Gemma Merna thinks her 'Hollyoaks' character will "go down in soap history".
The 29-year-old actress joined the cast of the Channel 4 soap in 2006--playing the role of ditsy beautician Carmel McQueen - and having recently announced she was leaving the show after eight years, she's confessed she's proud of the work she's done.
Looking back at her time on the show, Gemma said: "It's more pride. Obviously I've done a good job. That's all you set off to do. You join such an established cast, and you try and create a character that has longevity.
"And I feel I've done that. Carmel is well known, she's part of the main cast. She will go down in soap history."
Gemma - who earned herself a Best Comedy Performance prize at The British Soap Awards in 2007, as well as a nomination for Best Female Soap Actress at the National Television Award - also admitted she's going to miss transforming into the much loved character.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I'll miss Carmel - I'll miss getting into the character every single day. But, you know, I'm ready for some new challenges. So I'm very excited about that."
She is, however, keeping tight-lipped on her future ventures.
The blonde beauty added: "I'm allowed to say that it's very different from what any soap stars have done before. And I think a lot of people will be shocked by what I'm doing."
Gemma is supporting Jeans for Genes Day 2014 which will be held on Friday 19 September. Please sign-up and order a free fundraising kit at www.jeansforgenes.org or call 0800 980 4800.

Ashley Taylor Dawson misses his 'Strictly Come Dancing' spray-tans.
The 'Hollyoaks' actor - who competed on the BBC One celebrity dance contest last year - has confessed the start of the new series has got him reminiscing about his time on the show.
Quizzed on whether he'd continued getting spray tans, he said: "I've just got back off of holiday. Don't you start, this is real. No, I've not, but I do miss them I won't lie. It makes you look healthy all the time."
The 32-year-old star also revealed he had some advice for this year's contestants - which include 'EastEnders' actor Jake Wood, former 'The Only Way Is Essex' star Mark Wright and Pixie Lott.
He told BANG Showbiz: "Don't have any regrets. Just let it all out. Let it all out on the dance floor. I watched a clip back the other day and I was thinking, 'Look at my hands! What was I doing?'
"It's so weird. But then again, that was when I was living on four hours sleep every night, and I was full time at work. So my regret was that I was working full time. It's such a shame that I couldn't have the full experience.
"For everyone there, grab the bull by the horns and run with it."

Paul W.S. Anderson put Kiefer Sutherland through "hell" on the set of 'Pompeii'.
The director admitted Sutherland and Kit Harington were left feeling "uncomfortable" as they filmed through clouds of ash to recreate the scenes from volcano explosion that destroyed the Italian city in 79 AD.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz, he said: "We needed to plunge them into hell and it's easier to act like that if they are in hellish conditions.
"If you talk to Kit or Kiefer, they would both tell you the same, it was hellish making the movie.
"We had a lot of very unhappy actors. Everyone was very committed to the movie and coming to work. But I think there were times when they weren't happy. They weren't coming in, in the mornings saying, 'Woohoo! Pompeii!' because they were getting ash in their eyes and in their lungs.
"It really was an uncomfortable movie but I think that discomfort added a huge layer of realism."
He then joked: "Kiefer for example, makes a lot of notes in his script. About what the character is thinking, handwritten notes in his script and he would write things like, 'NAR', I would see this term 'NAR' all the way through his script.
"I said, 'NAR' and he said, 'No acting required'. He said, 'I don't need to pretend that the world was ending. I know you're going to make me feel like it is."
According to the director, the '24' actor even revealed that 'Pompeii' was the hardest film he's ever made.
He explained: "Kiefer's made about 50 movies and at the end of ['Pompeii'] he said, 'That's the toughest film I've ever made.' I took that as a compliment!"
'Pompeii' is available on DVD and Bluray from September 15.

Katie Holmes is set to make her directorial debut.
The 35-year-old actress is to step behind the camera for the first time when she directs and stars in the adaptation of Annie Weatherwax's novel 'All We Had' alongside producer Jane Rosenthal and Josh Boone, who will write the script for the emotional movie.
Speaking to Variety.com, Holmes said: "I am very excited and honoured to be collaborating with Jane and Josh on this project and look so forward to bringing Annie's incredible characters to the screen."
The brunette beauty will play a mother in the movie, who is living on the edge of poverty with her young daughter, but they go on to find an unlikely home, surrounded by peculiar residents, in America.
Rosenthal said: "Katie has such a clear vision for the book's irreverent, original mother-daughter relationship.
"Her passion for the material, along with Josh Boone's ability to tell stories grounded in the comedy and drama of everyday, will truly bring these characters to life."
Meanwhile, Katie - who has eight-year-old daughter Suri with ex-husband Tom Cruise - will next been seen playing a teacher-turned-vigilante in 'Miss Meadows.'
The comedy premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April and will be released in November.

