Wow. I wasn't expecting this - I thought Jen Metcalfe would be there for years yet. Didn't she recently say she signed a year contract?
Shame, Jen is a great actress and Mercedes is one of Hollyoaks' best-known characters. People say she had ran her course but I think there was still life in her character - there was a whole lot of mental state to delve in to that we haven't touched upon since 2012. And secondly, it's a soap, we are supposed to follow residents' lives through thick and thin - I don't think all characters should have a shelf life.
I wonder why Jen left - was she jumping a sinking ship, does she want to do other things, or was she merely sick of the stuff she was getting? Jen always talked about how the writers could always come up with great stuff and she seemed genuinely happy to be where she was - it's a shame that something changed.
Does anyone think she'll be back? I'm not sure. And she may even be killed. With Jen's tweets about Mercedes' heels needing a rest - does anyone think that could be a red herring to let us believe Mercedes will leave alive?
Don't even get me started on her carbon-copy replacement. It's ridiculous. To be honest, I would have rathered just seen Nana, John Paul, Theresa and Phoebe get on with things. We don't need more characters further detracting attention from them.
I agree the carbon copies are a terrible idea not only will they instantly be highly unpopular due to their roles but they'll never be anywhere as good as the originals. Was the sight of some basic creativity really that frightening BK?
The sad thing is that James Sutton already had his perfect exist in 2008 (the happy ending with Craig)... but he had to ruin it by coming back for a storyline that turned out to be a huge waste of potential (the rape storyline) and for his character to go through something horrible.
Any new exit he might have will just be underwhelming.
*forever bitter*
Man, it's truly the end of an era. With the McQueens on the way out, it seems even more stupid that they killed Sam and Danny (and that Leela may go as well, if the rumours are true). The Lomaxes could have been a strong family for the soap. Who else do we have now?? The Roscoes??? *rolleyes*
Kirsty-Leigh did say in her DS interview last Christmas how much she was enjoying her new character Leela. It was of course her arrival that encouraged me to watch HO again. So I shall be saddened out of any more HO viewing if she does leave.
The Osborne's are still there and we do have some good family's now with the Lomax's and Blakes/Savages which all have very good strong actresses in I.E Sienna and Leela who are both much better with acting skills.
Hopefully Bart and Louis come back into it.
Indeed, Anna Passey is believable for playing such a mixed-up character, and Leela being friends with Sienna has made Sienna likeable some of the time.
no need for carbon copies of characters BK and their crap storyliners need to work on the cast they have.
Talking of carbon copies, they seem to be making Grace a poor man's Mercedes. Jennifer only recently spoke favourably of playing her part Mercedes so her departure comes as quite a shock. Mercedes is not always agreeable but often quite sassy as a character. ;-)
Surprised to hear in the last week both Jen Metcalfe and Gemma Merna are both leaving. I thought they would both be around for a while yet. Wonder if one or both will be killed of. We shall see?
Sure I may aswell clutch at straws here and share a theory.
What if she's not "leaving" leaving? Maybe, as has been suggested, its a Jorgie Porter style break?
Evidence for such a theory:
No official announcement - just a few lines in a random article
Jennifer on Twitter says "she needs a rest". Rest does not always meant a permanent break.
In the same tweet her co-star Stephanie Waring seems shocked by what she says saying something like "not you and all?!". Wouldn't you think that your friend and co-star would have known this for a while? I mean I doubt Jennifer told no-one except her boss her future plans.
Something about this just doesn't seem right at all.
As I said, clutching at straws!
Porsche pronounced Porscha is an American name, but the only thing I have come across called that is cats called Porsche, Benz and Mercedes. I don't think the owner was Mr Kirkwood.
I remember certain posters (*cough-omnidirectional-cough*) coming out of the woodwork whenever I or anyone else said that BK's horrible showrunning was going to catch up to him, and it would seem in one way so far it definitely has. I bet a ratings dip and greater public criticism won't be that far behind once these actors actually make their exits in the next couple months. The mass exodus list looks to be fairly long: Mercedes, Carmel, Dennis, Finn, Leela, Phoebe, Esther, George, Dodger, etc.
I hope James Sutton isn't that far behind with making his exit too, and as much as I like Kirsty, they've ruined the Lomaxs when they were barely even out the gate, and she would be doing herself a favor getting out instead of signing on another year to only end up acting out poorly handled and ridiculous plots and having Leela ruined too.
And ultimately, I'd love for Kieron to leave and go off and take on roles and projects actually worthy of his talent and charisma, or for BK to finally step down and Hollyoaks to get the reboot it so desperately needs again. I see him doing the cowardly thing and stepping down and trying to avoid all the blowback that's surely to come soon.
And if the show's beyond repair within a timeframe before it can be canceled, than better it gets put out of its misery.
Nooooo! Mercedes is fabulous, the Mcqueens are the best HO characters ever and they're being totally decimated.
It's a surprise Jen's leaving since Mercy is arguably the leading female of the show atm. At least we're getting Myra back, but what's the point if her kids aren't going to be in it? And will Nana Mcqueen have anything to do now?
I'm really not liking where Hollyoaks is going atm.
I remember certain posters (*cough-omnidirectional-cough*) coming out of the woodwork whenever I or anyone else said that BK's horrible showrunning was going to catch up to him, and it would seem in one way so far it definitely has. I bet a ratings dip and greater public criticism won't be that far behind once these actors actually make their exits in the next couple months. The mass exodus list looks to be fairly long: Mercedes, Carmel, Dennis, Finn, Leela, Phoebe, Esther, George, Dodger, etc.
