Hollyoaks’ Jennifer Metcalfe fights back tears as she admits cancer storyline ‘hits home’
Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe was left fighting back tears as she opened up about her latest storyline during an appearance on Sunday Brunch.
Hollyoaks favourite Jennifer Metcalfe was teary-eyed as she discussed how her character’s gut-wrenching cancer storyline strikes a deeply personal chord.
The 41 year old actress, famed for her role as Mercedes McQueen since 2006, is grappling with one of her darkest story arcs to date, dealing with bowel cancer after the series’ narrative time jump.
The plot resonates on a profound level with Jennifer as she lost her father Colin to cancer when she was just 15, reports the Mirror.
Appearing on Sunday Brunch, Metcalfe joined presenters Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer, where she divulged the emotional ties she has with her latest on-screen challenge, admitting that rehearsing certain scenes proved to be an intense ordeal.
After catching a glimpse of a poignant clip from Hollyoaks, Tim remarked: “It can’t be easy doing that – playing that storyline.”
To which Jennifer responded simply: “No it’s not.” Delving into the raw reality of her loss, she added: “My dad died from cancer when I was 15 so it hits home every time.”
“The scriptwriters are amazing and when they give you the script I can’t even really rehearse it and I ask if we can just go straight for the take because it really does hit home.”
In a touching revelation, Jennifer shared: “This week has been very beautiful hearing what people think of the storyline. Lot of people that have had cancer are reaching out to me on Instagram and I’ve been chatting to loads of people this week and with women in a similar situation to Mercedes.”
