Will Mellor says he has not spoken to his former co-star Sheridan Smith in four years – because she won’t answer his calls.
Will, who starred with Sheridan in sitcom Two Pints of Lager and A Packet of Crisps, also invited her to his 40th birthday party, but never heard back.
He says: “I haven’t spoken to Sheridan for four years – I have tried to message and call her but nothing.
“I had a 40th birthday party that she was invited to but we haven’t spoken.
“There has not been a row, no fall-out… I honestly couldn’t tell you why.
“She is doing very well, her career is smashing it and she has a kid now, she has other responsibilities.
“We were very, very close at one point and you just drift apart – but I wish her well.”
Will says he hasn’t spoken to Sheridan Smith in four years (Image: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
Fans of Two Pints of Lager, which ran from 2001 to 2011, had hoped for a reunion show.
Will says: “I wanted us to have a one-off, one-hour special, something like Gavin and Stacey. I thought it would have been great for people who supported the show, they were the reason it carried on for 10 years.
“The writer said she was up for writing it, but it didn’t get off the ground and get going.”
Will, 44, has had a very tough year after losing his beloved dad Bill to cancer in April.
Sheridan apparently stopped answering the phone to her former co-star (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Heartbreakingly, the coronavirus pandemic meant he never got to hug him before he died.
Will says: “I still can’t look at his photos now. Grief is one of those things – if I think about it too much I end up in a cloud.
“I had to sit in the garden and look at him from the back step. I couldn’t get in range and I just wanted to get hold of him and hug him.
“He was diagnosed with lung cancer and it had gone secondary to his brain so if he caught anything it would kill him.
“He said to me: ‘If I got hold of you I wouldn’t be able to let you go’ and he broke down crying.
“Two weeks after my birthday he died. I didn’t get a chance to hug him.”
The pair worked together on hit comedy Two Pints of Lager And A Packet of Crisps
But it has inspired the Mancunian to work with KP Nuts to support Movember. The charity helps raise awareness of male health issues – including encouraging men to check themselves for signs of cancer.
“I see myself as a blokey bloke and I have always represented a typical man I think,” says Will.
“Men do find it hard to talk about testicular cancer and even just to talk about their emotions and their feelings. Testicular cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in young men so you have to check yourself.
“If it is caught early there is a 95% survival rate.”
Sheridan has been engaged to Jamie Horn since 2018 and they share a son (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Will, who is married to dancer Michelle McSween, didn’t appear in this month’s Hollyoaks 25th anniversary celebrations, which saw fellow original cast member Jeremy Edwards head back to the soap.
He says: “Nick Pickard, who plays Tony Hutchinson, is still in it from the beginning and Jeremy is back in it so it was a bit of a shame, but I couldn’t tie myself into a six-month contract”.
However Will, who has also appeared in Line of Duty and No Offence, is full of praise for the Channel 4 show.
He says: “Hollyoaks put me on the map. Overnight my life changed and my career has never looked back since, so I have a lot to thank Hollyoaks for.”
Fans have been begging for the stars to reunite after 9 years off air (Image: BBC)
The dad-of-two was due to film a new series with fellow Two Pints actor Ralf Little, 40, this year but it was stalled due to the pandemic.
He says: “My industry has been absolutely killed this year and I haven’t worked since February.
“I was supposed to be filming World’s Most Dangerous Roads with Ralf in South Africa in February and I flew out there, was there two days and had to fly home again. I was on the plane longer than I was in South Africa.
“Me and Ralf landed in a nature reserve and we were going to be driving and sleeping under the stars, doing a type of travelogue.
“I was so looking forward to it – it was bucket-list type of stuff.
“But we got there and we were told they were closing the borders and, when we got back, everything just shut down.
“We are going to try and pick it up next year if all this clears up.
“I love being with my family but I need to have something creative to focus on.”
Sheridan gave birth to a son in May 2020 (Image: ITV)
To that end, the actor has been doing a pub-themed podcast, called Two Pints with Ralf and Will, and hopes to take it to TV.
“I came up with the idea of doing a podcast talking about the old days and it has had over a quarter of a million listens,” he says. “We have a right good laugh, there is no script, we talk about our emotions which is important for mental health.
“I would like to take the podcast to TV – maybe have a chat show in a pub with a different band or busker every week and me and Ralf.”
For now, his dad’s death has made Will’s involvement with Movember and the KP Nuts campaign more important than ever.
He says: “Cancer is a devastating disease and it makes what I am doing for Movember more poignant. Young men think they can live for ever but they need to be aware. This year has shook me and losing my dad… it’s been the hardest year.
“What will be will be and if I feel like doing something I will. Life is too short. I’m me and I’m going to just be me – I want to grab life by the balls!”
Check out KP Nuts and Movember Nut Guide at kpnuts.com/movember.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
