Hollyoaks have cast Lizzie Roper as Sam Lomax

[tammyy2j]

Hollyoaks bosses have cast Lizzie Roper as newcomer Sam Lomax.

Sam is the wife of Hollyoaks High teacher Danny and made her first appearance on screen in tonight's E4 first look airing (August 19).

Show chiefs did not announce Roper's casting before transmission as they wanted the appearance of Danny's partner to be a surprise for viewers.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Roper commented: "I'm having a ball after joining one of the friendliest casts. I'm so lucky getting to play Sam: one moment she's fun and feisty starting food fights, the next she's facing up to gangsters and doing everything she can to bring them to justice.

"She's not afraid of anything and has got a heart of gold, but when it comes to her family she's a lioness - don't mess with her!"

Sam will become a prominent character on screen in the coming weeks as Danny (Stephen Billington) desperately tries to juggle his stable family life and his secret relationship with John Paul McQueen (James Sutton).

Viewers know that Danny is also hiding another big secret as he is the father of established character Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson).

Sam and Danny's children - Ste's half-sisters - will also be joining the show as regular characters later in the year.

Roper has a number of previous screen credits including roles in Dead Boss, Shameless, Coronation Street and Waterloo Road.

[Perdita]

This is her

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[Perdita]

Hollyoaks brings together the full Lomax family on screen for the first time this week as Sam and Danny's daughter Tegan gives birth, which is a shock for everyone as she didn't know she was pregnant.

With big plans ahead for the Lomax clan, Digital Spy recently caught up with Lizzie Roper - who plays Sam - to hear the gossip on what's in store.

After a few months filming, do you feel that you've settled into Hollyoaks?
"Absolutely. It started out as a slow-burner, but then as time went on I started coming in and doing six or seven scenes per day, which is great. It can be quite schizophrenic because when Sam's at work, she's very hard-nosed, doesn't suffer fools gladly and she's facing up to gangsters! At home, she's in love with her beautiful husband and three fabulous girls - they have a laugh and they hang out together.

"As an actor, this is an absolute dream job because I've been covering all spectrums of emotions in quite a short space of time."

It's always a big moment when a new family joins the show, so was it a long audition process to get the part?
"It only took two auditions to get the role. I think they had a very clear idea of what they wanted. We were also very lucky that they got Stephen Billington [who plays Danny] in first and he was already established, so they could work around what he had brought to the show.

"After my auditions, I was just bowled over to get the part. It's great to join as a family rather than just one character. Hollyoaks also works in such a wonderfully organic way. I was really impressed that they got myself, Stephen and our on-screen daughters all in the same room to talk us through who our characters were and then listen to any feedback from us.

"They told us about the great arc of storylines they have planned for us, but then it's very exciting to be involved in something where you're listened to as well."

The viewers know that not everything is as it seems with Sam and Danny's marriage, due to Danny's affair with John Paul. Does Sam have any inkling about that?
"I don't think she has any inkling whatsoever! Danny is bisexual and it's almost like he's compartmentalised his life. He's very happy with his wife and his family, but his job has given him the opportunity to pop around the country and indulge in the different side of himself. The unfortunate thing on this occasion is that his two lives have now collided into each other, so Danny is now in an awful situation.

"But Sam has absolutely no idea. They've been together since they were 19 years old and been best friends. I think they both had quite tough childhoods and both had very sharp elbows on them, but they were both determined to make something of themselves.

"From an early age, it was apparent that Sam was going to be in the police force. Danny had inklings towards an acting career, but when they realised Sam's career was going to take off, he very magnanimously offered to teach drama so that he could look after the kids. That allowed Sam to really get stuck into work. I think she absolutely adores Danny and really appreciates what he's done, in terms of sacrificing his acting career for the family."

How would Sam react if she knew what Danny had been up to?
"I think she'd be absolutely devastated and her entire world would absolutely fall apart. Sam would wonder if her entire life had been a lie. She wouldn't know whether to trust Danny again and she wouldn't know what to do with herself, as Danny is her whole world and she's absolutely in love with him. I think Danny is also in love with her - he just happens to have this door into another world at the moment."