I hope James Sutton isn't that far behind with making his exit too, and as much as I like Kirsty, they've ruined the Lomaxs when they were barely even out the gate, and she would be doing herself a favor getting out instead of signing on another year to only end up acting out poorly handled and ridiculous plots and having Leela ruined too.
And ultimately, I'd love for Kieron to leave and go off and take on roles and projects actually worthy of his talent and charisma, or for BK to finally step down and Hollyoaks to get the reboot it so desperately needs again. I see him doing the cowardly thing and stepping down and trying to avoid all the blowback that's surely to come soon.
And if the show's beyond repair within a timeframe before it can be canceled, than better it gets put out of its misery.
Where did you hear Leela is leaving? I heard on Twitter she denied it. Seems unlikely after the big storyline she's been given? Are they just going to trash that? If so it would seem very pointless.
And what about Esther, Dodger? Are you speculating?
It seems that BK is trying to rebuild the whole female McQueen dynamic from scratch with new McQueens
Think of it
Jacqui is now played by Phoebe
Mercedes is now played by Porsche
Carmel is now played by Celine
Tina is now played by unnamed brainbox sister
Michaela is now played by Theresa
While I am delighted Jen Metcalfe is leaving because Ive always absolutely loathed the character of Mercedes, I still wish her and Gemma Merna the very best of luck and am also disgusted with the idea of Porsche and Celine being carbon 2.0 copies of Mercedes and Carmel it really is ridicolous, I have no problem with BK bringing in new McQueens but if they are just for the sake of being replacements for Carmel and Mercedes there really is no point, these new characters should have their own look, their own style and their own personalities and individuality!
BK really has gone a step too far with these characters
Comments
Anna Passey better not go now as she's pretty much the only good one left!!!
Shame, Jen is a great actress and Mercedes is one of Hollyoaks' best-known characters. People say she had ran her course but I think there was still life in her character - there was a whole lot of mental state to delve in to that we haven't touched upon since 2012. And secondly, it's a soap, we are supposed to follow residents' lives through thick and thin - I don't think all characters should have a shelf life.
I wonder why Jen left - was she jumping a sinking ship, does she want to do other things, or was she merely sick of the stuff she was getting? Jen always talked about how the writers could always come up with great stuff and she seemed genuinely happy to be where she was - it's a shame that something changed.
Does anyone think she'll be back? I'm not sure. And she may even be killed. With Jen's tweets about Mercedes' heels needing a rest - does anyone think that could be a red herring to let us believe Mercedes will leave alive?
Don't even get me started on her carbon-copy replacement. It's ridiculous. To be honest, I would have rathered just seen Nana, John Paul, Theresa and Phoebe get on with things. We don't need more characters further detracting attention from them.
Kirsty-Leigh did say in her DS interview last Christmas how much she was enjoying her new character Leela. It was of course her arrival that encouraged me to watch HO again. So I shall be saddened out of any more HO viewing if she does leave.
Indeed, Anna Passey is believable for playing such a mixed-up character, and Leela being friends with Sienna has made Sienna likeable some of the time.
Talking of carbon copies, they seem to be making Grace a poor man's Mercedes. Jennifer only recently spoke favourably of playing her part Mercedes so her departure comes as quite a shock. Mercedes is not always agreeable but often quite sassy as a character. ;-)
And big raging hints of Patrick and Sienna when they first arrived.
I'm surprised the McQueens haven't been at it, seeing as the family's so big.
What if she's not "leaving" leaving? Maybe, as has been suggested, its a Jorgie Porter style break?
Evidence for such a theory:
No official announcement - just a few lines in a random article
Jennifer on Twitter says "she needs a rest". Rest does not always meant a permanent break.
In the same tweet her co-star Stephanie Waring seems shocked by what she says saying something like "not you and all?!". Wouldn't you think that your friend and co-star would have known this for a while? I mean I doubt Jennifer told no-one except her boss her future plans.
Something about this just doesn't seem right at all.
As I said, clutching at straws!
No, it's German.
Yea Porsche is, but Porcha or Portia is a highly used American name.
I hope James Sutton isn't that far behind with making his exit too, and as much as I like Kirsty, they've ruined the Lomaxs when they were barely even out the gate, and she would be doing herself a favor getting out instead of signing on another year to only end up acting out poorly handled and ridiculous plots and having Leela ruined too.
And ultimately, I'd love for Kieron to leave and go off and take on roles and projects actually worthy of his talent and charisma, or for BK to finally step down and Hollyoaks to get the reboot it so desperately needs again. I see him doing the cowardly thing and stepping down and trying to avoid all the blowback that's surely to come soon.
And if the show's beyond repair within a timeframe before it can be canceled, than better it gets put out of its misery.
It's a surprise Jen's leaving since Mercy is arguably the leading female of the show atm. At least we're getting Myra back, but what's the point if her kids aren't going to be in it? And will Nana Mcqueen have anything to do now?
I'm really not liking where Hollyoaks is going atm.
It's not a permanent return.
As for the new Mcqueen's. Celine sounds ok and paper but Porsche looks like a carbon copy of Mercedes. How lazy can a producer be....
Where did you hear Leela is leaving? I heard on Twitter she denied it. Seems unlikely after the big storyline she's been given? Are they just going to trash that? If so it would seem very pointless.
And what about Esther, Dodger? Are you speculating?
Think of it
Jacqui is now played by Phoebe
Mercedes is now played by Porsche
Carmel is now played by Celine
Tina is now played by unnamed brainbox sister
Michaela is now played by Theresa
BK really has gone a step too far with these characters