Neeta is playing with fire…
AS NEETA RISKS EVERYTHING TO BE WITH HUNTER, AMRIT MAGHERA IS OVER THE MOON TO BE PART OF SUCH AN EXCITING PLOT…
The blazing sunshine of Ibiza may be a dim and distant memory for Hollyoaks teaching assistant Neeta, but her secret affair with pupil Hunter is as red-hot as ever! Inside Soap was agog when Neeta finally let down her guard and gave in to her passion for the teenager during a steamy scene on the beach. And as we catch up with actress Amrit Maghera about Neeta’s shenanigans, she reckons we weren’t the only ones left open-mouthed…
“I think viewers were quite shocked!” chuckles the star. “It was obviously a big turnaround for my character, who’d been saying no to Hunter all along. But most people have been really encouraging and saying they love the two of them together. Which I’m pleased about, because it could easily have gone the other way!”
Since returning from the sun-drenched Spanish shores, smitten Neeta has been sneaking around behind closed doors with her schoolboy lover, taking every chance she can to grab a few precious moments with him. But it hasn’t been easy with her controlling boyfriend Mac hovering. “Neeta got back together with Mac because she thought that would stop her from getting involved with Hunter,” explains Amrit. “But while she’s not in love with Mac, and she reunited with him for the wrong reasons, she does care about him. This week you’ll see the reality of her affair – it’s not all fun and flirtatious, it’s actually really upsetting that she has to do this. It’s such an awful situation.”
And it’s one that only gets worse, after an afternoon of fun and frolics in the folly leaves Hunter and Neeta in panic mode when they realise the condom has split.
“Neeta knows she needs to get to the chemist right away and take the morningafter pill,” confirms Amrit. “Her getting pregnant with Hunter’s baby would just add more complexity to an already complicated life! So she’s flustered and panicked at that moment.” Having a baby may be the last thing on Neeta’s mind, but it appears to be at the forefront of Mac’s – and he shocks her by suggesting they start a family. How does she react to that?
“Neeta feels very under pressure, because Mac asks
her in front of the whole family,” cringes Amrit. “She’s like a rabbit caught in the headlights – but you’ll have to wait and see whether she agrees to go ahead with it…” It’s clear that Neeta’s secret fling would cause a huge scandal if it were uncovered – not to mention get her in serious trouble with the law! But Amrit admits she was thrilled when she discovered what was in store for her kind-hearted alter ego.
“I was excited about it, even though I was also very daunted,” she tells us. “Hollyoaks did a similar storyline about 10 years ago with Becca Dean and Justin Burton, and I remember watching that as a teenager – so I can’t believe that I’m now in the show and doing something similar.
“It was important to me that it was about feelings, not just sex,” adds Amrit. “I wanted to do this with as much authenticity as I could so that people wouldn’t see the age gap – it’s about two people who are in love, even though the situation they’re in is not a good one.” As much as we’re enjoying the saga, we can’t help but be concerned for Neeta, given that Becca’s story ended with her dying in prison! “Well, every script I get is great – it’s just getting juicier and juicier,” shares Amrit. “This story touches on a lot of things I can’t tell you about just yet…”