Yahoo News Exclusive: Hollyoaks star Niamh Blackshaw on Juliet's shock attack in stalker plot
Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks fans will see Juliet Nightingale's life hang in the balance next week as she's attacked by stalker Timmy Simons.
Timmy (Sam Tutty) has grown obsessed with Juliet's girlfriend Peri Lomax in recent months, but becomes rattled when he realises that his dark secret is under threat.
When Juliet accuses Timmy of stalking Peri (Ruby O'Donnell), he realises that he needs her out of the way and pushes her down the stairs outside the Lomax flat.
Digital Spy recently caught up with Niamh Blackshaw, who plays Juliet, for an exclusive chat about what's to come.
How did you feel when you found out about the stalker story?
"I was excited, because it's always nice to do something a bit darker. I heard that it was going to get more violent, so it was nice to do some stunt scenes. With COVID, I didn't even know if we'd be able to film moments like that.
"I was a bit nervous because there was a new cast member coming in, but Sam Tutty who plays Timmy is great. So I was looking forward to it."
Why has been Juliet been doubting Peri so much over the past few weeks?
"Juliet struggles to trust people in general, because her family has always let her down. It's only recently that Juliet has started letting herself trust people.
"Little things have also happened, like Peri getting gifts and not being honest about who they're from. Peri is just trying to protect Juliet, but because the communication isn't there, Juliet's suspicious instincts kick in.
"Juliet thinks it's the same situation again – she can't trust Peri because she can't trust anyone. Whereas many couples would suggest sitting down and talking honestly about it, that isn't happening here."
Juliet and Peri start to rebuild their trust again next week, don't they?
"Yes, Juliet and Peri have a conversation about it. Juliet realises that she needs to trust Peri. She knows now that she doesn't want her issues to get in the way of their relationship.
"Juliet brushes all of her doubts to the side, but it also starts to become more obvious that there is a stalker. Juliet has no choice but to acknowledge it, especially when she sees this guy hanging around."
What makes Juliet suspect Timmy?
"Juliet recently saw Timmy acting strangely around the hospital. She can't ignore that this guy has appeared out of nowhere.
"Juliet will always say what she thinks. She'll maybe try to hold it back for the sake of her relationship, but she still has that fieriness in her, where if she sees something, she has to deal with it head on."
How does Timmy react to Juliet's accusations?
"Timmy is very clever because he's emotionally manipulative to Peri. He says: 'I don't even know Penny!' Peri thinks: 'That's not my name, my name is Peri, so clearly it isn't him'.
"Timmy plays the deer in the headlights. He says that he's just injured his wrist and is at the hospital for that, so he makes himself out to be a poor little victim.
"Peri just completely falls for it. Juliet is coming across aggressive and determined, whereas Peri sees Timmy as a poor boy who's just trying to be seen by a nurse. He plays it off very well.
"I think Timmy uses his nervousness at being caught out by Juliet to play the part of an innocent, nervous patient."
Later, we see Timmy push Juliet down the stairs outside the Lomax flat. How was that scene to film?
"It was interesting! Because of all the COVID restrictions that we had, it pretty much took the whole day to film the scene where Juliet fell. We had to do it so many different times from different angles.
"We also had to do it twice – one with me and one with Sam, because we couldn't actually film the scene together. We were green screened together in the edit.
"It was very hard and my real-life flatmate was also asked to be a stand-in. She was standing in front of a green screen wearing a green morphsuit. She had a green broom and she pushed me with it. It still feels like a hallucination! (Laughs.)
"I fell onto a crash mat and then we had to do the scene again, this time with Sam pushing air. I don't know how to edit or do special effects, so I had no idea how it was going to come together, but I had full faith and knew it would turn out absolutely fine."
Can you tell us anything about Juliet's injuries?
"She doesn't escape unharmed. I can't disclose much, but it's touch and go and it's unclear whether she's going to be okay."
In the recent autumn trailer, Peri still seemed oblivious over her stalker. Will she be on the wrong track for a while?
"Yes, I think that Peri is going to be on the wrong path for a while. I can't say too much, but it's going to take a big event for her to realise that Juliet was right.
"Peri is not going to take anybody's word for it. She's going to have to figure that out for herself, but how bad will it get for her to realise that?"
Do you want Juliet to be involved in Timmy's inevitable downfall?
"Absolutely, I'm so here for that! If Juliet recovers, I absolutely want her to be the one to do that. It'd be good for Juliet and Peri to get revenge, take him down and get a bit of justice for what's happened to them over the past couple of months."
There's another dark aspect to the storyline – the hidden camera in Juliet and Peri's bedroom. Are you hoping the show explores that more?
"Yes I am, but it's also quite tough. Because of COVID restrictions, we're limited with what we can show and do, so we haven't had to do too much difficult stuff physically.
"I always like getting involved in a darker storyline but, as a woman, it's a horrible reality that this does happen. Yes this is a character and it's not real, but you're telling real stories and you can't help but take that on board when you're doing these scenes. It can be quite hard emotionally."
How was the fan reaction when Juliet and Peri finally became a couple?
"Really great, although it's very mixed messages that I'm seeing from fans at the minute. A lot of people are saying: 'Yay, don't split them up, keep them together forever!'
"But then, with all of the fights that they're having recently, and Peri not believing anything that Juliet is saying, some people are saying: 'They're so toxic!'
"I hope that Juliet and Peri can work it out and the response will be 100% positive again, but I can agree that they're being quite toxic at the minute. I think everybody is here for them to be together, so I just hope they figure things out and can continue their relationship."
Does Hollyoaks' new boss Lucy Allan have big plans for Juliet?
"Lucy's great. I've only met with her a couple of times, but I'm really excited to see what she's going to do next – what storylines she's going to put out and how she's going to change the show. It's very exciting.
"I'm not 100% sure what I can say, but Juliet will be involved in some exciting things over the next couple of months. I'm very excited and we're very lucky to have Lucy on board."
Hollyoaks airs new episodes from Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first-look screenings at 7pm on E4. Selected omnibus episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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