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After more than a decade, Clare Devine (Gemma Bissix) has staged an almighty comeback to Hollyoaks, ready to wreak havoc on the eponymous village once more.
It’s a moment that fans have longed for but was thought impossible given that when we last saw Clare she was mowed down by a car, pronounced dead at the scene and placed into a bodybag.
Even though this is Hollyoaks we’re talking about, getting around this would be quite difficult. However, with some clever writing – not to mention superb performances – bosses managed the impossible, resuscitating Clare in an entirely believable way.
In just a handful of episodes, the notorious villain has already made her presence felt, sharing the screen with sister Grace Black (Tamara Wall) for the first time ever and crossing paths with Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) in a truly delicious meeting.
And we’re only just getting started!
The residents of the village are set to experience Clare in all her glory and – with big stories to come, showdowns years in the making and a unique side of Clare we’ve not seen before – Metro caught up with Gemma Bissix to discuss all-things Clare, the possibility of an EastEnders comeback for Clare Bates and the not-so-little matter of Hollyoaks’ explosive 30th birthday.
Hi Gemma! It’s so exciting that Clare Devine is back after all these years. What was it like stepping back into her shoes?
It was something that wasn’t really in my sights – because she was dead! I didn’t really think that it was going to happen again. And now, it seems like I’ve never been away. It’s been amazing except now, I’ve got two children who never thought I was anything other than just their mum, so now they’re like: ‘Oh! You did have a life before hand!’
How did the return come about?
It was at the end of January, Hannah [Cheers, Executive Producer] called me. To be honest, at the time Nigel had just came back to EastEnders, so lots of people were asking me if I was going to go back [to EastEnders]. But then I got the call from Hollyoaks and I jumped at the chance!
Even though we know Clare and Grace are sisters, this is a dynamic we’ve never seen on screen before – was that one of the reasons you said yes?
Exactly! Tamara [Wall, who plays Grace Black] and I have been friends for 10 years. About a year after she came onto Hollyoaks, we met each other at an awards do. We’ve been friends ever since. We’ve become besties – she’s stayed at my house! We’ve always dreamed of being on screen together, so now it’s just like… we have so much fun.
Was it easy for you finding Clare again after all this time and has your lived experience impacted the way you play her a decade on?
Yes, I think so! What’s been really nice actually is that Clare has a daughter in Tori. Harriet [who plays Tori] is playing a nine-year-old and my daughters are nine and eight, so it really resonates with me.
For me, there’s a stillness that comes with Clare now and there’s a lot more depth to her. I’ve got the experience of being a mother so there is more I can reach into and that helps to bring a bit more of a maturity to it.
And Clare has experienced love now with Tori and Alistair Banks, which is quite new for her!
When you’ve seen Clare before and she was doing bad things it was always to get rich or to get power status, she’s never really loved anyone in the past. Ever. So it’s a really great dynamic for me, as an actress, to play the things that are actually genuine. Whenever there were tears before they were always fake. So I’m really enjoying the depth to Clare this time around.
The dynamic with Grace is what sisters are like. Lots of people have relationships with their siblings where it’s a love/hate relationship but Clare and Grace’s is just a lot more heightened. When the love is there the love is there, but when the hate is there – murder is involved! [laughs].
Speaking of Grace, next week she finds herself public enemy number one over the exploitation operation, which sparks a development for Clare. What can you tell me?
Yes! So, Grace gets arrested and this leads to Clare [coming out of the shadows], and that’s when everyone in the village realises she’s not dead. Tony, for instance, is like: ‘Clare Devine?!’.
Everyone comes for Grace, Nancy comes to give her a slap and Clare comes steaming in and grabs hold of her. There is an amazing scene in that episode where Grace is crying because she’s just lost Freddie and the whole village hates her, so Clare is like: ‘We are the Black sisters, we’re Fraser’s daughters, you need to sort this out.’
It’s a really powerful scene where I had to stay really still – and quite angry! Tamara [as Grace] was just crying, and it made me quite emotional. I had to hold it all together and when they said cut, I burst into tears and gave her a big cuddle. I didn’t want to see Tamara cry! I’ve not really seen her cry in ten years – we’re a happy friendship! [laughs].
Grace later gives Tori to the Blakes. How do you think Clare will react when she finds out about the betrayal?
When Tori goes missing, as far as Clare is concerned, it’s the Blakes who have snatched her. Grace says she let Tori go to the shops on her own and the Blakes have just snatched her. And then there is a lovely and really emotional scene where Grace has a load of regret – she looks at Clare, having not realised how much she cares about Tori: ‘You’ve never cared about anyone but yourself’.
When Clare finds out from Dodger that Grace was the one who gave Tori to them, that is when Clare turns into Clare.
At the beginning when she’s lost Alistair, she is quite vulnerable, but this is when you see Clare come out in her red power suit. She’s dressed as Clare Devine – and she is wanting blood. She broke down to her sister, she was vulnerable, and when you’ve got these characters who don’t often give their vulnerability, if you then realise you’ve been duped, that vulnerability turns into hatred and resentment. And that’s when all the trouble starts.
With over a decade having passed since we last saw Clare, is she more calculated in how she takes her revenge? Does she take her time to pounce? Or is it still instantaneous?
