Hannah is back in a more regular capacity – and there’s big things to come (Picture: Lime Pictures)

Hollyoaks won’t know what’s hit it when Hannah Ashworth stages yet another comeback later this year, with star Emma Rigby promising an ‘unexpected’ direction for her character.

The much-loved character returned to the eponymous village earlier this month after a historic 14 year gap, delighting fans as she reunited with old faces.

Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson), for one, was shocked to see her, especially becauseshe brought along his estranged kids JJ (Ryan Mulvey) and Frankie (Isabelle Smith), who are moving to the village on a more permanent basis.

Hannah’s attention, however, was soon elsewhere, when she caught Carter Shepherd (David Ames) discussing conversion therapy, which resulted in her winding up trapped in the back of a van!

The former mainstay was also hiding a big secret as she was in need of a serious amount of cash, with Carter ultimately giving her the money she craved in exchange for her silence.

‘I loved the twist in recent episodes, it was something that you would never normally think Hannah would do,’ said actress Emma Rigby, discussing the plot development in her first interview since her Hollyoaks return.

‘That’s exciting for me because I like the progression and the idea that there’s so many facets of people’s character and people can be anything. You don’t know what you would do being put in that situation and you can be pushed to do anything. It’s that nice exploration.’

And this exploration is set to continue as, despite having recently left on-screen, Hannah will soon return, with Emma set to re-join the show in a more regular capacity.

‘I’m absolutely thrilled to be back,’ she said. ‘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. It’s lovely to see all the cast and crew, a lot of the same people and then of course a lot of new people who are also lovely. It’s also funny for me to be the adult!’

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With Hannah’s temporary exit having caused quite a stir, the question is: just what’s in store for her when she returns?

‘I would just say it’s very unexpected,’ teased Emma. ‘Which I absolutely love and I think it’s incredibly relatable. And it will really resonate with a lot of the audience so watch this space.’

Consider me very intrigued.

Hannah and John Paul were former flames (Picture: Lime Pictures)

One thing I’m hoping to see more of is Hannah’s relationship with ‘first love’ John Paul McQueen (James Sutton), following the two’s heartfelt reunion earlier this week. Emma is seemingly in agreement, branding the scene in question ‘touching’, adding that she and co-star James have a ‘real fondness’ when it comes to acting opposite one another.

My heart is full.

The soap star was also full of praise for Suzanne Hall, who plays her on-screen mum. ‘Suzanne is the most incredible woman,’ she enthused. ‘She is such as lovely human being. I was really close to all of my Ashworth family, we were really like a real family, so we always kept in touch.

‘I’m really glad that I’ve come back with Suzanne, and I know she’s super excited to be back. We also have the new addition of the twins and that was even a shock for me that there were twins, I was like, do I have a brother and sister? Because that was when I left, so it was exciting.’

Exciting indeed.

It’s going to be quite a year on Hollyoaks, that’s for sure and with shock twists aplenty and more returns lined up for the coming months, it’s safe to say that you’re not going to want to miss a single second of what’s to come. Trust me.

Hollyoaks streams weeknights at 7:30pm on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4. 

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A very interesting turn awaits when Hannah steps foot back in the village.