Jennifer Metcalfe has lifted the lid on a possible new romance for her character Mercedes McQueen, revealing that her pregnancy will bring her much closer to Joe Roscoe.

The pair are currently expecting a baby together after they had a one-night stand in France earlier this year.

Despite some initial doubts, Mercedes has recently decided to keep the baby and future episodes will see her help Joe as he aims to be walking again as quickly as possible.

Metcalfe explained: "Joe is still in the mix for Mercedes, but we haven't actually got together yet so it won't be on screen for a while. It's more of a friendship that they're building. It's a slow-burner and it's really nice.

"Joe is using a wheelchair and she's helping him to recover. She's really compassionate towards him. It's a nice, soft friendship that takes them by surprise when it starts becoming romantic.

"I think Mercedes is going to give motherhood a good go this time. I think it's her chance to make up for what happened with her son Bobby. She's really excited and I think she's up for it now that she's a bit more grown up."

Asked whether viewers will ever see Bobby again, the actress replied: "I don't know, it'd be great though. He's such a cute kid. I keep in touch with his mum and he's doing really well - he's got a little sister now."

In the meantime, Mercedes has another big love twist on the way. Next week's episodes see her caught kissing Lockie Campbell, the husband of her cousin Porsche.

Mercy's half-brother John Paul - who has also been having an affair with Lockie - is first to uncover the fling, leaving him stunned that Lockie seems to be working his way through the family.

Metcalfe added: "Mercedes and Lockie comes out of the blue on screen. We were literally reading the scripts and the next minute we were going behind some bins snogging. We were wondering, 'How did that happen?' They were probably drunk and just went for it because they can.

"I think she does feel guilty about Porsche, but only as guilty as Mercedes can feel guilty! There's not much love lost between her and Porsche. Maybe there is a little bit of a, 'Yeah, I'll get you back bitch!' just because of how horrible she is to her all the time!"