from September in response to research which indicates that this is the optimum episode pattern for modern audiences.
To facilitate the new chapter, 135 job redundancies were confirmed, which is thought to be around a third of Hollyoaks’ staff.
According to a new update, this now includes 20 cast members, who have reportedly been let go.
‘Losing 20 cast members in one fell swoop is eye-watering and devastating news for soapland,’ claimed a source.
‘In the past, Hollyoaks has seen shock stunts claim up to five lives in a single episode.
‘But the days of soaps having a big cast clear-out with a devastating stunt are long gone, especially on Hollyoaks where the budget has been dramatically cut,’ the source continued to The Sun.
‘The necessary death toll would make almost any stunt idea totally unbelievable.’
