Ruby O’Donnell
HOLLYOAKS STAR RUBY O’DONNELL TELLS US THAT HER CHARACTER’S ROMANCE HAS HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD ALREADY…
“Juliet’s secretive behaviour sets off alarm bells for Peri…”
HOLLYOAKS | Channel 4 TUESDAY
When it comes to Peri and Juliet, I can definitely see them being long-term,” enthuses Hollyoaks actress Ruby O’Donnell, as we call her up for a chat about her character’s latest on-screen romance. “With everyone that Peri’s been with in the past, I’ve always known that it was going to end in disaster! Obviously I don’t know what the writers have planned for this storyline in the future, but I love Peri and Juliet together!”
The young lovebirds have already faced several hurdles in their short relationship, not least of all Juliet being banged up for drug dealing! And this week, Juliet’s murky past comes back to haunt her when journalist Yazz wants to interview her for her latest scoop.
“Yazz is trying to dig for dirt on the ‘county lines’ drugs ring, and how that’s affected Juliet and Peri’s relationship,” Ruby tells us. “Yazz is obviously Peri’s best friend, so Peri always wants to help her out if she can. However, Juliet’s really not into the idea – it was a tough time in her life, and she just wants to move on from it.”
Although she receives a hard “no” to the interview, Yazz doesn’t give up – and tries to get the quotes she needs by employing sneaky tactics…
“Yazz tricks Peri and Juliet into playing a game of truth or dare with her,” explains Ruby. “Which of course they’re both up for, because it’s a fun game. But Yazz just asks Juliet truth questions all the time rather than giving her dares,
and all the questions are to do with Juliet’s drug dealing!”
The whole situation blows up, leaving Yazz and Juliet at loggerheads, with poor Peri stuck in the middle. But Peri soon has bigger things to worry about when she suspects that Juliet could be dealing again!
“Juliet’s being very secretive about some text messages on her phone,” reveals Ruby. “It sets alarm bells ringing for Peri, and she jumps to the worst-possible conclusion. Her and Juliet’s relationship is still very new, and the pair of them need to work on building their trust.”
Viewers will just have to wait to see whether Juliet really is up to no good again. However, Ruby tells us that she and co-star Niamh Blackshaw (who plays Juliet) are both totally invested in their characters’ romance.
“I love Niamh, she’s one of my best mates,” gushes the actress. “So it always feels very natural for us to do these scenes together, and we rehearse them all beforehand. We speak about the storyline a lot.
“The audience reaction has been incredible, though sometimes that can make the scenes more nervewracking,” adds Ruby. “We feel as if we need to do the story justice for all the ‘Jeri’ lovers out there!”