Yahoo News Hollyoaks star Ruby O'Donnell responds to cast exits
Hollyoaks actress Ruby O'Donnell has reflected on the exits of co-stars Owen Warner and Haiesha Mistry.
O'Donnell, who plays Peri Lomax in the Channel 4 soap, was speaking to The Mirror about the departures of Romeo Nightingale and Yazz Cunningham (Romeo's is happening this week).
"It was a real double whammy when we filmed it because both Owen and Haiesha left quite close together," the actress said.
Related: AJ and Curtis Pritchard open up on "GCSE grade quality" Hollyoaks stint
"I'm gutted about Owen leaving. I think he's an amazing human and amazing actor and it's a real loss for the show but the way he leaves is so iconic that it was too good not to do but he'll really be missed.
"I loved working with him and I'm glad that we got to work so close together towards the end, even if it was just for a little while."
She added that Mistry's exit was "So sad!" stating: "She's literally my best friend so not having her around work is going to be really hard but obviously I'm going to see all the time when we go to Ibiza and just out and about."
Meanwhile, the soap could lose more actors, as around 135 jobs across cast and crew look likely to be cut as the soap moves to three episodes a week from September.
Related: Hollyoaks star Matthew James-Bailey reveals scrapped storyline for Ethan and Sienna
Performers union Equity spoke out about the decision, saying it hoped that Hollyoaks would stick around despite the reduction of episodes, pointing out its importance for the industry.
"Continuing drama is an incubator for talent, training both in-front and behind camera practitioners, which in turn makes for a highly skilled production landscape benefitting the entire film and TV industry in the UK," Equity said.
Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
You Might Also Like
