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28-03-2013, 00:26
Hollyoaks airs Jen Gilmore's final scenes next week as she bows out from the show after a year on screen.
Earlier this year, the art teacher resorted to desperate measures to cover up her fling with Tilly Evans (Lucy Dixon), falsely accusing the student of harassment. However, her deception can't last forever with Tilly determined to expose the truth...
Digital Spy recently chatted to Amy Downham, who played Jen, to hear about her character's final week on screen and how she felt about moving on from Hollyoaks.
Have you enjoyed your time with Hollyoaks?
"Absolutely, it's been an amazing experience. It's always great for an actor to have a year's contract in a show. It's been really nice to have a character and then follow her journey over a long period. Jen was also a really interesting character to play and I thought her storyline brought up a lot of relevant issues, so it's been brilliant."
How do you feel about leaving the show?
"It's a mixed bag, really! It's sad to leave because it was a really great job and I had a great time there, but I also felt that it was about time for me. I didn't feel horrible about leaving at all, as it was the right time for me and the character.
"Jen couldn't have stayed on the show forever, because essentially what she's done is illegal, so she had to leave. A year is a good amount of time to be in a show like Hollyoaks and Jen certainly went through a lot of turmoil in that year!"
What were your thoughts on the more ruthless side that Jen showed this year?
"I was quite shocked when I first read the scripts! However, Jen spent a lot of her time trying to keep her head above water, and that meant that a lot of lying and deceit was needed. I always thought that Jen did that just to try and survive. I do believe that she loved Tilly, and it was a very important relationship to her. But what she did was illegal, so she had to find a way to not get caught out.
"In the last few episodes, Jen was quite mean to Tilly and made a lot of silly decisions. Essentially it was a relationship that had just gone sour, and I think Jen was in denial that she'd done anything wrong."
Next week's episodes begin with Esther returning to college. Does that worry Jen?
"Yes, I think there's a massive sense of panic, as it's another opportunity for her to get caught out. Esther is the one person who has seen Tilly and Jen together, so it becomes a little bit more real to her that things might come out.
"However, Jen still tries to fight her way through it, and that's when you see a different and more ruthless side to her. She's panicking and trying to keep her head above water."
Tilly later makes sure that the truth about Jen is exposed to everyone. How does Jen react?
"I think the way that we played it was quite nice. Jen has a lot of hate towards Tilly through those last few episodes, and when Tilly outs her, she's heartbroken that Tilly would do something like that. However, things change with a last little scene that we have at the end. Jen's about to have a go at Tilly, but then they both say 'sorry' to each other.
"Things have got out of hand, but they both still care about each other a lot. Jen realises at the last moment that maybe she deserved this and her comeuppance had to happen. I don't want anyone to think that the relationship is left completely bitter, as there's still a lot of care there and they did love each other."
What does headteacher Patrick make of the situation?
"He's quite frightening! Patrick threatens Jen, and you definitely see the beginning of a different side to him in that scene. Jen is quite shocked by that, as to begin with, you might think that Patrick is what the college needs - he's got power, he's got control and he's got some good ideas.
"Jen tries to lie her way back into the college or into another job. But Patrick says, 'If you ever come near my students again, I'll do whatever it takes you keep you away'. It's quite scary. I don't know whether we'll see more of that side to Patrick, we'll have to see."
We noticed that Tilly and Jen's relationship had a big following on Twitter. What did you make of the reaction?
"It's amazing. It's incredible how people have really taken to the relationship. I think the issues the storyline brought up were quite interesting, as it dealt with the bureaucracy of what's legal and what's illegal. Two people genuinely fell in love with each other, but bureaucracy and the law got in the way of that. Is that right? It's difficult to draw a line.
"You obviously have to draw a line somewhere, as there are people out there who are quite disturbed and would take advantage. But in this storyline, I think there were nice elements of the relationship. Jen wasn't an evil character, or at least I tried to play it that way. It's not always black and white. This was an honest relationship that had bad circumstances and probably should have been stopped a lot sooner, but you can't help who you fall in love with."
What memories will you take away from your time at Hollyoaks?
"I had some really good scenes with Alex Fletcher who plays Diane, which was really nice. Lucy was also amazing to work with. I was really lucky to have such a good actress to work alongside - in fact, all of the actors I worked with were brilliant. I especially loved all of the scenes with Jen and Tilly in the first couple of months, when they were at the beach and falling for each other."
What are your future plans?
"I trained in theatre and I've done quite a lot of TV since then, so I would quite like to go onto a theatre job now. But the business is pretty crazy at the moment, so I know I can't afford to be fussy! In an ideal world, I'd very much like to do a theatre job or a great part in a drama.
