Hollyoaks legend Emma Rigby breaks silence on returning to soap after 14 years saying fans ‘won’t expect’ the storyline

Emma also revealed all about Hannah’s emotional reunion with her first boyfriend

EMMA Rigby has broken her silence on returning to Hollyoaks after 12 years.

The 34-year-old’s character Hannah Ashworth was last seen in Hollyoaks village back in 2010.

But The Sun revealed in November that Emma was making her way back to soapland.

Now the actress has spoken out about her shock return, saying: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back. Nothing has changed at all.

“It feels like I’ve been in a time vortex like it was yesterday that I was here in a school uniform. I kind of miss the school uniform, we might have to reinstate that.”

Hannah is one of the most iconic Hollyoaks characters and her previous storylines included battles with bulimia and anorexia which ultimately led to her being sectioned.

Speaking about her returning storyline, Emma continued: “I would just say it’s very unexpected which I absolutely love and I think it’s incredibly relatable and will really resonate with a lot of the audience so watch this space.”

Emma also revealed all about Hannah’s emotional reunion with first boyfriend Jean Paul McQueen [James Sutton].

She said: “It was actually quite touching. I remember when we did the scene, between the two of us it was genuine emotion.

“We both have a real fondness, me and James, we have such a love
and a nice easy rapport together.”

Emma previously opened up about being typecast after leaving Hollyoaks and struggling to get roles in the UK so she relocated to Hollywood for a while.

She told The Sun on Sunday: “When I left Hollyoaks I could barely get any interviews for months. Casting directors wouldn’t let me in the door.

“They would just see ‘Hollyoaks’ and say no.

“So when I came to America, it was incredibly liberating to be given the chance to prove what I could do, and that I could transform for roles.”