West End star Summer Strallen has admitted she is "embarrassed" by her role in Hollyoaks, almost two decades after leaving the Channel 4 soap. The 40-year-old actress, currently starring in the musical adaptation of Beetlejuice, addressed the storyline during an appearance on the Call to Stage podcast.
In the late 2000s, Strallen was cast as Maria von Trapp in Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of The Sound of Music, replacing Connie Fisher, who won the part on the BBC reality show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? To generate extra publicity for the musical, Strallen was cast as aspiring actress Summer Shaw in Hollyoaks, with a storyline mirroring her real-life casting.
Publicity Stunt Plotline
Speaking about the unusual plotline, Strallen said: "I did The Sound of Music for Andrew Lloyd Webber and did that whole Hollyoaks thing where I don't know if I should [mention it]... It was like a publicity stunt where I went into Hollyoaks for five months and then I got the part of Maria on Hollyoaks."
She added: "So it was around the programmes. Connie Fisher had done the first one, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and they were basically...they needed another bump of publicity for the new person coming in so they had this idea that I'd go into Hollyoaks for five months. I had a proper role, they called me Summer Shaw."
The storyline also served as an exit for long-running character Sam "O.B." O'Brien (Darren Jeffries), who left the fictional village to be with Summer when she moved to London. Strallen described the experience: "They called me Summer in it. And it was mad. I moved up to Liverpool and everything to do it and then went into The Sound of Music. It was hilarious. And Andrew was in it, we did scenes where he offered me the part of Maria and me and OB, who was my boyfriend, moved to London. I took OB with me, he was a massive part in Hollyoaks, and he left with me."
Embarrassment and Gratitude
Strallen, niece of West End legend Bonnie Langford, was chatting to fellow West End actress and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Amber Davies on the podcast. When Davies said she would dig out some clips on YouTube, Strallen said: "It's embarrassing!"
Despite the embarrassment, the star, who also had a small role in Wicked: For Good opposite Ariana Grande and appeared in BBC soap Doctors, is thankful for the television experience. She said: "But it was good because it meant that I did that. It was like a baptism of fire for TV. So then when I did other TV jobs it was great because I knew how to hit my mark. I knew not to drink, stuff like that. It's totally different and so it really set me up."
Legacy of BBC Casting Shows
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria was the first in a series of four BBC casting shows. It was followed by Any Dream Will Do, in which Lee Mead won the part of Joseph, and I'd Do Anything, which launched the acting career of Jodie Prenger, who won the part of Nancy in Oliver! In 2010, Over the Rainbow found Danielle Hope to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and also launched the career of Stephanie Davis. The talent searches were headed up by Andrew Lloyd Webber and hosted by Graham Norton.
Since her Hollyoaks stint, Strallen has mostly focused on theatre and is currently starring in Beetlejuice.
