Hollyoaks favourite reveals hopes for more Brookside crossovers following popular anniversary episodes

Tisha Merry is hopeful that Hollyoaks will crossover with Brookside again in the future.

The actress, who plays Gemma Johnson in the E4 soap, was introduced as part of the much-anticipated instalment last year.

To coincide with Hollyoaks's 30th anniversary, producers Lime Pictures also decided to pay tribute to sister show Brookie, which originally ran between 1982 and 2003. The serials were produced from the same studios in Childwall, Liverpool, and were both created by Sir Phil Redmond.

A number of former cast members returned for the occasion, including Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston, while 'Oaks regular Louis Emerick was revealed to have a hidden connection to the cul de sac.

His character Donny Clark was revealed to be Mick Johnson, who appeared in Brookside between 1989 and 2001. This was when we were reintroduced to his gangster daughter Gemma, with Merry taking on the role.

"It was so hard to keep a secret," Merry enthused to Radio Times at the Inside Soap Awards last week.

"To have a character that's a historic character – so someone else played [her] years ago, was just amazing. I was so excited.

"I've not really remembered Brookside much over the years. I probably did watch it, but going to the actual set, going to the Close itself was like a massive moment. [With] the amount of press and fans that were outside, you knew you were part of something so special. But it was iconic."

Since the instalment, the worlds of Hollyoaks and Brookside have been forever entwined. Earlier this year we saw more old cast members brought back, and Donny/Mick reestablished his pizza business.

When asked whether the Brookside connection is something she'd like to explore again in the future, Merry couldn't have been more on board.

"Absolutely!" she exclaimed, "I thought it was coming back. I was like, bring it back. We'll put it out there, and we already have the first two signatures."

Hollyoaks is available to watch on Channel 4 catch-up and airs Monday to Wednesday, from 7pm on E4. Classic Brookside episodes can be streamed weekly on STV Player.

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Authors

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.