Jennifer Metcalfe has become one of Hollyoaks' most familiar faces over the years, and the actress hopes to stay on the soap for a whole lot longer.

The star, who has played Mercedes McQueen since 2006, said that she feels "lucky" to have worked on the show for so long.

"I just feel so privileged I've had that job all through my 20s," she told the Daily Star.

"I feel I've learned so much and worked with some amazing people, so roll on the next 10. The producers do two or three quite big storylines with me a year and I'm lucky to have that."

She added: "What else can you put her through? She died and then came back after all! It just works. She's a character who just carries on all guns blazing."

A devastated Mercedes is admitted to hospital
© Lime Pictures

It was previously announced that Hollyoaks will explore a stillbirth storyline next month as Mercedes McQueen's unborn baby dies.

Speaking about the sensitive plot, Metcalfe said: "It was really hard to do and challenging as an actress. Filming it, I got that lump in my throat and that was it. By the end of it all, I was a mess. I was just sat there sobbing.

"When it came to playing it on set I did minimal rehearsals because I didn't want to wear out the true meaning of the words. The scripts were written so brilliantly that didn't have to dig deep to find that level of emotion. The words were all there on the page. I broke down every time."

digitalspy