Lady Gaga almost quit music earlier this year.
The 'Applause' hitmaker admits she almost gave up her career for good six months ago after her third album 'ArtPop' received mixed reviews from critics.
Speaking in Parade magazine, she said: "Six months ago I didn't even want to sing any more. I was so sad. I couldn't sleep. I felt dead.
"I'm not going to say any names, but people get irrational when it comes to money. If you help an artist, it doesn't give you the right, once the artist is big, to take advantage of them."
However, the 28-year-old star then teamed up with Tony Bennett to create their forthcoming album 'Cheek to Cheek' and believes the 88-year-old legend saved her "life" and her career.
She said: "I tell Tony every day that he saved my life. He wanted nothing but my friendship and my voice."
Meanwhile, Tony recently said he was keen to team up with the blonde beauty again in the future because they get along so well and he admires her talent.
He said previously: "There were no moments of craziness or eccentricity when I was with her. She said that when she was 13 and singing jazz, 'Nobody ever paid any attention to me.'
"We get along great and she's just such a good improvised jazz singer. I think the public are going to say, 'I knew she could sing well but I didn't know she could sing THAT well'.
"I just love her and want to work with her as many times as possible in the future."

Professor Green considered suicide last year.
The 30-year-old rapper hit rock bottom and even contemplated ending his own life after he broke his leg in May 2013 when he was crushed between two cars and was arrested for drink-driving last November.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said: "I was definitely in the situation where the thought of ending it [my life] crossed my mind. I didn't think about how I'd do it, but there were moments with the anxiety of it all, I wanted to get out of my own skin.
"The feeling of being uncomfortable in your own skin is the worst you can have."
In March this year, Pro Green - real name Stephen Manderson - was given a 12-month driving ban after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) but claimed he committed the offence to protect his reality TV star wife Millie Mackintosh from a thief, who had just stolen his £40,000 Rolex watch.
The 'Never Be A Right Time' hitmaker, whose father hung himself in 2008, then attempted to gain control of his anxiety by seeking therapy and talking through his worries but he insists he now knows how to deal with the moments of emotional uneasiness by himself.
He explained: "I tried cognitive behavioural therapy, but it didn't work for me. I think therapy and talking is important and cathartic, so I've got a way of getting the feelings out. Sometimes it takes a little while, but now I've got the tools to get myself through it."

Taylor Swift flew out of Luton airport as thousands of passengers were evacuated after a bomb scare.
The 24-year-old singer was driven on to the runway and allowed to leave in her private jet at 4.11pm on Monday (08.09.14) while everybody else was forced to leave the premises after a passenger reported seeing a "vapour" coming from a piece of luggage.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Swift's convoy consisted of a white Porsche, a silver Mercedes van and a black Range Rover.
"It had somehow managed to navigate its way to a closed airport and Swift was able to board her flight."
Luton airport was closed for four hours from 1:15pm while armed police, the Army and emergency services rushed to the scene in Bedfordshire.
The bomb disposal team arrived at 4:30pm and used a robot to blow up the suitcase containing the worrying explosive, which turned out to be hair straighteners.
Passengers were allowed to re-enter the airport at 5:30pm, but many flights had already been cancelled and 10 planes had been diverted to London Stansted, Birmingham and London Gatwick.
A spokesperson for the airport said: "All of the arriving flights were suspended.
"However, there were three flights on the ground that were permitted to fly. Two of them were commercial."
A representative for Taylor said: "She wasn't making her way to a commercial flight."

Bono struggled to write U2's 'personal' new album.
The Irish rocker and his band mates, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr - who released their new record 'Songs of Innocence' for free to all iTunes Store customers and U2's website subscribers yesterday(10.09.14) - found composing the tracks hard as it required them to revisit past memories.
Bono told Rolling Stone: "We wanted to make a very personal album.
"Let's try to figure out why we wanted to be in a band, the relationships around the band, our friendships, our lovers, our family.
"The whole album is first journeys -- first journeys geographically, spiritually, sexually. And that's hard. But we went there."
In one particularly painful track entitled 'Iris', Bono opens up about his late mother, Iris Hewson, who died when he was just 14-years-old.
He explained: "Forty years ago, my mother fell at her own father's funeral, and I never spoke with her again.
"Rage always follows grief, and I had a lot of it, and I still have, but I channeled it into music and I still do. I have very few memories of my mother, and I put a few of them in a song called 'Iris.'"
The autobiographical album also features collaborations with Ryan Tedder, Lykke Li, Danger Mouse and Paul Epworth - who the 54-year-old singer credits for the success of their latest offering.
He said: "I think having them around really helped.
"Some of the music out there now that people call pop, it's not pop - it's just truly great. And we wanted to have the discipline of the Beatles or the Stones in the Sixties, when you had real songs. There's nowhere to hide in them: clear thoughts, clear melodies."

