Grace Black

[Perdita]

Hollyoaks will introduce Clare Devine's sister Grace Black next month, Digital Spy can confirm.

Actress Tamara Wall has been cast in the role of Grace and has already started filming with the Channel 4 soap.

Tamara Wall as Grace Black in Hollyoaks
© Lime Pictures
Tamara Wall as Grace Black


Grace's introductory storyline will see her desperate to track down Doctor Browning in the aftermath of Clare's untimely death, unaware that he has also been killed.

Last week, viewers saw Browning murder Clare by running her down in his car, before meeting a grisly fate himself as he was killed by his wife Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe).

Mercedes has decided to cover up the incident with help from Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin).

As Grace launches the search for Browning, she slowly becomes suspicious over the trio's strange behaviour, leaving them concerned that she could discover the truth.

Tamara Wall as Grace Black in Hollyoaks
© Lime Pictures
Tamara Wall as Grace Black


Fans can also expect interesting dynamics as the show reveals how Grace fits in with her father Fraser (Jesse Birdsall) and his henchman Trevor Royle (Greg Wood).

Grace holds some resentment towards Fraser as she knows that Clare was always the apple of his eye. She also has unresolved tension with Trevor, but whether it's love or hate between them remains to be seen.

New recruit Wall may already be familiar to some soap fans as she played the guest role of Martina Quinn on EastEnders in 2011.

Hollyoaks airs Grace's first scenes on Friday, November 8 at 6.30pm on Channel 4.

[tammyy2j]

Is their mother dead?

[lizann]

is she after trevor as it seems that way to me

[tammyy2j]

Hollyoaks explored a different side to newcomer Grace Black this week as she covered for Trevor Royle when he found himself in big trouble with her dad Fraser.

Grace's dynamic with Trevor (Greg Wood) is explored further next week as they seem ready to give into their feelings for each other, but with Mercedes McQueen still to deal with, Grace won't be going soft for long…

Digital Spy recently chatted to Tamara Wall, who plays Grace, to hear more about what's in store for the villainous character.

How's it all going for you so far at Hollyoaks?
"It's amazing. To be honest, I'm still pinching myself that I'm here. It feels like a bit of a dream! It's really busy here so it can be mad sometimes, but I'm absolutely loving it and everyone here is so nice. I've been welcomed with open arms.

"I was petrified on my first day - I've never been more nervous in all my life, but everyone on set made it really easy."

How do you feel about playing a bad girl?
"It's all new to me. Usually I play ditzy blondes! In real life, I'm rubbish at confrontation, so for me it's a bit like therapy. When they told me Grace was a bit of a bad girl, I was delighted to have something to get my teeth into. I think it's definitely better to be bad than boring!"

What was the audition process like for the role?
"It was quite a quick process - just a couple of weeks. I had three auditions and it was quite terrifying! I came up to Liverpool, received the script and went through it the night before - inside out and back to front, because I was so nervous and wanted to get everything right.

"We did the audition on set, so that was the first time I'd walked onto the set, but it went well. I did some scenes with Greg Wood and Jesse Birdsall, who play Trevor and Fraser, and they were amazing."

How do you describe Grace to people?
"I'd say Grace is pretty rock hard. She's a bit damaged from her childhood. Her sister Clare was always the apple of her dad's eye, while Grace was left to her own devices a bit because she was the strong one and quite tomboy-ish.

"Grace now spends her whole life putting on a front that you don't ever mess with her. But behind closed doors, she secretly wants to be quite girly - although she'd never, ever show that!"

Will those complexities start coming out on screen more?
"Yeah, you're going to see a bit more of her vulnerable side and a bit more of a lighter side to her. I think you'll see that she is actually human and she does have a heart - it's just a question of where she's going to put it!"

Would you say Grace enjoys being part of the criminal world?
"She definitely enjoys it. A lot of it was her desperately trying to prove to Fraser that she could handle herself in a man's world, but she's loving every minute of it. Grace enjoys the power - she loves having power over people. She uses that to her advantage a lot."

Should Mercedes, Lindsey and Cindy be worried about what Grace has in store for them as she continues to delve into the Browning secret?
"Probably Mercedes should be worried the most! Grace doesn't like Mercedes at all. I don't think Grace has really shown yet how bad she can be and how dark she can be. She is really heartless with other people and doesn't empathise with them at all - especially women."

Were Grace and Clare close at all?
"I've always thought that they really didn't get along at all, but then when Clare died, that was really Grace's time to think, 'Actually, she was my sister, I did love her and I'm gutted that I didn't get to tell her that'. That's why Grace felt that she had to come back to take some kind of revenge for her sister."

How would you describe Grace and Trevor's relationship? They seem to be getting closer…
"Grace and Trevor grew up together with Fraser. Trevor had a thing with her sister and got her pregnant, so there's a big backstory there. There's a lot more to come out about exactly how Grace feels about Trevor, and it will all become clear whether it's a jealousy thing or whether she's in love with him."

