Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe is a soap legend.
The 38-year-old actress has portrayed Mercedes McQueen on the Channel 4 soap since 2008 and her memorable debut paved the way for the rest of the McQueen clan.
Mercedes finds herself in hot water this week as she learns the true identity of her son Bobby Costello’s online chess partner ‘G’.
The concerned mother has been defending the youngster but is beginning to yield, with the risk of whatever’s lurking behind the flat door proving an ever more sinister threat.
But, who is Jennifer Metcalfe? And, what does her life look like away from the village?
Rival soap
(Image: C4)
While Jennifer’s name is synonymous with Hollyoaks, she actually got her soap start elsewhere.
Jennifer began her acting career in 2001 when she was cast as a school bully in TV series At Home with the Braithwaites.
A year later, she made her soap debut when she starred as a character called Jade Nicholls in three episodes of Emmerdale.
The burgeoning actress later joined the cast of Hollyoaks.
In 2011, Jennifer also appeared on reality competition Dancing on Ice where she met her ex-boyfriend, Sylvain Chamberlain.
Christmas dumping
(Image: Getty Images)
Jennifer and Sylvain began dating after growing close on Dancing on Ice.
That changed when Sylvain was partnered with Coronation Street actress Samia Ghadie a year later, with Jennifer claiming Sylvain dumped her over the phone on Christmas Day.
She previously told The Sun: ‘He told me on the phone that Samia and himself had a conversation about their feelings for each other.”
Of her feelings after the split, Jennifer added: “It’s like death. I felt gutted.
“It was the worst Christmas ever.”
Miracle baby
Jennifer moved on from Sylvain with former Geordie Shore star Greg Lake and the couple welcomed their first child Daye together in 2017.
The five year old is now Jennifer’s pride and joy but a complicated birth scare previously left Daye’s life at risk.
Of her miracle baby, Jennifer told Lorraine: “When he came out, his cord was in a knot and it was in quite a tight knot as well.
“Basically, they said it happens in one in a hundred babies and it doesn’t end very nice. It can end in stillbirth.
“It was quite a tight knot as well because it stops the oxygen and the food flow and everything getting to him but our little man defied the odds and here he is.
“We’re very lucky.”
Jennifer and Greg ended their relationship in early 2020, though the pair have remained close.
Earlier this month, the actress visited Greg’s restaurant Novo alongside her son and she has also moved on romantically.
The soap star has been dating footballer Chris Eagles on and off since last year.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
