Marnie pursues Edward
FORGET BREXIT, LYSETTE ANTHONY (MARNIE) IS DETERMINED TO BRING SOME CONTINENTAL TO HOLLYOAKS…
Marnie is one musician short of a quartet…
I’m going on strike if they take the Salon De Thé De Marnie away from me – they’ll have to pull me out of there by my feet!” declares star Lysette Anthony, as we chat about her alter ego’s new business venture. “It’s just absolutely brilliant working there – and what’s so delicious about it, quite literally, is those cakes. I’ve got to stop eating them! As soon as we go into the Salon we can really play with the comedy, and I’m loving it.”
Presiding over her pride and joy definitely suits Marnie, but she’s going to be knocked from her perch this week as she pursues Tony’s dad, Edward. Smitten Marnie is delighted when he comes to her rescue at the Salon, yet little does she know that Edward is only trying to make Diane jealous...
“Marnie’s hosting a music recital, and we’ve already seen that Edward is a proficient cello player,” explains Lysette. “She is one musician short of a quartet, and she manages to persuade Edward to play. She’s just in a complete lather of love and excitement, watching her man with his bow, but Edward’s being very wicked. Rest assured, though, whatever happens next, Marnie won’t take it lying down.”
Despite Marnie’s troubles, Lysette tells us that she and Joe Mcgann – who plays Edward – get along fantastically on set.
“We have worked together a lot before, so it’s a real joy,” reveals the star. “We were husband and wife on [early 2000s ITV soap] Night And Day, and we did a play together following that too. We just have such an easy shorthand, and Joe’s probably one of the best-read people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
With her love life falling short, it’s lucky that Marnie has a big family support unit waiting for her at home. And they’re even more united now that Juliet and Romeo have changed their last name from Quinn to Nightingale.
“Well, that was Marnie’s idea, so she’s feeling very pleased with herself,” laughs Lysette. “Marnie just adores them, and I adore the both of them for real. They’re both fantastic, and they’re like brother and sister in real life. The other day Niamh [Blackshaw, who plays Juliet] was trying to have a little snooze and
Owen [Warner, who plays Romeo] got the scissors out to pretend to cut her hair. He’s very naughty!”
Now that Romeo is working as a waiter at the Salon, Lysette informs us that she’s been trying to educate Owen in the art of speaking French!
“I’m constantly trying to teach him, but all Owen does is look at me with that charming smile and say ‘Enchanté’,” sighs Lysette. “But I’ve got a plan because Billy [Price, who plays Sid] wants to learn some more French, so I’m going to bring out their competitive spirit with one another.”
The Nightingales may be more united than ever right now, but Lysette warns that their happiness isn’t set to last long.
“Unfortunately, I think there’s trouble ahead,” she sighs. “Marnie refuses to see bad in Juliet, which is probably a mistake! The drugs story is so important because of what’s going happening on our streets, and Niamh is just superb!
“Plus, our resident drug dealer Connor [Calland, who plays Jordan] is just as charming off camera too,” adds Lysette. “So at this precise moment, all is fabulous in Marnie’s world – which, as we know, means it’s all going to go horribly wrong pretty soon!”