Mercedes McQueen’s pregnancy is "the worst thing that could happen".
Just after Jennifer Metcalfe’s ‘Hollyoaks’ alter ego dumped villain Liam Donovan (Jude Monk McGowan), who she had been cheating on her loyal husband Sylver (David Tag) with, Mercedes discovered she was pregnant with no idea who the father is.
Jennifer told Inside Soap: "It’s the worst thing that could happen to Mercedes. She would love the idea of having Sylver’s baby, but having Liam’s child would mean that she has to come clean to Sylver about the affair. That for her is just like Doomsday!
"She’s messed up big time, and if she keeps covering it up with more lies, it’s just going to make a messy, horrible situation even worse."
However, Jennifer was pleased to see Mercedes showing a more vulnerable side in scenes with secretly-pregnant Brooke Hathaway (Talia Grant).
She said: "Mercedes is shocked to see someone she knows at the hospital. She wanted to keep the pregnancy totally between her and Nana, as she’s the only other person who knows.
"But when Mercedes realised that Brooke needs her, she’s quite selfless and puts her own feelings to one side. She gives Brooke the attention she needs to make the right decision."
Meanwhile, the Channel 4 soap’s boss Bryan Kirkwood previously promised that Mercedes’ affair with Liam would get "really messy".
He said: "Mercedes’ affair with Liam is going to get really messy. Our characters on ‘Hollyoaks’ fit into really clear archetypes – if they’re successful, that is – and we see Mercedes as a bad girl who wants to be good.
"That’s her role in the show. But Mercedes is going to get her comeuppance later in the year, in ways that I can’t go into right now.
"The decisions that Mercedes has made over the past few months – the good ones and the terrible ones – are all building to one of the biggest chapters in her life. That includes the love triangle with Liam and Sylver, the lies about Grace’s hit and run, and the drug-taking.
"We are going to see Mercedes have sexy fun over the start of summer. But by the end of the summer, her affair with Liam will turn toxic and that leads us into an exciting autumn."
Mercedes McQueen’s pregnancy is ‘the worst thing that could happen’
