2 hours ago
8 
She’s been at the centre of Hollyoaks’ wildest storyline of the last year, and it may come as little surprise for you to be told that a sticky end looms for Martha Blake, with actress Sherrie Hewson confirming that it will leave you in shock.
Jez (Jeremy Sheffield) is currently on a killing spree that looks set to reach a critical point around the time of the 30th anniversary episodes in October, so could his own mother end up being a victim of his murderous hand?
It certainly seems like things could be headed that way, with Sherrie branding her character’s fate ‘horrific’.
In conversation with Metro, the TV stalwart – known for Coronation Street, Loose Women and Benidorm among many other roles – said: ‘It’s horrific! It’s really horrible, for me and for the other person.
So it’s really, really horrific and unexpected and shocking for every reason. And I can’t say anymore because I’d have to kill you!’
While we wait with unease to find out exactly how it plays out, Sherrie confirmed to us that she finished filming around two months ago and is at peace with leaving the show – though, she adds that she very much misses the cast and crew, not least of all Jeremy, who plays Jez, and Sienna Blake legend Anna Passey.
‘I love that everybody there, the crew, the cast, everybody, are so fabulous,’ she smiled. ‘I can’t tell you how lovely they are. I love them all so much. So that’s what I’m sad about, is that I’m not going to see them.
‘You know Anna Passey, who plays Sienna, who’s my granddaughter. I just adore her, every inch of her, and so I will miss her. I’ll miss Jeremy Sheffield. I’ll miss them all. And the crew are just the best crew ever, and they’re all scousers, of course, so not far from me. So I love it. I love it, and so I will miss everybody.’
Sherrie may be best known for playing Maureen Holdsworth in Coronation Street – a show she tells us remains her favourite to watch to this day – but she has been across the soap genre a fair bit.
One place she is yet to visit, however, is Walford. So could an EastEnders appearance loom?
Sherrie is more than up with it, telling us to get our Albert Square contacts on the phone – consider it done! ‘My best friend is called Harriet Thorpe, who plays Elaine. She runs the pub, and she and I very good friends, so I’d like to go in and be her evil sister or evil cousin, and be really nasty to her and we would have the best time ever, because I love it, so yes, I would love to do that. That would be fabulous!’
Is TV ignoring the older generation?
In the wake of the report The Upper Third, which was commissioned by freeview broadcaster Great TV, it was found that half of all men over 55 and 60% of women over 65 don’t see people like them in advertising, or if they do, it’s often a poor representation or a stereotype. And when it comes to TV programmes, in an age of streaming and shows like Love Island aiming at younger demographics, they feel equally left out by the mainstream schedules.
It’s something that Sherrie is passionate about and wants to change, telling me that ‘old people aren’t just waiting to die’, despite what adverts focusing on healthy looking middle-aged people planning funerals.
And there’s a lot TV bosses could do to make the age bracket feel more represented, she reckons.
‘They do prioritise young people because they kind of believe that that’s where the money is coming from, which is not true. Of course, the money is coming from older people because they’ve got disposable incomes.
‘I mean, if you look at the wonderful programmes, which they still need to make very accessible, and I was in most of them – Rising Damp, Man about the House, Diagnosis: Murder – all of those programmes they need to make them accessible for people. I do a lot of dementia homes, and I know I sit with them and they’re fine, and they laugh and they sing. When they go back to their rooms, they stop because the music has brought them out of themselves.
‘So they turn on the television. So they need to be able to access these programs. They need it to be accessible. You know, somebody said to me the other day, “Oh, well, somebody can go in and stream it for them”. I said, “Don’t treat people like that. They need to do it themselves. They need to live for themselves.”‘
She added: ‘I mean, they treat people as if you’re about to die. And, you know, so, so let’s sell them something that will help them get there and, you know, like, I don’t know, not a stairlift, or a mobility scooter, just think that’s what they’re trying to sell us. So I think we’re missing a trick commercially, because these people want to go on a cruise, like, my age. We’re not interested in selling stuff to make us die cheaper. I’m going to die anyway, so I don’t care. I want to go on a cruise. I want to go water skiing. I want to go to Mauritius, you know? I’m not talking about rich people. I’m talking about everyday people want to do things they want to.’
Another place viewers are aching to see Sherrie pop up in again are the sunny climes of Spain.
With rumours swirling of a Benidorm resurrection, might we finally see Joyce Temple-Savage again?
‘That’s my favourite character of all time, of course, because Derren Litten wrote it. And I remember meeting him, and he said, “I just want to meet you, because I know everything you’ve done.” I said, “Do you?” And he did!
‘I didn’t read for the part or anything. He said, “I just wanted to meet you.” And I left thinking, “Oh, I haven’t got it.” And he sent me a message saying, “See you in Spain in two months time.” That’s all I ever knew. And then these scripts arrived of this wonderful character, and I’ll always be grateful to Darren for writing her.
‘Everybody was just stunning. And so we’re praying. We’re praying that it goes again. There are rumours, and we know nothing! We will be the last people in the world to know, but there are rumours, and that’s all we know.’
And there’s no danger of a reboot without Joyce it seems!
Sherrie assured us: ‘Of course they wouldn’t not have me. Joyce Temple-Savage, of course! Yes, I’d be there, I’d be on a plane tomorrow!
‘Sherrie: She’s a wonderful character. She is wonderful, and the lines are just to die for. You couldn’t do another character like her. There’s been nothing ever like her again. So that’s why I’m hoping she comes back. We’ll see. Watch this space.’
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·