'Hollyoaks' star Andrea Ali struggled to keep Celeste Faroe's identity a secret.

Bobby Gordon and Andrea Ali

Bobby Gordon and Andrea Ali

The soap dropped a huge bombshell during E4's first look broadcast on Tuesday (10.03.20) as it was revealed Celeste, Toby (Bobby Gordon) and Mitchell Deveraux (Imran Adams) are triplets, with the former two looking for revenge on their mum Martine's (Kelle Bryan) family.

Opening up about keeping the surprise under wraps, Andrea said: "It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life!

"The fans pick up on things very quickly, and there has been so much anticipation for a big reveal. It was such an exciting secret.

"A few of the cast members didn't know when we first came in, so they were confused too. There was this mystery surrounding Toby and Celeste.

"We're now able to have our own parts as individuals, and the audience can understand more about our backstory."

Andrea revealed the characters aren't too concerned about what the rest of the village might think after they pretended to be a married couple when they first arrived.

She added: "I don't think that Toby and Celeste understand the consequences, so I don't think they really care that much about what everyone else thinks.

"Their main goal was to get to the family, and that was the disguise that they needed to do so. They accomplished their mission, and whatever anybody else thinks, really doesn't matter.

"It will be a shock, but then I think people will get over it, once they understand what their motives were."

And the actress hinted there could be much more to come for the family on screen.

She teased: "The Deveraux family is a family of secrets, deception, hiding things and covering things up. I think, because Toby and Celeste are still the newbies in the family, they're still trying to establish that trust and that relationship."