Hollyoaks has aired a double exit as Holly Cunningham and Ellie Nightingale left the village together to travel the world, after Ellie narrowly escaped prison for the attempted murder of her evil dad Mac.
In tonight’s E4 episode (Thursday 13 September), Holly prepared for her big trip thinking she was going alone as Ellie had been arrested after little brother Alfie reported last year’s attack on their father to the police.
But ex-boyfriend Sami Maalik pulled some strings and the lawyer convinced the family to use Alfie’s mental health relapse to discredit his statement. Ellie was free to go and soon she and Holly were driving out of the village in a shiny red sports car, bidding farewell to their families and looking forward to their big adventure.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com about her final scenes, which came as a surprise to fans who knew both characters were set to depart this autumn but not how or when, Amanda Clapham praised the positive exit for her character Holly, who she has played since 2013. “A dramatic death would have been fun to film, but for Holly it was empowering after everything she’s been through to take some time for herself, and for Ellie as well, as they are both survivors of sexual assault with the same man, Nick Savage.
“It sends out a positive message in terms of surviving and being able to move on with your life. The consent story with Nick was a definite highlight of my five years here, it felt like a really important thing to do. So many people came forward and messaged me personally about how it had helped them, which made me proud to be part of the show and they continue to do powerful stories for that reason. So the optimism for Holly meant it was a lovely exit.”
Although the painful past of the rape ordeal was behind her, Clapham notes her alter ego’s life had become full of tragedy in recent months so it’s no surprise she’s decided to leave town. “So much was going wrong for her, Damon cheating, everything with Milo and especially Dirk dying – that was just too much. Holly needed to do something for herself, I don’t blame her!”
Clapham tells us she made the decision a while ago to leave, but when it came to filming her final scenes with screen mum Stephanie Waring (Cindy) the tears were flowing for real. “The last scene I shot was with Steph in the Cunningham house when Cindy finds out Holly’s leaving. I was trying so hard not to cry and keep it together but we kept crying. Everyone came down to set afterwards and I thought I’d better do a speech!
“I’m very sad to leave Hollyoaks but it’s a really good time for British drama, so I’m excited for the next chapter and what’s to come. I did some comedy before I played Holly, me and a friend did a show together at the Edinburgh fringe.
“The door is open so she could come back, but they might get a different actress to play her as she’s been recast before! I’m good friends with Tamara Wall who plays Grace Black, but she and Holly never had many scenes together – so if Holly returned I’d love her to be a bad girl and team up with Grace!”
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from Radio Times https://ift.tt/2MrRTbH
