Exclusive: Hollyoaks star Ruby O'Donnell teases shock exits in stunt episode

Hollyoaks spoilers follow.

Hollyoaks star Ruby O'Donnell has predicted that fans will be "shocked" by the outcome of tonight's hour-long stunt episode.

The show is kicking off 2022 with spectacular scenes, as an explosion rocks Marnie Nightingale's patisserie and leaves the lives of much-loved characters hanging in the balance.

As seen in a recent trailer, Ruby's character Peri Lomax and her girlfriend Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw) will be among those in danger when disaster strikes.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy about the extended episode, Ruby explained: "I think we're hoping for the shock factor and the wow factor. Hollyoaks always do amazingly well with the stunts. All I know from being on the set and seeing it with my own eyes is that the special effects were brilliant. It's going to look amazing.

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"I know I was shocked reading the scripts. There's a lot happening and there were things in the episode that I had no idea would happen.

"I'm guessing the fans are going to be very shocked with what the outcome is."

She continued: "Because of COVID, we haven't been able to do big stunt episodes like this one for a while. When I realised we were doing a stunt, I really wanted to be in it. I was happy when I read the script and realised that Peri was quite heavily involved. It was nice to do something that felt normal again.

"There were a lot of meetings, Zoom calls and phone calls ahead of the scripts coming out. The producers wanted to make sure that everybody felt comfortable doing it.

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"We did close contact scenes, so there was a lot of discussion over whether people wanted to be involved in that. It was so nice to film with close contact again, as it'd been a year and a half since myself and Niamh could touch each other in a scene and hold hands.

"I thought it'd be strange to go back to that, but it was just like nothing had changed. I'm really glad we were able to do that for the stunt because I think it needed it."

The explosion comes just as Peri and Juliet are at odds over whether it's the right time for them to get engaged.

Juliet has been planning a proposal, but Peri is not on board with the idea of tying the knot after just one year together.

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Ruby told us: "I think for Peri, it's just so quick. They've only been officially dating for a year. It's not like Peri doesn't love Juliet, but it's a bit soon.

"When me and Niamh found out that Juliet would propose to Peri, we both thought: 'This is so soon! How is this going to work?' So I had the same reaction as Peri, to be fair. I would freak out if someone proposed to me that soon.

"It's also not like their whole relationship has been plain sailing. They've broken up multiple times and the trust has been broken. I think Peri wants to build on the foundations of the relationship.

"When they're in the stunt, though, it makes all the little things seem not as important. Juliet even jokes about it because they could die. It puts things into perspective for them. The explosion is big and it doesn't help that Juliet and Peri are up on the balcony.

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"I didn't realise until we filmed the stunt how many people would be in the Salon. Because of COVID, we used to have restrictions on how many people were allowed in there, I think it was only four people at one point. When I found out how many people would be involved, I was very excited."

As Hollyoaks' trailer shows Juliet in jeopardy, Ruby told us how she'd feel if her on-screen partner left the show.

She said: "If it was time for Niamh to go, I'd be devastated. She's my best friend and I love working with her. I love Peri and Juliet being together so I'd be very sad if Niamh had decided to leave."

Hollyoaks' hour-long special airs tonight (January 11) at 7pm on E4 and tomorrow (January 12) at 6pm on Channel 4.