So far we've seen a little bit of Peri, the couple's youngest daughter. What can we expect from the other two daughters, Leela and Tegan?
"They're feisty, fabulous, strong women. It's a matriarchal family because Sam has got the big career, so the three daughters have an attitude of, 'I can do anything that I want to do if I put my mind to it'. They're all very hard workers. They work hard and they play hard. They're also very supportive of each other."

How will Sam feel about Tegan giving birth unexpectedly?
"Initially her reaction is, 'No, you've got a place in university - your life is going in that direction'. Sam wants her kids to go places, so at first she's horrified that this situation has been sprung on them and Tegan's future has been taken away from her. But of course, if you put a lovely baby in front of anybody, their heart melts. Sam absolutely loves her daughters and will do anything for them, so she'll support Tegan with whatever she wants to do."

Are you excited by what the writers have in store for you all in the longer term?
"It's so brilliant. There's some real sensational reveals to come up. It's really exciting and I keep pinching myself. There's stuff that could come out in a year, or 18 months' time. There's some lovely things that we're sitting on."

Can Sam and Ste get along?
"The interesting thing about Sam and Ste was that their first meeting was pretty horrific, so she could easily write him off. But we have to remember that Sam and Danny had pretty rough starts in life. Because of that, Danny has become a teacher and wants to reach out to troubled children, so that he can put them in a better position.

"It's the same with Sam. She's middle class now, but her mum was a shoplifter and her dad was knocking out pirate videos, so she understands that background really well. Once she gets over the initial shock of Ste and who he is, she's got enough humanity to take a deep breath and accept him.

"Sam also feels quite guilty. She knew that Danny had a baby with another woman, so she looks at Ste and thinks things could have been so different for this boy if they'd brought him up. She ends up having quite a soft spot for Ste. There'll always be friction between them because they're quite different, but as a parent, she's almost protective over him. She can see that he wasn't dealt the best cards and she would like to put him on a different path."

Kieron Richardson, who plays Ste, is one of the most popular cast members. What's he like to work with?
"He's adorable and so thoroughly professional, so he's sensational to do a scene with. He has a cheeky little smile and always has something fabulous to say! I've been so overwhelmed by how friendly the entire cast is, especially on something long-running like this.

"I've popped into shows before where people can be quite cliquey, but on Hollyoaks, as soon as you walk into the green room they're all jumping up and introducing themselves. People like Danny Mac (Dodger), James Atherton (Will) and James Sutton (John Paul) are just lovely and have been sensationally welcoming."

Is it true that you were already friends with Joe Tracini, who plays Dennis, before joining the show?
"Yes, I met Joe about seven years ago. We did a read-through for a sitcom which never got made. Just from spending that afternoon with him, I could see that he was great and has an enormous talent. Then we worked on The Great Outdoors, which was a BBC Four comedy with Ruth Jones and Mark Heap. We spent two days in glorious sunshine in fantastic countryside hanging out together, so that's what cemented my idea that I just adore Joe. He's fantastic and so obscenely talented.

"I'd also worked with James Redmond (Finn) before. I did an episode of Casualty with him years ago, so it was great to see him when he came in to do Hollyoaks Later. I also knew Dan Tetsell, who plays Jim, from the London comedy circuit."

How easy has it been to strike up a 'family bond' in the Lomax scenes?
"I was so lucky that I was handed Stephen Billington on a plate. We didn't audition together, so on my first day, he was sitting in the green room all nervous thinking, 'Who are they going to give me?' But he said later, 'As soon as you came in and said hello, my shoulders dropped and I knew it was going to be great'. He's my new best mate - I go round to his house for dinner and he feeds my cat when I go away!

"We've got a very solid relationship, and then they've presented us with these three fabulous girls - Kirsty-Leigh, Jess and Ruby. When we get to do our family scenes together, it's great because we just know that we'll be hanging out and having a laugh."