Earlier this year, the art teacher resorted to desperate measures to cover up her fling with Tilly Evans (Lucy Dixon), falsely accusing the student of harassment. However, her deception can't last forever with Tilly determined to expose the truth...
Digital Spy recently chatted to Amy Downham, who played Jen, to hear about her character's final week on screen and how she felt about moving on from Hollyoaks.
Have you enjoyed your time with Hollyoaks?
"Absolutely, it's been an amazing experience. It's always great for an actor to have a year's contract in a show. It's been really nice to have a character and then follow her journey over a long period. Jen was also a really interesting character to play and I thought her storyline brought up a lot of relevant issues, so it's been brilliant."
How do you feel about leaving the show?
"It's a mixed bag, really! It's sad to leave because it was a really great job and I had a great time there, but I also felt that it was about time for me. I didn't feel horrible about leaving at all, as it was the right time for me and the character.
"Jen couldn't have stayed on the show forever, because essentially what she's done is illegal, so she had to leave. A year is a good amount of time to be in a show like Hollyoaks and Jen certainly went through a lot of turmoil in that year!"
What were your thoughts on the more ruthless side that Jen showed this year?
"I was quite shocked when I first read the scripts! However, Jen spent a lot of her time trying to keep her head above water, and that meant that a lot of lying and deceit was needed. I always thought that Jen did that just to try and survive. I do believe that she loved Tilly, and it was a very important relationship to her. But what she did was illegal, so she had to find a way to not get caught out.
"In the last few episodes, Jen was quite mean to Tilly and made a lot of silly decisions. Essentially it was a relationship that had just gone sour, and I think Jen was in denial that she'd done anything wrong."
Next week's episodes begin with Esther returning to college. Does that worry Jen?
"Yes, I think there's a massive sense of panic, as it's another opportunity for her to get caught out. Esther is the one person who has seen Tilly and Jen together, so it becomes a little bit more real to her that things might come out.
"However, Jen still tries to fight her way through it, and that's when you see a different and more ruthless side to her. She's panicking and trying to keep her head above water."
Tilly later makes sure that the truth about Jen is exposed to everyone. How does Jen react?
"I think the way that we played it was quite nice. Jen has a lot of hate towards Tilly through those last few episodes, and when Tilly outs her, she's heartbroken that Tilly would do something like that. However, things change with a last little scene that we have at the end. Jen's about to have a go at Tilly, but then they both say 'sorry' to each other.
"Things have got out of hand, but they both still care about each other a lot. Jen realises at the last moment that maybe she deserved this and her comeuppance had to happen. I don't want anyone to think that the relationship is left completely bitter, as there's still a lot of care there and they did love each other."
What does headteacher Patrick make of the situation?
"He's quite frightening! Patrick threatens Jen, and you definitely see the beginning of a different side to him in that scene. Jen is quite shocked by that, as to begin with, you might think that Patrick is what the college needs - he's got power, he's got control and he's got some good ideas.
"Jen tries to lie her way back into the college or into another job. But Patrick says, 'If you ever come near my students again, I'll do whatever it takes you keep you away'. It's quite scary. I don't know whether we'll see more of that side to Patrick, we'll have to see."
We noticed that Tilly and Jen's relationship had a big following on Twitter. What did you make of the reaction?
"It's amazing. It's incredible how people have really taken to the relationship. I think the issues the storyline brought up were quite interesting, as it dealt with the bureaucracy of what's legal and what's illegal. Two people genuinely fell in love with each other, but bureaucracy and the law got in the way of that. Is that right? It's difficult to draw a line.
"You obviously have to draw a line somewhere, as there are people out there who are quite disturbed and would take advantage. But in this storyline, I think there were nice elements of the relationship. Jen wasn't an evil character, or at least I tried to play it that way. It's not always black and white. This was an honest relationship that had bad circumstances and probably should have been stopped a lot sooner, but you can't help who you fall in love with."
What memories will you take away from your time at Hollyoaks?
"I had some really good scenes with Alex Fletcher who plays Diane, which was really nice. Lucy was also amazing to work with. I was really lucky to have such a good actress to work alongside - in fact, all of the actors I worked with were brilliant. I especially loved all of the scenes with Jen and Tilly in the first couple of months, when they were at the beach and falling for each other."
What are your future plans?
"I trained in theatre and I've done quite a lot of TV since then, so I would quite like to go onto a theatre job now. But the business is pretty crazy at the moment, so I know I can't afford to be fussy! In an ideal world, I'd very much like to do a theatre job or a great part in a drama.