Hollyoaks star heaps praise on Emmerdale amid similar storylines

Hollyoaks star Nadine Mulkerrin has heaped praise on Emmerdale, which is currently running a storyline about domestic abuse.

Fans of Hollyoaks will know that Mulkerrin’s character Cleo McQueen is currently being subjected to abuse and manipulation at the hands of her partner Abe Fielding as part of the soap’s ongoing coercive control storyline.

Meanwhile, Emmerdale’s similar storyline has seen Belle Dingle suffer enduring emotional and physical abuse from Tom King.

The soap recently aired a format-breaking episode which explored hypothetical versions of Belle’s future following her split from Tom.

Speaking to Inside Soap about the similarities between the two stories, Mulkerrin praised Emmerdale, saying it was looking at what happens after a couple splits.

“They are doing the storyline from the angle of the couple having split up, which I think is incredibly real,” she said.

“That abusive person you’re trying to escape could be in your life forever, especially if you have kids together. It’s heartbreaking. I can’t wait to see where the Tom and Belle storyline goes next.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Mulkerrin opened up about her own storyline in which, following a time jump, it was revealed that Abe had held Cleo captive for the past year in a secret room in his flat while sending postcards to her family pretending she was in Bali.

Describing her reaction when she found out what had happened to Cleo, Mulkerrin said: “I screamed when the producer told me. And I wonder how long they had planned it because where they built the secret room Cleo is in is literally an extension of her and Abe’s flat, there was already space there for it.”

On what’s to come for Cleo, Mulkerrin said: “I can’t wait to film the moment when she escapes, but we don’t know when or how that will be.”