Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks’ 30th anniversary week, and the plane crash that tore through the village, has claimed the lives of a number of major characters – one of them being Peri Lomax.
In heartbreaking scenes that aired in Tuesday’s episode (21 October), Peri succumbed to her injuries after being crushed by a falling chimney, debris from the explosion on the Love Boat.
Peri’s death is hugely emotional for long-time fans who have watched her grow up on screen, with actress Ruby O’Donnell bowing out of the show after 13 years playing the iconic character.
While we wait for the much-anticipated return of Hollyoaks Later this evening, we had the pleasure of catching up with Ruby for an exclusive interview about Peri’s demise and saying goodbye to Hollyoaks.
Hi, Ruby! We’re still crying over Peri’s death – how are you feeling now that these scenes have finally aired?
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"I think the word I’m just saying at the moment is overwhelmed, although I’ve obviously known it's been coming for a while. I'm not going to lie, a lot of fans don't think I'm dead yet! They’re really hoping that in the next episode, she might wake up or they got it wrong and I might have been able to have been saved. But it’s just a bit surreal at the moment."
How did your exit come about in the first place?
"I had a chat with Hannah [Cheers, executive producer], and I felt like it was my time to sum up Peri on the show. I’ve been there for 13 years, I feel like I've done so much there and I just feel like it was time for me to go and move on and do other things. Then obviously when you have a chat like that, you're kind of at the mercy of the writers in terms of what’s going to happen.
"They told me the plan with the 30th, and obviously I was shocked about the death part, but I knew it was going to be pretty epic and you can't really say no to that, you know? Peri’s a character that can't just leave in the back of a taxi. She deserves a bigger exit than that, whether it's a death or not.
"So, it was a shock, I won't lie, because I love Peri – I've been her for 13 years and it was really sad to let her go. But I've had a long time to process it, which I feel quite lucky about. It feels like time for me to move on and do other things. So it's sad, but I'm excited for what's next."
What was your experience of filming the huge stunt and Peri’s final scenes?
"I wasn't really involved in the wedding, because Peri and Tom are kind of a different story strand – we’re on the way to the wedding, but obviously we never make it. So my scenes were all just with Ellis [Hollins, who plays Tom], really, and then Kirsty [Leigh Porter, aka Leela] and Kieron [Richardson, aka Ste] at the very end when they find me. Which is just wonderful, because they're the people that I started the show with, and to end it with them just felt right."
Was it bittersweet to see or to play out Peri and Tom rekindling their relationship, knowing that it wouldn't last?
"It was so bittersweet, honestly. In the same meeting where I found out that I was dying, I found out that I was getting back with Tom. I was like, oh god, the audience are going to be so sad! But it just felt right to finish it with Peri and Tom. It started with them, and it ended with them. It’s heartbreaking and this makes it more heartbreaking, and that's kind of what we wanted. We wanted the audience to be gutted."
How was it working closely with Ellis again after a while, even though it wasn't for too long?
"I loved it. I love Ellis so much. He's such a special human to me, because he obviously was on the show a lot longer than I was. He really took me under his wing when I first joined, and then knowing he was coming back to do this, he helped me through it so much again, and it just felt like we were young again. It's been emotional, man. I can't even tell you how many tears I've cried over the past few months!"
It's really special that Peri and Leela got to say goodbye as well – what has it meant to you to play out this mother and daughter relationship with Kirsty over all these years?
"She’s just the best. She really is like a real mum, she’s looked after me when my mum hasn’t been there on set. And doing those final scenes with her, that was the bit that I struggled with the most. I couldn't even look at her when we weren't filming because she was just sobbing and I was just sobbing and I was like, ‘we've got to hold it for the take, we've got to hold it!’
"But finishing it with her, it was just right for Peri’s final moments to be with Leela. It wouldn't have been right to do it with anyone else, you know? It was like a full circle moment, and obviously she's just gutted."
