"Martine can finally stop blaming herself!" Hollyoaks Kelle Bryan reacts to latest twist
Felix and Walter's big reveal is a game-changer, says the actress
Martine Deveraux's world has been rocked following the revelation old flame Felix Westwood sold two of their triplets when they were babies for £50k and ran off with the cash.
Not only that but judgmental dad Walter Deveraux was in on it, and for the last 26 years allowed his daughter to believe she was responsible for driving Felix away and allowing kids Toby and Celeste to be raised by an evil scientist who turned them into vengeful sociopaths - just another day for Hollyoaks' dysfunctional Deverauxs!
In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com Kelle Bryan reacts to the latest twist to emerge from her on-screen clan's closet, what this means for her alter ego Martine's future and how the Hollyoaks cast are coping with life in lockdown:
How did Martine react when she learnt Felix had sold Toby and Celeste?
She had only just found out he had another son hidden away! To be fair her head is still in a spin having just met the children she always pined for, she's processing it all and is in 'mum mode' trying to fix things, then she hears this. She knew Felix had come from a delinquent background but to go that far make her question who this man actually is. She is angry and questioning everything about him.
Walter knew all along but blamed Martine for everything, how does that make her feel?
With Walter it goes deep. He always made her feel like she was never good enough, she fell pregnant at 17 and brought shame on the family and his position as pastor of the church and their Christian community, she let him down and embarrassed him in front of his congregation. He packed her off to be an air hostess to get her out of the way. All these years he acted like he was close to God and she was nothing, making her feel like the failure.
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How does she feel about Walter now?
He could've 'fessed up that Felix took the money and did a runner to stop Martine being so hard on herself, but instead he dug the knife in. It makes her realise Walter is just human like the rest of us, he's not sitting on some throne. So for Martine it's actually great, now she doesn't have to feel like the scum of the earth!
Can she let go of her guilt and move on?
Absolutely, 100%. It all makes sense. This wasn't her fault but she just never knew. She blamed herself for years, made decisions based on having virtually no self-respect from how Walter made her feel. Felix went out for a pint of milk one day and never came back and she always thought ti was something she'd done - it gave her self-loathing, self-doubt and low self-esteem and her dad treated her in a way that backed that up. All of a sudden she's not the demon she thought she was.
You've known Richard Blackwood for many years, are you enjoying working with him again?
It's great. We go way back to when I was in Eternal and he was doing MTV. The hardest thing is being angry at him in character because he's such a funny guy! What I have to do is pick a pretend argument just before a scene and stay in the argument until they shout 'action'. He knows what I'm doing but because I'm making myself angry that just makes him laugh! I have to do it though, he's hilarious!
Are you in touch with your on-screen family during lockdown?
Yes we are in a WhatsApp group and are in touch pretty much every day, checking in, sharing recipes. Imran Adams (Mitchell) actually sent me a message that was meant for his real mum by accident, so I'm actually turning into Mitchell's mother! Richard is living his best life on lockdown, sunbathing in his car, eating healthily, working out, decorating his flat - while I'm often reading his posts still wearing my pyjamas!
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