Hollyoaks star Talia Grant is joined on set by two very special guest stars....
Next week Hollyoaks fans will see Talia Grant who plays pregnant teen Brooke Hathaway joined by two very special guest stars....her real life parents Carrie and David Grant!
Viewers have seen Brooke, who is pregnant with Ollie Morgan's baby, make the difficult decision that she wants to give their baby up for adoption despite Ollie (Aedan Duckworth) desperately wanting to be a parent to their newborn.
Carrie and David, who have both enjoyed long careers in showbiz and are best known for being vocal coaches on TV singing contests, including Pop Idol and Fame Academy, will play the adoptive parents Mal and Zoe, who come to the hospital next week to meet Brooke and her baby son for the first time.
Here they reveal what it was like being on the set of Hollyoaks with daughter Talia and why they found the whole experience fun but surreal....
Carrie and David Grant join Hollyoaks as guest stars
Did you enjoy filming the scenes for Hollyoaks?
David – Yes, very much! I felt a bit rusty having not acted for some time, but I really enjoyed it. It’s a very nice environment in which to work.
Carrie - It was so much fun a bit scary at the same time. I am mainly a presenter, singer and vocal coach, so it was in unchartered territory for me, but everyone was so lovely to be around and very encouraging.
How did it feel to film alongside your daughter?
D - It felt like role reversal. Talia is now so experienced and we were in her environment… we felt like the kids!
C - So special, a great opportunity. Having Talia there just made it like it was more home life than work!
Was it surreal to see your teenage daughter pretending to have just given birth?
D - We had to shake hands like we hadn’t met before, and we had to act like we were the adopters, not the grandparents!
C - Oh yes! All my maternal instincts were wanting to just cuddle her but obviously that’s Nancy’s job!
What were your highlights of the day?
D - Being on set and taking part in the scenes. Watching everybody transform from being friendly and chatty into their characters and us having to be like people nobody in the room had ever met us.
C - Having the opportunity to work with Talia and share her space. Just being in Hollyoaks to be honest it was surreal and amazing and a wonderful opportunity. I was pinching myself all day and just reminding myself of how lucky we were.
Have you done any acting before?
D - Seasons at The National Theatre, the Bristol Old Vic and Five Guys Named Mo.
C - Not really. I did impressionists series when I was much younger, so no, I was in unchartered territory.
How do you feel about Hollyoaks tackling the topic of adoption?
D - As a real life adopter I think it is fantastic.
C - We are currently supporting a number of UK campaigns encouraging more people to adopt and we are Ambassadors of Adoption UK so it’s great that Hollyoaks is covering this story. It’s a fact that BAME children are very hard to place so it’s even more encouraging that the baby we are adopting in Hollyoaks is mixed race.
Would either of you consider a full time role in Hollyoaks?
D - Oh go on then…
C - I’m waiting for the phone to ring!
How are you planning to spend Valentine’s Day today?
C - We are away in Brussels working next week for one night, so we decided to take an extra night and celebrate Valentine's there. We get so little time together because of our children’s needs, but twice a year, we try to get away for a couple of nights. I can’t manage restaurants on Valentines' night. I always feel like I’m on a romantic conveyor belt so we always celebrate it on another date!
Hollyoaks is shown weekdays on C4 at 6.30pm with the next episode following on E4