There was also the huge twist about James in your final few episodes. How surprised were you to find out that he's alive?
"Oh my god, ridiculous! I was like, what is going on right now? We were finding out so many different bombshells, and when Hannah told me about this, I was like, ‘I can’t even cope with that!’ But it's great to have Greg [Finnegan, who plays James] back and to film those scenes with him. It was right at the end of my time, and he was like, ‘I can't believe I'm back on the last few days that you’re filming!’
"It was just really, really strange. It felt like we'd gone back in time. But it's just great. I mean, it's Hollyoaks, isn't it? People don’t always stay dead, do they?"
And it was heartbreaking that Peri tried to tell Ste about James, but didn't quite get it out…
"I know, I know. When I read the script, I was like, the audience are going to find that even more heartbreaking – that in Peri’s final moments, she's still trying to look after her family."
What was it like to watch those final episodes play out at the anniversary event this week?
"Oh, it was hard, I'm not going to lie. I struggled with it. But I had Kirsty and Kieron literally sat grabbing me the whole time. We all went through it together, and I think everyone was emotional. And seeing my big head die on that screen… I find it hard to watch myself anyway sometimes, but I just embraced it."
What has the viewer response been like to Peri’s shock death?
"It's been heartbreaking, man. Everyone's been gutted. I think so many people have grown up with me, as they’ve seen me on screen since I was a baby. Everyone thought of Peri as one of the characters who has survived everything. But that's why we knew we had to do it.
"You can't just kill characters that people are expecting because it wouldn't be a shock then. But I feel bad for the fans because I don't they were expecting it, and I think a lot of people are very gutted."
Does it feel like you've quite literally grown up on screen yourself?
"Oh, I have. I look back at old episodes and there’s moments I can’t even remember, because they were so long ago. My whole childhood has basically been on screen. I mean, I've done things on this show that people will never do in ten lifetimes. I feel for Peri, though, like she's been through it!"
Is there a particular storyline that stands out to you as you look back on all these stories you’ve told as Peri?
"Yeah, I always say the homelessness storyline was my favourite, and when we did the standalone, hour long episode. We filmed it in Liverpool and it was just very special. So I think that was my probably my favourite, and it’s the storyline I’m most proud of to date."
Who do you think was the love of Peri’s life – was it Tom?
"I would say yeah, it is Tom. I would say Juliet obviously came very close. But they were quite toxic, if I'm honest! Like if you back on their relationship, Juliet cheated on Peri a lot. I feel like Tom is the love of Peri’s life, I do."
Are you excited to keep up with Hollyoaks from now on as a viewer?
"Yeah, of course. Obviously Nate [Dass, who plays Dillon], my boyfriend, is still on the show so I get all the gossip from him about what’s going post my death. I love to keep up with it and check in with everyone and see what everyone's up to. I want the show to do well, and I’ll always be a supporter of Hollyoaks!"
What's next for you? What do you hope to achieve next in your career?
"I would love to just play some different characters. I've been Peri my whole life, so it’ll be really strange, but really exciting. I'd love to do a period drama or a Netflix thing, something gritty.
"With Hollyoaks, we're quite limited on what we can do with the time that we're on. So I’d love to be able to do something a bit more gritty, something maybe where I could swear in it – it would have been amazing to be in the Hollyoaks Later episode!"
What will you miss the most about playing Peri?
"I'm going to miss her outfits! That sounds quite silly, but Peri dresses quite differently to me, very girly, and I love getting glammed up and being her. I would never do half of the crazy things that Peri does, but that’s probably a good thing, to be fair!"
Do you have a final message for the Hollyoaks fans?
"Just thank you. Hollyoaks literally has the best fans in the world and they support you through the good and the very bad. The show wouldn't be anything without the fans, the fans keep us going and we really do appreciate all of the love and we do see it. So just keep supporting the show, and just thank you for always being there and supporting me, because it really does mean more than anyone ever can know."
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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