They ANSWER!
Zara returned to Hollyoaks village last summer after a 15-year hiatus – but despite the break, Kelly tells us she has fond memories of the show…
“Can you tell us about your very first day on Hollyoaks?”
On my first day, we filmed a scene at Deva – the restaurant in the village. The Morgans had bought it and that’s why they were moving there. I was filming with Ross [Davidson], who played my dad, and Eve [White], my screen mum. I think my first line was, “So my sister’s skiing in France and I’m stuck in this dump!”
I remember it well.
“What was it like being reunited with Gary Lucy (Luke) when you came back?”
Amazing! One of the reasons I returned was so that I could work with him on this dementia story. Gary’s so wonderful, like the big brother I never had.
“What’s the best thing about being a Morgan?”
It’s so great to be one of the original characters, along with the likes of Nick [Pickard, aka Tony] and Steph [Waring, who plays Cindy]. Although Steph would argue she’s a Cunningham, not a Morgan. I think we provide a lot of nostalgia for the fans.
“Zara is big on helping the environment – are you?”
I do my bit. We only have one car because my husband cycles to work, and we try to walk to school every day. I’ve been using shampoo bars for about six months now to limit plastic bottles. If everyone made small changes in their lives, it would make a big difference.
“Gemma Atkinson (aka Lisa Hunter) recently came back to the show; are you friends in real life?”
It was so lovely working with Gem again. Myself, Gemma and Helen [Noble, who played Abby Davies] are such good friends, and we’ve kept in touch over the years. We’ve always supported each other’s careers and lives. But it was nice when Gemma came back
– we had a couple of lovely scenes on the stairs in the Cunninghams’ where we got to reminisce.
“Which Hollyoaks character would you want to bring back?”
I’d love for Helen to come back because she’s my friend. I love the iconic
characters too, like Mr C and Finn [aka Rory Finnigan], or there’s Natalie Casey, who played Carol Groves. It would be great to have the Morgan siblings back too
– but there would have to be a genuine reason for them all to come back.
“What’s been your most memorable storyline over the years?”
“What was it like being reunited with Gary Lucy?” “You recently went to Mallorca for filming – what was that like?”
…asks reader Mark
Butler from Braintree
There’s been quite a few! The big one was where Zara burned down the school – that’s going back a few years. Then there was Luke’s male rape story, which Zara was involved in. It’ll be interesting to see what’s to come.
“Would you like Zara to have a love interest – and who would you cast to play them?”
I’d love Zara to have some romance! But it would have to be complicated because I can’t imagine she’ll fall in love and live happily ever after. She’s spent 30 years being by herself. If someone comes along, she’s going to have to compromise, and we all know she’s not good at that. Casting-wise, I’d go with Mark Ruffalo because he’s my favourite actor ever.
“Zara spent a lot of time in Thailand; where’s the best place you’ve travelled to?”
When I was at school, we did a tour of Italy. Some of the places were stunning
– but I was just so happy to be away from my parents that I didn’t pay much attention to where we went. Mexico has a special place in my heart because that’s where I got engaged. We also have a caravan in Morecambe Bay where we go on the weekends.
“You’ve been in a few Casualty episodes; what was that like?”
It was a long time ago, but it was really good. I was on there twice as two separate characters. The first time around Tracie Bennett [aka Coronation Street’s Sharon Gaskell] played my mum. She had an aerial stuck in her leg, and we had to pull it out! It was a prosthetic, but it looked so real – it made me feel sick. The second time I had to kick up a real fuss in the hospital and storm out.
“Can you tell us something people would be surprised to know?”
I suppose the fact that I do voiceovers is surprising. If you’ve been in Dunelm or listened to their radio ad, I’ve been telling you to buy cushions for two years! I also do voiceovers for games, that’s what I do when I’m not in Hollyoaks. It was the best experience of my career – it was phenomenal! In what job can you go abroad to a nice hotel and read some lines? That’s a very flippant way of putting it, but it was amazing. They had a few days of rain before I got there, though my first day of filming was in the sunshine. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard work – but it was an absolute dream.