Most of your scenes have been with Jesse and Greg. What have they been like to work with?
"Amazing! They're such incredible actors. I lucked out on the fact that I've been able to walk into Hollyoaks, be partnered up with them and have all of my first scenes with them. They're consummate professionals but fun to work with, too - we have a laugh."

With Grace get involved with Sandy and the Roscoes a bit more?
"Grace isn't all that impressed with the fact that her dad is messing around with a 'normal' woman. She's desperately worried that if he falls in love with her too much, he'll tell her everything and the whole truth will come out. If that happened, the whole Black family would go down. Grace is constantly on her toes the whole time, making sure that he doesn't slip up!"

Taking on the role, were you aware of what a big character Clare had been?
"I was, as I'd watched the show myself. It was daunting because so many people have loved her character as the ultimate villain and the ultimate bitch. It's hard shoes to fill, but I think Grace is a little bit different and maybe a bit more clever. She's definitely way more two-faced and sly!"

Were you sad not to get any scenes with Gemma Bissix, who played Clare?
"Yeah! The sad thing was that we didn't meet each other at all, because she'd finished filming before I came in. But she came back one day and I bumped into her in the green room. It was lovely to meet her and it turns out she literally lives down the road from me back at home. What are the chances?!"

Who else have you made friends with?
"Everyone! It sounds so clichéd to say, but it's really like a big family. It's like nothing I've ever worked on before. You can walk into the green room and chat with anyone. I expected people to maybe be a bit funny towards a new person, but they're all so happy to have you here and they go out of their way to make you feel welcome."

Are you hoping Grace can be a long-stay character or does she have a shelf life?
"I'm hoping that she's here for a long time. I think she's a strong enough character to hold her own for a while."

You were previously on EastEnders as Martina in 2011. Was that also a good experience, even though it was only brief?
"It was brilliant. It was the first time I'd done any type of TV. In hindsight, thank God that I had that, because if I'd walked straight into this, I would have been mindblown! It's almost like it was a rehearsal for this role, and it was another really fun show to be involved in. It was also mad to walk into Albert Square after watching it for so long."

How does the soap world compare to your previous work?
"All of my previous work has been in the theatre, so this is literally a completely different world. I'm used to getting up at lunchtime, chilling out for the day, going into work about 5pm, doing a couple of hours on stage and then coming home.

"Now I'm used to doing 'real people hours'. As my husband says when he's laughing at me, 'Welcome to the real world!' The hours are massively different, but it's great to do something different every single day. On Hollyoaks it's great to have different scenes or people to work with, rather than doing the same thing every night."

[tammyy2j]

.

[Katy]

I'm not keen on her but then again I can't stand Fraser!! I will give her a bit ore time though it might just be that it's because she is a new character.

[tammyy2j]

She has had way too much botox

[Perdita]

Hollyoaks star Tamara Wall has extended her contract with the soap.

The actress joined the Channel 4 show late last year in the role of Grace Black, who is the daughter of local gangster Fraser and the sister of the late Clare Devine.

Speaking to Digital Spy at the launch of Pentahotel Warrington, Wall promised that viewers will now see softer moments from Grace as her relationship with Trevor Royle can finally progress without interference from Fraser.

She explained: "Grace and Trevor live in a different world to everyone else in Hollyoaks. They've got their own little niche that they live in, a bit like Mr and Mrs Smith!

"There's definitely some stuff coming up where you're going to see a softer side of Grace, especially now that Grace and Trevor can relax a little bit. She's managed to get her dad off their backs, so this is when you finally get to see what Grace and Trevor are like together. They're just a loved-up couple, even though they've murdered a few people!

"I'm going to be around on Hollyoaks for a while. I've just had my contract extended so I'm really happy."

Grace came to Fraser's rescue this week when Trevor (Greg Wood) was about to kill the villain to avenge the death of his father. Lying to her lover, Grace assured Trevor that Fraser (Jesse Birdsall) did not kill his dad, despite Jim McGinn's recent allegations.

Grace and Trevor have a private chat
© Lime Pictures
Grace and Trevor

Discussing the storyline, Wall explained: "I think Grace got stuck in between a rock and a hard place, so she had to do something. She was probably doing it more for Trevor than she ever was for her dad, but I think she's now got something on Fraser. She's saved him, so now she wants him to leave her and Trevor alone and let them be happy together."

On the viewer response to Grace, she added: "The viewers don't ever direct it at me, but Grace does get some abuse - especially recently with the whole Freddie/Joe thing. They love Joe and Freddie, so when the wrecking ball episode was on, I think I was the most hated person on Channel 4 that night!

"But it's good - as much as it's hard when people say nasty things, you have to think, 'Well, they're not saying it about me - they're saying it about Grace. I'm doing my job right because she's not a nice person!' She's not supposed to be a nice person."

[tammyy2j]

Is she dead?

[moonstorm]

Nah, we're not that lucky!