Axed Hollyoaks star lands brand new role in rival soap Coronation Street for gritty prison scenes
A FORMER Hollyoaks star has landed a new role in rival soap Coronation Street – and will feature in gritty prison scenes.
Jessica Ellis played Tegan Lomax in the Channel 4 soap from 2013 to 2018.
The character was tragically killed off after being crushed by a falling tree branch during a storm.
Jessica is now swapping Chester for Weatherfield by playing Brie, Lauren Bolton’s (Cait Fitton) fellow prison inmate.
The Sun understands Jessica will star only in a guest role and will just be on screen for a few episodes in total.
Her other credits include ITV crime drama The Bay, as well as episodes of EastEnders and Doctors.
Last year, Hollyoaks was forced to address the cull of cast members.
It came after The Sun was first to report Hollyoaks bosses plans to axe a whopping 20 cast members.
Stars including Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox), Owen Warner (Romeo Nightingale), Jamelia (Sharon Bailey) and Stephanie Waring (Cindy Cunningham) have all bowed out of the soap.
A source said at the time: “Losing 20 cast members in one fell swoop is eye-watering and devastating news for soapland.
“In the past, Hollyoaks has seen shock stunts claim up to five lives in a single episode.
“But the days of soaps having a big cast clear-out with a devastating stunt are long gone, especially on Hollyoaks where the budget has been dramatically cut.
“The necessary death toll would make almost any stunt idea totally unbelievable.”
In Coronation Street, Lauren was convicted of murdering abusive solicitor Joel Deering (Calum Lill).
Viewers were initially unaware who killed the villain, with several Weatherfield residents in the frame.
By November 2024, they learned Lauren was responsible as she’d hit Joel with a rock after he tried to strangle her boyfriend, Max Turner (Paddy Bever).
Max ended up in prison after taking the blame.
Soap's biggest whodunnits
EastEnders – Who shot Phil Mitchell?
The “Who Shot Phil?” storyline was a whodunit mystery that captured the attention of viewers and the media. The episode revealing the culprit was watched by 23 million viewers. Lisa Shaw, Phil Mitchell’s former girlfriend and the mother of his child Louise, was revealed as the killer as Phil slept with Lisa’s best friend. Phil forgave Lisa, and they agreed to keep the truth a secret.
Coronation Street – Who killed Tina McIntyre ?
The popular actress Michelle Keegan played Tina McIntyre for several years on the Cobbles, but she ended up being killed by Rob Donovan in a tragic turn of events back in 2014 when he chased her onto the balcony of the Builder’s Yard. When she tried to leave, he pushed her and she fell off the roof, with Rob convinced he killed her. With Tina still alive, he attacked her with an iron bar but she survived that attack and was rushed to hospital as doctors tried to save her.
Emmerdale – Who pushed Emma Barton?
Emma was then pushed off a viaduct by Moira after she talked ill of her dead daughter Holly, who died of an overdose in October 2017. Although Moira was responsible for Emma’s death, her son, Adam Barton, took the fall for the murder since he was already a prime suspect and he didn’t want Isaac to grow up motherless.
Hollyoaks – Glove Hand Killer
The Gloved Hand Killer was a mystery serial killer, who claimed the lives of 7 characters between January and October 2015, all by injecting them with potassium chloride. The Gloved Hand Killer’s targets were all people who had done wrong in some shape or form. There were 6 suspects for who the Gloved Hand Killer was, and the killer’s identity was revealed in October 2015. It was revealed to be doctor Lindsey Butterfield who had been killing people at the hospital.
Guilty and concerned about Max’s welfare, Lauren confided in Shona Platt (Julia Goulding), who alerted David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) to the situation.
Lauren later admitted to DC Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) that she was the one who had delivered the fatal blow to Joel.
How will Lauren and Brie’s dynamic play out in prison?
Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and ITVX.