Hollyoaks star Nicole Barber-Lane, who plays matriarch Myra McQueen, has teased explosive drama ahead for the McQueen family, including the Cleo, Dodger, and Theresa love triangle, Prince's revenge mission, and her hopes for a serious menopause storyline.
Love Triangle Fallout
A summer trailer for the Channel 4 soap has teased that Dodger's fling with his partner Theresa's cousin Cleo McQueen will heat up, forcing him to choose between the women. Secrets could be exposed as the betrayal unfolds. Nicole told the Mirror in an exclusive chat that there is more to come for this plot, questioning whether it will tear cousins Cleo and Theresa apart. She said: "I'd watch Cleo.... and I'd watch Theresa. Myra just wants to bang their heads together, you love them both same. They're not sisters, they're cousins, and so it's easier for them to be further apart, so it's pushing the family back together, that's the trick."
Asked if Cleo and Theresa could fix things once the betrayal is exposed, Nicole added: "I don't know, but who's the betrayal by.... Dodger, but who gets blamed? The girls. It's not right is it."
Prince's Revenge
With Prince plotting to take down Warren, Nicole hinted at more trouble ahead. She said: "Oh, you don't know, Prince is driving me insane, stop it! The Leah thing... stop it you silly billy. I love him." Joking about the chaos, she added: "Myra and Warren will end up being together soon, Mercedes will be like have him, sort him out and send him back."
Menopause Storyline Hopes
Nicole is hoping for a serious storyline for her character, wanting to tackle the menopause in a way it often isn't covered on soaps. She explained: "The menopause is now being talked about a lot. But I don't know if there's any real stories about how it can affect you and how you don't know it's menopause? There are these different symptoms, the brain fog, itchy skin, dryness, hair falling out, so many different things, even up to complete depression, and overwhelming anxiety."
She continued: "I think it would be interesting to explore that slowly, long term, so it's sprinkled through until you realise she's in trouble, but you don't see it, there's just a sprinkling of it, cos that's what happens. It creeps up on you until you have crippling anxiety or panic attacks and you can't go out of the house. There's all sorts of things and I think it would be lovely to explore something real to many, many women that doesn't get exposed properly."
Hollyoaks is available to stream on Channel 4's streaming service now, and airs Mondays to Wednesdays on E4 at 7PM.