There's a lot of criminals on the loose in Hollyoaks at the moment. Are you hoping Sam can catch one of them?
"It's a difficult one, because Sam is obviously really good at her job, but as soon as you catch someone, then we lose that character from the show. I'm always in two minds about how successful I want her to be!

"I love doing my scenes with Greg Wood, who plays Trevor. He's fantastic, so I'd hate to be in a situation where we lost him. I'd like there to be a continuous game of Tom and Jerry, where Sam keeps getting really close and is thwarted. But I'm sure she'll catch someone eventually and they'll go down!"

[lizann]

so she knows fraser well and thinks he is a good guy

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Hollyoaks star Lizzie Roper has promised that her character Sam Lomax will continue to support John Paul McQueen in the weeks ahead.

John Paul (James Sutton) has been suffering in silence since being raped by his student Finn O'Connor (Keith Rice) last month. As John Paul reported the incident to the police without naming his attacker, Sam is currently the only other person in the village who knows what happened to the schoolteacher.

Speaking to Digital Spy at the launch of Pentahotel Warrington, Roper explained: "Sam is very concerned for John Paul and she's constantly looking out for him. Because they're living in a small village, she's very much aware of him struggling.

"As Sam's husband Danny works with John Paul and he's also her daughter Peri's teacher, she's in a perfect place to see what's going on and make sure that he's alright. Sam starts to realise that John Paul isn't taking care of himself when he needs to."

She continued: "I love James as an actor because he's really sensitive and wonderful, and it's a really exciting storyline to be part of. It's a very important story and it's been thoroughly researched. You have to respect the subject, because there are obviously people who are suffering out there.

"I do think Sam is brilliant at her job, so when somebody comes to her who's obviously suffered a horrific assault, it's natural that she would be overly sympathetic to that person and want to do everything in her power to help. I'm very, very proud of the work that we've done and I feel very lucky to be part of that storyline.

"I also love what Keith has done with the story. He's had such a difficult job playing Finn, but he's shown himself to be a very mature actor."

While John Paul will be grateful for Sam's support, he will also struggle with guilt as he had an affair with Danny last year.

Roper added: "Sam would feel unbelievably betrayed if she knew the truth. It would be a double betrayal - she'd feel betrayed by Danny and then also betrayed by John Paul, especially after all of the empathy, love and support that she's shown towards him."

The Pentahotel Warrington launch took place last week, organised by Mason Mac Media and 20 Ten Entertainment.

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Hollyoaks star Lizzie Roper has admitted that she would be disappointed if her character Sam Lomax triumphed over the show's villains too quickly.

Fraser Black, his daughter Grace and bad boy Trevor Royle have sent the village's crime rate soaring in recent months, but police detective Sam has so far struggled to bring them to justice.

Unbeknownst to Sam, one of the biggest obstacles standing in her way is her corrupt boss Marlowe, who has been secretly helping Fraser to get away with his dodgy activities.

Speaking to Digital Spy about the ongoing storylines, Roper explained: "I adore Paul Clayton who plays Marlowe and I was so thrilled to get to work with him, so on a personal level, I don't want Sam to find him out!

"I do think Sam is really great at her job. She gets really, really close to everything and the only reason it all blows up in her face is because there's somebody above her who is ruining it all for her. Marlowe is fantastic in scuppering everything.

"That keeps the plots going, and I really don't want us to lose Trevor either. If Trevor had to go away to prison, I'd be really upset!"

She continued: "Marlowe serves a purpose, because he's constantly working against Sam but she doesn't know that. If only she was allowed access to the truth, she could solve the crimes but she's never going to get there while her boss is a bent cop."

Roper added that she is delighted to play such a wide variety of storylines as Sam.

"I am so lucky - I have the best job," she said. "I joined the show with a ready-made family, but I also get to play the tough cop and pull people in. I get to play the best of both worlds, because some days Sam is a professional with a really great job and then I get to play the fun mum too."