Hollyoaks fans ‘in tears’ as Mercedes McQueen lays herself bare in heartbreaking scene
Hollyoaks viewers were left in tears over Mercedes McQueen's cancer diagnosis as the beloved character was told she only has a year to live in heartbreaking scenes
Following the Channel 4 soap’s time jump, it was unveiled that Mercedes (played by Jennifer Metcalfe) had been battling bowel cancer over the past year. She has already undergone surgery and chemotherapy, but doctors discovered a secondary tumour on her liver which they are trying to treat.
In Tuesday’s episode (September 24), available to watch on Channel 4 online, Mercedes received the crushing news that the chemotherapy hadn’t been successful, and without a hard-to-obtain specialist drug, she had at most a year to live.
The episode concluded with a poignant scene of Mercedes looking at her reflection in the mirror in a vulnerable state: in her underwear, without her wig and with her stoma bag visible. She then listened to a CD compiled by her loved ones and danced through her tears as she grappled with this horrifying news.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer wrote: “That end scene was acted and put together so beautifully, but it was such a horrible watch, you could feel Mercedes pain. Jen Metcalfe needs awards for this storyline! ” Another chimed in: “That end scene with Mercedes was such a difficult watch! She really needs Nana, Myra and Jacqui right now! .”, reports the Mirror.
Viewers were left reaching for the tissues as one fan tweeted: “I’m crying at #Hollyoaks having Mercedes dance to Beenie Man’s Rum and Redbull, bless her.”
Another was moved to tears, sharing: “Actually cried watching today’s @Hollyoaks so powerful.” A third chimed in with: “This storyline is so heartbreaking sobbed so much watching Mercedes scenes.” Echoing the sentiment, another added: “Mercedes cancer story is so sad to watch! Jen Metcalfe is giving a terrific performance.”
Jennifer Metcalfe, who portrays Mercedes on the show, opened up about the emotional rollercoaster of filming those scenes, saying: “It felt beautiful, awful, draining, amazing, special, exciting, sad, upsetting… every single emotion that you could feel. [In the scene], I go from looking at myself in the mirror and taking it in, getting emotional about it, then I look at my children and I get some strength. So I play this CD, and then all my friends are telling me some nice words that make me laugh.”
“Then this incredible music plays, and I dance freely. I was like, ‘Wow, how am I going to do this? ‘” The actress also revealed her personal connection to the storyline, which added depth to her portrayal: “My dad died when I was 15 of bowel cancer,” she disclosed, “so there was real, raw trauma there for me that I’ve probably never dealt with. I had to dig a little bit deep into personal experiences.”
