Sarah Jayne Dunn says Hollyoaks' New Year's Eve episode will be "slightly more interesting" after it had to be re-worked due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sarah Jayne Dunn as Mandy
The Channel 4 soap aired an ambitious flash-forward episode last December, which zoomed forward 12 months to New Year's Eve 2020, and while things have had to change slightly because the global health crisis put paid to weeks of filming, Sarah - who plays Mandy Morgan - is confident the episode "still really works".
Speaking to Digital Spy's 'Soap Scoop' podcast, she said: "I think the audience will be quite forgiving of every show at the moment because everyone knows what we’ve been through and what we’re still going through.
"I think it still really works, and it’s made it slightly more interesting actually because of the way it’s had to be told now.
"It’s still all going off, don’t worry about that!"
While she is keen for Mandy to be "happy" in future episodes, Sarah admits it will be "a bit of a bumpy road" for her alter-ego in the coming weeks.
She said: "I just want to see her happy - she’s been through enough - but I don’t think that’s going to happen for a little while.
"The county lines storyline is obviously huge, so all of that has to play out and Ella’s very much involved in that, so it’s going to be a bit of bumpy road again for her. Darren is still going through his depression and is only just coming to terms with that.
"So, as a couple, they’ve got a lot to work through. I really hope that works out for them, because I really think Mandy and Darren are meant to be together."
The star also praised the new actor who has taken on the role of Ollie Morgan, after Aedan Duckworth, who previously played the character, made a sudden departure from the soap.
She said: "I’ve worked with him. He’s brilliant, he’s lovely. He’s been thrown straight in at the deep end … he’s such a big character and such an important character to Mandy as well. It’s exciting."
Listen to the full Sarah Jayne Dunn interview on the Digital Spy 'Soap Scoop' podcast, available now.
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