I think it’s still instantaneous. She is very reactive. As soon as she’s found out that Grace has taken Tori from her, she has got a plan and she wants Grace dead.
Classic Clare!
That is classic Clare isn’t it? As soon as she realises that the one person she’s been vulnerable to has let her down and gone behind her back, there is nothing left – she doesn’t want anything to do with Grace.
When Clare loves someone or cares about someone and they do something nasty to her, that’s the way she deals with those feelings. She can’t show weakness so she might as well go and murder someone! [Laughs].
She hasn’t got her hands dirty for about 12 years because she was in a coma, married to Banks and got her daughter. But even with [killing Grace], she doesn’t want to get her hands dirty… so she goes to someone else.
The fans have longed for the opportunity to see Clare and Sienna on screen together. Two of soap’s greatest ever schemers! Are there some good showdowns coming up?
There really is. Sienna has been quite a caring character as of late so you’ve not seen that twisted, evil side for a while. When they do have scenes together, Sienna whispers in Clare’s ears things like: ‘I’ve done this before, so don’t [underestimate me]. I know your game!’ But it’s quite funny because Clare likes to show her up and wind her up, so Sienna shows her true colours a little bit. It’s definitely a war of minds, rather than physicalities.
At the moment they keep each other onside, because Sienna is the grandmother to Clare’s daughter. It’s keeping that balance – but I definitely think there’s more stuff to come there.
If they weren’t at odds, do you think Clare would admire Sienna and the things she’s done in the past?
Absolutely! I think she’s aware of her. I think that Clare can definitely sense out that there is a rivalry with Sienna and she wouldn’t necessarily need to make her an enemy straight away. She is definitely wary of her but she doesn’t have any filter when it comes to her either. She’s not trying to be nice or pretend. They share these evil looks and some of the stuff Sienna says to Clare in big scenes – only someone like Sienna would get away with saying that kind of stuff to her!
We also know there are Clare and Mercedes scenes coming up… can we expect fireworks?
[Laughs].
The scenes are really, really great! And some end up being quite comedic. Things like ‘you’re like a cockroach!’ are said and Clare says ‘well it’s better than being mowed down by a car!’, which is obviously what Mercedes did to her. And there’s more to come
Also, you forget how many people have gripes with Clare, Like, she was the reason Ste’s husband [Doug] died. It’s really funny that there are all these characters that have a real hatred for her. It’s like: ‘Oh yes, I killed a member of your family didn’t I? Sorry about that’. [Laughs].
We know Tom is coming back! The Tom and Clare dynamic was so intense back in the day -are you excited to revisit this with Ellis?
I am really excited to revisit that. We hope he’s coming back for a bit of a while because it’ll be really nice for the fans to see Clare get the comeuppance she deserves! And revenge from Tom. I don’t think that Clare is going anywhere yet, so it would be nice to show Tom in a different light – and show that he’s grown up, and he’s not scared of her at all.
You mentioned Nigel in EastEnders and how everyone was talking about a potential Clare Bates comeback. What does it mean to you that, two decades on, people are still talking about your two characters, who clearly both resonated with viewers?
It’s really great. I’ve been a soap fan myself for years. When I was in it before in 2013, there wasn’t really Instagram, there was only Twitter. Now everything that goes up on social media, there are hundreds of comments. You do worry about that. You think: ‘Oh god, how is it going to be received?’, but actually there has not been one negative comment so far, and that’s been a dream.
I’ve still got this theory that Clare Bates is Clare Devine! Clare Bates started in 1993 on EastEnders then moved to Hollyoaks village because she got bored. Then after causing some havoc she went back to EastEnders in 2008 as a similar character to Clare Devine. So they just need to write Clare into Emmerdale and Corrie and then I can be the first soap actor to cross over as the same character in each soap! [Laughs].
Well there is an Emmerdale and Coronation Street crossover coming up, so perfect opportunity!
This is what I mean, I thought this even before I knew that! [Laughs].
If Nigel stays in EastEnders for long enough, who knows? Clare might make a return in that. Not quite yet though, that’s not happening just now.
Finally, what can you tell me about what’s coming up for Clare Devine? How long is she here for and what’s to come?
I’m definitely here till the end of September – so far. I’m going to be here for the 30th birthday celebrations, because we film that in the summer. And that’s really exciting because last time I came back in 2013, I was only here for a short stint.
There’s definitely more dynamics going on with different characters. Clare gets a love interest, albeit for her own scheming ways.
You definitely see a flicker of caring from her, but things don’t tend to last long in her world. She has to move on. When things happen, she acts quickly on her feet and she has to do some pretty wrong things to make money – because all she’s trying to do is make get some cash together so that she can escape with Tori.
But the longer the money doesn’t come in, the longer she gets to stay in the village – which is good for the fans and good for me! [Laughs].
There is also going to be a war between two sisters – but we’re also trying to fit a bit of comedy into it as well. When you’ve got Grace, who is quite funny and eccentric, and you’ve got Clare, who just doesn’t have time for it, it is a bit of a comedy duo. Grace becomes quite irritating to Clare, and I think the audience will find that quite funny.
There is some really exciting stuff going on. There’s a big, big storyline coming up where Clare dupes the whole village. I can’t tell you what it is yet but it’s absolutely fantastic. You’ll see Clare in a way you’ve never seen her before – completely stripped back.
Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 6am on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.
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