Hollyoaks‘ Louis Emerick has revealed the “covert” way he learned about the shocking Brookside crossover twist. The actor, who has starred in both soaps, was central to the drama when the two worlds collided last autumn.
Emerick played Mick Johnson on Brookside from 1989 to 2001, when his character was believed to have died in a house fire. In 2024, he joined Hollyoaks as Detective Donny Clark, the estranged father of Vicky Grant.
Meanwhile, Brookside was unfortunately axed in 2003, but was briefly brought back to life for Hollyoaks’ 30th anniversary celebrations. During the crossover event, it was revealed that Donny and Mick were actually the same person all along.
In an interview with RadioTimes, Emerick addressed the connection between his two personas and shared his reaction to the shocking twist.
“I was summoned by our executive producer Hannah Cheers for a meeting, but she wanted to walk and talk in the park, not in her office,” recalled the star.
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“It was all quite covert, like a spy film. She pitched the whole thing: the Brookie crossover, the storyline that connected it, and Donny turning out to be Mick. I was waiting for her to say it was an April fool, only this was July!”
Emerick explained that he was “ready for anything” when it came to his character development and was “really excited” when he heard what was in store for Donny.
“Before she actually told me, Hannah was going round the houses trying to explain it and seemed to be soft soaping me, to prepare me for what she was about to say. I wondered whether Donny was going to turn gay in his middle age or something unexpected – I was ready for anything! The whole idea was so far out of left field, but I was really excited.”
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The revelation about Donny’s past set up the introduction of his troublesome daughter Gemma Johnson who has since joined the main show. Emerick shared that producers had planned for Donny to resume his previous identity following the crossover.
“Initially they wanted the character to be known as ‘Mick’ from this point, but I thought that was a step too far and went against it,” he explained. “Hannah went with it too. There’s more drama in as few people as possible knowing the truth.”
“So Mick is gone and he’s still Donny, but trying to keep his past a secret. Donny has been a police officer for years, how will he explain he used to be someone else? And will those who know use it to their advantage? There are threats against him and his loved ones. And you’ve got to ask yourself, Donny’s kept all this hidden for 20 years – what else is he hiding?”
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
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