Cher Winters of Hollyoaks is already showcasing a much darker side in recent times, having gone on a vendetta against her stepmother Mercedes McQueen after she turned against her.
After burning Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe) with a pair of hair straighteners last week, Cher later purposefully leaked a sex video of Mercedes online – an event that turned Cher’s father Sylver McQueen (David Tag) towards his wife after he realized the guy in the clip of Mercedes wasn’t him.
Despite Cher’s violent actions, actress Bethannie Hare, who plays her, told Digital Spy media that she doesn’t think of her unstable character as a villain.
“It’s a strange one because someone today asked me if I’d be buddies with Cher!” she exclaimed. “It’s fascinating because I feel as though I know the character intimately, and I don’t see her as a villain or malicious. Clearly, what she’s doing is wrong, and she shouldn’t be doing it, but she has excuses in her head.”
Cher felt “truly cheated” by Mercedes, she said, after her stepmother publicly disclosed Cher’s big secret – that she had killed her sister by mistake as a teenager.
“That’s a big deal, and Cher hasn’t been able to look at her the same way since Mercedes betrayed her confidence,” Bethannie said. “Cher still wants to spend more time with her dad, Sylver, but sees Mercedes as a hindrance. She only needs to spend time with her father and no longer considers Mercedes to be family. She initially adored Mercedes and saw her as a second family member, but she ultimately wanted her out of the picture.”
Cher did not want to burn Mercedes with the hair straighteners, according to the star, who explained that it occurred in a “moment of blast.”
“It only goes to demonstrate how novice she is. She’s young, she’s 19, she’s been through a lot, and it’s all been leading up to this stage. After she’d bottled it all up, she had an outburst, and then she lost it “she said
Is there a risk that Cher’s wrath against Mercedes could turn lethal now that viewers – and Hollyoaks residents – know she’s killed before? Cher, Bethannie believes, will not go too far.
Cher’s nature has totally improved, and it’s been a lot of fun to play with. I’ve learned a lot more about the character as a result of this. I’ve uncovered a part of Cher that I didn’t realise existed, and neither did the crowd. But it’s been a lot of fun,” she added.
“I’d always suspected Cher was hiding something, and I knew she’d been through a lot, which is why her mother abandoned her in the village. Then we heard how Cher had assassinated her sister. It was all an accident, but after the knowledge was released, it was one thing after another, and I knew Cher had a lot more to give. She’s been through a lot of her life.”
New episodes of Hollyoaks air Monday through Friday at 6.30 p.m. on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7 p.m. on E4.
