Gemma Merna: 'Carmel gives in to temptation!'

Gemma Merna: 'Carmel gives in to temptation!'
Gemma Merna: 'Carmel gives in to temptation!'

Hollyoaks babe Gemma Merna talks to Soaplife about how wannabe nun Carmel turns sinful by snogging Father Francis! Carmel's discovering that living life as a nun is hard going. She fancies Father Francis something rotten and is horrified when she finally gives in to her feelings and kisses him. "I love this storyline. It's such good fun!" Gemma tells Soaplife. "I'm really enjoying myself." But Carmel really shouldn't be enjoying herself quite so much with a priest... What exactly are Carmel's feelings for Father Francis? "He's somebody she can really talk to and she fancies him. It might be a bit too early to say she's in love, but she's definitely tempted..." But he's a priest and she's a trainee nun! Isn't it out of bounds? "Of course it is. They cannot go there - but that makes it even more tempting!" Is Carmel really cut out to be a nun? "She's a McQueen and she likes boys, make-up and clothes. All this covering up and resisting temptation is a lot harder than she thought it would be, but she's determined to carry on down this path." We know she starts fundraising for Father Francis's charities... "Yes, with a sponsored dancercise class. She's seen these classes at the gym and they're always busy. She's sure it will be a success and she wants to impress Father Francis. She wants him to see how much good she's doing to prove that she'll make a good nun." Does the event go well? "It does, but afterwards they're in the spa together and Father Francis tells her she shouldn't be spending so much time with him. She should be spending more time with her family. She's upset and goes in for a kiss." Do they actually kiss? "They do - but Carmel is mortified and runs off." What happens when they see each other again? "They don't talk about it and carry on as normal. Carmel's trying to push it to the back of her mind, but she's quite stressed about it." And we hear there's more to come... "Things are going to continue with Father Francis. That's going to go on for a while. It's always good when Carmel is single and looking for love and now that she's trying to be a nun and struggling with it we're seeing her at her best."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.