Mitzee – Rachel Shenton THEN:
She first appeared in Hollyoaks in 2010, but there’s no denying that Mitzeee, played by actress Rachel Shenton, is one of the show’s most memorable characters.
Mitzeee was renowned for her ruthless attitude, and the wannabe glamour model made sure nobody got in the way of her dream to become a WAG. And whilst we’d all agree that Mitzeee was an eye-catching character, she certainly used her looks to get her what she wanted.
So in the years since Mitzeee left Hollyoaks, what has actress Rachel Shenton been doing with herself?
When Mitzeee, whose real name is in Rachel Shenton, first appeared in Hollyoaks she caught the viewer’s attention as she attempted to pursue a relationship with Carl Costello, who she had recently been having an affair with.
And despite Carl’s rejections, it appeared that in Mitzeee’s final scenes in the soap she had finally found her happily ever after. After discovering she was pregnant with Carl’s baby, the pair set off to start a new life in America, where Mitzeee gave birth to a baby boy who she named Phoneix.
Rachel Shenton NOW:
Well, today Rachel Shenton is 34 years old, and it’s nice to see that she still looks as good as ever.
But it would seem that some things do change, and the actress has now moved on to bigger and better things.
She swapped Hollyoaks for Hollywood:
Rachel swapped Hollyoaks for Hollywood and starred in the third season of the ABC family drama Switched at Birth. And Rachel’s acting success continues, having recently landed herself a permanent role in the drama. So it would seem that the real life Mitzeee is living the American dream after all. She’s now married to co-star Chris Overton, & has gone on to win numerous awards over in Hollywood.
So to celebrate this amazing soap, here are a look back at some of our favourite characters and what they’re up to now!
Believe it or not, it has now been over 20 years since Hollyoaks first aired back in 1995.
So many of us used to come home from school and tune into the show to catch up with the goings on in the lives of the Chester based soap.
Hannah Rose Ashworth played by Emma Rigby
Hannah Ashworth (previously Osbourne) first appeared on the soap in 2005 until her exit in 2010. She was best known for suffering with eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia. What is Emma Rigby up to now?
Emma Rigby NOW
Since existing the soap in 2010, Emma has continued to pursue an acting career appearing in a number on television programmes and films. In 2011, Emma appeared in Becoming Human and Demons Never Die & In 2018, she worked on two films, A guide To Second Date Sex and The Festival.
Michaela McQueen played by Hollie-Jay Bowes
Michaela McQueen, who’s full name is Michaela Claudette Mariangela Louise McQueen was a member of the infamous McQueen family. She first appeared on our screens back in 2006, however, sadly her last appearance on Hollyoaks was in 2012.
Hollie-Jay Bowes hasn’t been credited for much since her departure on Hollyoaks.
The only thing she seems to have appeared on is one episode of Sky 1’s After Hours in 2015. Although she isn’t pushing her acting career, she did actually have a dabble in the music industry. Hollie-Jay recorded a song with Redtrack and performed the song at Leeds Fest with them in 2010.
Jacqui McQueen played by Claire Cooper
Jacqueline Bernadette “Jacqui” McQueen is another member of the McQueen family and sister of Michaela. She was known for being a feisty character and was often there to pick up the pieces of her family problems. Jacqui wasn’t killed off but was involved in some of the soaps most memorable storylines. Claire Cooper played Jacqui McQueen from 2006 to 2013.
Since leaving the show she has pushed her acting career as much as possible.
She appeared in From There To Here and also A.D. The Bible Continues. More recently, she made an appearance in the television show Snatch. A hustle series starring the likes of Rupert Grint and Ed Westwick.
Warren Fox played by Jamie Lomas
A lot of people know who Warren Fox is even if they have never seen Hollyoaks before. He made his first appearance in 2006 and made his final appearance in 2017. They did not kill his character off so that he has the possibility to return again.
Jamie Lomas appeared on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here a few years ago, where he ended up up coming in second place, losing to winner Georgia Toffolo.
But, Hollyoaks isn’t the only soap that Jamie Lomas has appeared on! He has also been on EastEnders where he played a similar bad boy role.
Lisa Hunter played by Gemma Atkinson
Lisa Hunter was a character on Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2016 and was the youngest sibling on the hunter family. She was featured in two heartbreaking storylines including bullying and self-harm. For such a young actress she portrayed these delicate topics amazingly.
After leaving Hollyoaks, Gemma Atkinson decided to stay acting within the soap scene.
She was cast for a role on Emmerdale and she stayed there from 2015 until 2017, aswell as appearing in a number of reality TV programmes such as I’m A Celeb.
More recently she’s appeared on 2017 Strictly Come Dancing where she came second & found her future husband & baby daddy. Life’s looking good for Gemma!
Calvin Valentine played by Ricky Whittle
Calvin Valentine will most likely be remembered for being murdered by Theresa McQueen in a “Who’s dun’ it?” sort of storyline. He was murdered in 2010 after four years of being on the soap.
Ricky Whittle will now be most recognised for his American TV debuts.
Since his soap appearance he has gone onto much bigger and better things. In 2014 he appeared in Mistresses AND The 100. These are both hugely popular TV shows in the states! Congratulations from taking it from Hollyoaks to Hollywood!!!
Sasha Valentine played by Nathalie Emmanuel
Sasha Valentine was Calvin’s younger sister who appeared in Hollyoaks for the same amount of time that Calvin did. Her most remembered storylines were those that included taking drugs and prostitution. It seems like the whole of the Valentine family have come a long way after starting their careers in Hollyoaks.
Nathalie has also gone from starring in this British soap to making her way to the American screens!
She has definitely had one of the most successful careers post-Hollyoaks and has been credited for appearing in a range of different films and television shows. She has appeared in The Maze Runner films and some of the Fast and Furious films. She has also appeared in the film The Titan which was released earlier this year. We probably know her best for appearing in Game of Thrones as Missandei.
Josh Ashworth played by Sonny Flood
The character of Josh came to the soap back in 2005. We all loved his heart of gold and the fact he really was a wannabe rockstar! He left the show in 2012.
Following his departure from Hollyoaks, he starred in an episode of Casualty and also in the drama Doctors which airs on BBC1.
Not only this, but he also starred in the Camberley Theatre production of Aladdin. But, he has focused most of his energy into his education having recently finished a Law degree at Manchester University.
Justin Burton played by Chris Fountain
He made his debut on the show back in 2003. Instantly, EVERYONE fancied him as he was the Hollyoaks hunk! The main basis of his storylines revolved around him trying to fit into Hollyoaks High. Not only this, but we all remember his attempt at having a relationship with one of the teachers!
Chris had a cracking career after he left the soap.
He starred as the title role in Aladdin which was shown at the Manchester Opera House. He also landed himself a role in Coronation Street. However, he was fired from the show once he released an offensive rap video! He gave himself a break from his acting career after leaving Coronation Street in 2013 and began DJing in Manchester as of January 2014.
Sarah Barnes played by Loui Batley
Loui landed the role of Sarah Barnes back in 2005. She had this role for four years until she left in 2009. Her departure came when she tragically died in a skydiving incidence… what are the chances?!
After leaving the show, she appeared in Just The Two Of Us, a BBC series but had to leave due to unforeseen circumstances.
Not only this, but she performed in the Children in Need opening act/performance back in 2007! She is currently singing in the band Verity and Violet with Jessica Dolman, one of her friends. The pair are putting a lot of time and effort into their band!
