Trish Minniver (Denise Welch)
Hollyoaks has announced that Denise Welch is joining the soap's cast as Maxine Minniver's (Nikki Sanderson) mum Trish Minniver.
Dance teacher Trish will arrive in the village under the ominous shadow of her boyfriend Brad, who will take an immediate shine to Maxine ? which could drive a big wedge between the mother and daughter.
Trish, who is also mum to departed character Mitzeee Minniver (Rachel Shenton), previously made a few brief appearances on the soap between 2010 and 2012, being played by actress Paula Wolfenden, but this will be the character's first longer stint.
Her sudden arrival is bound to be a shock for Maxine, who has coped with a great deal of trauma over the past few years without having her family by her side ? but will she be pleased to see her mum, or will Trish cause her even more trouble?
"I am thrilled to be joining the cast of Hollyoaks in this, their 25th year," Denise said. "I'm looking forward to working with some old friends and making new ones. The character of Trish Minniver is an actor's dream and I can't wait to introduce her to you."
Denise announced the news live on Loose Women, on which she is a regular panellist, saying that she is "really excited".
Revealing that she is going to be on the soap "for a whole year", she said that she can't wait to start filming and added: "I will still be able to do Loose Women ? they've been very kind to me about that. I am very excited because I've missed my acting and I feel very honoured."
Denise and Nikki have soap history together as they've both previously worked on Coronation Street, in which they played Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes and hairdresser Candice Stowe respectively.
Denise's new role will also see her working alongside her former Waterloo Road co-star Chelsee Healey, who plays Goldie McQueen, and her Loose Women co-star K?ll? Bryan, who plays Martine Deveraux.
K?ll?, who was the only person who knew about Denise's new role before the announcement, shared a message of congratulations on Loose Women, saying: "Double trouble! I cannot wait to see you causing mischief in Hollyoaks."
Denise will first be seen on screen as Trish in January 2021.
