Brooke Vincent has shared how her life has changed since landing a new role on Hollyoaks, telling the ECHO she is at a "different time" in her life as she balances parenting with being back on set.
The 34-year-old actress, best known for playing Sophie Webster on Coronation Street, joined the Channel 4 soap as drug counsellor Abigail Matthews earlier this year. She has reunited with former castmates including Tisha Merry, who plays Gemma Johnson.
A return to Liverpool filming
Speaking on the red carpet at the Inside Soap Awards, Brooke spoke about spending more time in Merseyside for filming. Although the show is set in Cheshire, Hollyoaks is filmed in Liverpool, which was welcome news to the actress.
She told the ECHO: "I've had a ball it's fab, obviously filming in Liverpool. Fab people and fab place to work. I've been going shopping more and I've been going for more food."
Although she originally hails from Greater Manchester, Brooke has often shared her love for Liverpool, admitting the shops are "better". She said: "I say it all the time, I love Liverpool. I've been going there for a long, long time. The shops are always better so I'll always have a quick nip when I can."
Juggling motherhood and acting
Brooke left Coronation Street in 2019 to go on maternity leave. She has since given birth to two sons, Mexx, born in 2019, and Monroe, born in 2021, with her former partner, footballer Kean Bryan.
The mum-of-two said she has joined Hollyoaks at a "different" era of her life. She told the ECHO: "I'm at a different time in my life. I'm a mum, I'm a bit older and I'm obviously taking on a different role, it's more complex. It's good, I'm really enjoying it."
She spoke about the realities of raising two boys with the demands of being an actor: "Every working mum is the same. The amount of hoops us mums jump through to get to work. Then we get to work and moan about that, then the school is ringing, then it's P.E day- it's what comes with the responsibility of being a parent." She added: "It's a juggle, but we have a lot of help and my family are really good."
Reuniting with former co-stars
Brooke felt "lucky" to have already been friendly with the Hollyoaks cast beforehand. She said: "I was really lucky because I feel like I knew a lot of them before. It's a bit more like a catch up. The younger ones I work with they're like my kids, I have a really nice time filming."
Tisha Merry said it's "ace" to be working with Brooke again, after the pair worked together on Coronation Street. Tisha, who starred as Steph Britton on the ITV soap, told the ECHO: "The [Hollyoaks] cast is just gorgeous. We've got some cast members from Corrie, we've got Brooke as well, it's just ace. We just have the best time, we're constantly laughing. It's hectic, but fun."
Speaking about working with Brooke, Tisha said: "It's so exciting, I rang everyone when I found out. Brooke's mum was so excited, we were just buzzing. It's good when you've grown up on a show and you've known each other as late teens and early 20s, and now as adults and Brooke's a mum now, it's so special."
The Hollyoaks stars joined actors and actresses from Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders and Waterloo Road at the Inside Soap Awards on Monday (September 21) in Manchester. The annual ceremony returned, this time up north for the first time. Coronation Street dominated the awards, with Vicky Myers (Lisa Swain) and Gareth Pierce (Todd Grimshaw) taking home the Best Actor awards.
