Emma Lau has joined the cast of EastEnders as Jess, a character central to the current Carter family storyline. Soap viewers will recognise her from her previous role as Serena Chen-Williams in Hollyoaks.
The Carter reunion and Jess's arrival
The Carter reunion in EastEnders has taken a dramatic turn. Following the announcement that Kellie Bright would be leaving her role as Linda Carter, it was also revealed that her two missing children, Lee and Nancy, would return for her exit, with Danny Hatchard and Maddy Hill reprising their roles. Nancy arrived first, revealing she is pregnant, before Lee delivered a second bombshell: the baby is his.
Nancy is acting as a surrogate for Lee and his girlfriend, Jess, who had recently abandoned him, or so Lee claimed. Linda dragged Lee away on a mission to locate Jess, but when they returned home, they found her waiting at Peacock Palace. The truth emerged that it was actually Lee who had left Jess, as his drinking problem, which developed after the presumed death of his dad Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), had worsened. He blocked her number and essentially abandoned her.
Emma Lau's Hollyoaks role as Serena Chen-Williams
In Hollyoaks, Lau played Serena Chen-Williams, who arrived under the alter-ego 'Galaxy' and immediately caught the attention of Sid Sumner (Billy Price). The family had moved to the village to support Serena's athletics training, as she was a potential Olympic-level competitor. On arrival, she discovered Sid had begun dating her half-sister Lizzie (Lily Best) and chose to support her sister over him.
The family faced turmoil when it was revealed that patriarch Dave (Dominic Power) was the secret father of established character Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson). Serena later fell from a roof, seriously damaging the nerves in her leg and effectively ending her athletic career. She dated Imran Maalik (Ijaz Rana) before discovering her younger brother Mason (Frank Kauer) had been radicalised by Eric Foster (Angus Doughty), and she handed his laptop to the police. Unable to reconcile with her family for supporting Mason, she left for a new life in Shanghai.
The family continued to unravel: Dave and Serena's mum Honour (Vera Chok) split up, Lizzie died after taking a dodgy pill, and it was revealed that Dave was a notorious assassin who returned to his murderous ways to avenge his daughter's death. He also died, while uncle Ethan Williams (Matthew James Bailey) was pushed out of a window and killed by his bride-to-be Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) on their wedding day.
Other roles and film credits
Outside of soap operas, Lau has built an impressive career. She took on the role of Miranda in The Tempest at the 2023 Salisbury International Arts Festival and starred in Glacier at the Old Fire Station in Oxford. On screen, she played Kiko in the Netflix film The School for Good and Evil, had a recurring role as Amelia in the Paramount+ series The Agency, and played Beth Cope in the 2025 thriller film Past Life.