Iggy Azalea has denied claims she recorded a sex tape with an ex-boyfriend.
TMZ reports that a top Hollywood porn boss has claimed that he'd seen footage of Iggy with one of her ex-boyfriends - something the 'Fancy' singer has strenuously denied.
Speaking on Twitter, she said: "Obviously I've seen the news feed today and I just want to say I don't have a sex tape."
Iggy added: "We should want to protect our women and I really hope that America will follow Europe and their laws to better protect peoples privacy and fundamental rights [sic].
"And on that note, I'm off to get a manicure peaaaaaaceeeeeee outttttt *drops the mic*."
Earlier, Vivid boss Steven Hirsch told TMZ that the video could prove to be even more popular than the sex tape that helped make Kim Kardashian famous.
'Kim Kardashian Superstar' showed the reality TV star having sex with her ex-boyfriend and music star Ray J.
However, Iggy's representatives have dismissed suggestions that it is her in the video and have threatened to pursue legal action if it is released with her being named as the star.

Nicole Kidman says her children keep her feeling young.
The 47-year-old actress has two daughters, Sunday, six, and Faith, three, with her husband Keith Urban and she feels energised by them all the time.
She said: "There's something true about their life force. Children keep you young, they keep you engaged and they bring joy ... It's like we always dance at Keith's shows - Sunday and Faith are there and we'll be dancing side stage."
Nicole and Keith, 46, have been married now for eight years and she claims the secret to the success of their relationship is that they always make each other their number one "priority" in their lives.
In an interview on UK radio station Magic FM: "We stay really tight, we're very, very close. We have friends, but our priority is each other - we both grew up with parents who are like that."
Even though Nicole and Keith are often forced apart due to work commitments they make a rule to always speak to each other at least 10 times a day.
The 'Before I Go To Sleep' star added: "We're crazy. We'll speak 10 times a day. After nine years together we're both so grateful to have somebody that we not just love but who we like as well. It's a great combo. We all know what it's like to love someone and not really like them."

Josh Hutcherson has spoken out in support of Jennifer Lawrence after nude photos of the actress leaked online.
The 21-year-old actor, who plays Peeta in the popular 'Hunger Games' film franchise, told ET Canada said it's unfair that entertainers have to live their lives in fear of such invasions of their privacy.
He remarked: "Actually I haven't talked to her but I just think all that stuff is so ridiculous.
"We're people to, man, we just want to live, we want to be normal people, it's not fair."
Josh also suffered a nude photo leak of his own last year and he explained: "I think everyone has their own way of getting through it. "It's something you obviously don't want to happen to you and its really unfortunate that it happens but, I don't know, I hate the way the world sort of views those sorts of issues. It's really truly not fair."
Recently, Lawrence said that she maintains her privacy by rarely leaving her house.
The 24-year-old Oscar winner explained: "To be honest, I don't really leave my house a lot.
"I have to find a life that isn't work. But I suck at everything, I'm not good at anything else!"

Miley Cyrus has posted a picture of herself in the shower with only a love heart to cover her modesty.
The 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker published the raunchy shot to her 12, 607, 877 Instagram followers, with Miley's back to the camera and only a love heart to cover her bum.
Miley, 21, also posted a caption that was riddled with expletives, which read: "F**K YEAH PUERTO RICAN SHOWER #showeringinnatureisdas**tmane."
The steamy picture is just the latest in a long line of provocative stunts by the controversial young singer.
Recently, Miley's mother, Tish, said that she and her daughter twerk every weekend.
The pair practice the provocative butt-shaking dance move as they make their breakfast together every Saturday.
Tish said: "Every Saturday morning when we're making breakfast, we twerk in the kitchen. It is so much fun."
Speaking to the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column, Tish added: "I think that anybody that is interesting and takes risks is always going to be a target. They talked about her cutting her hair off, and now everybody is cutting their hair and shaving half their heads."