Hollyoaks favourite Mercedes McQueen will be left fighting for her life in a coma, after suffering "pretty bad" injuries in a deadly shooting.
Actress Jennifer Metcalfe confirmed to Mirror Online at a press event for the soap, ahead of the 'Who Shot Mercedes?' storyline kicking off, that the character will be in a coma for three weeks - while her fate is yet to be confirmed.
Mercedes is shot in The Loft nightclub after a dramatic showdown with half the village next week.
While the scenes were fun for her to film, as she got to lay in a bed for three weeks, the actress teased there could be "bad" injuries for the village character if she survives.
Not only that, but Jennifer also revealed Mercedes might want revenge and could face a change in character in the aftermath of someone trying to kill her.
Speaking about the scenes to come and the dramatic fallout, Jennifer told us: "[The injuries are] pretty bad. She ends up in a coma for three weeks which was fantastic.
"After doing all these epic monologues in front of everybody, I literally go into a coma for three weeks so it's like three blocks of me laid in bed all day.
"Way too much Internet shopping... there was nothing else to do, but I got to lay in bed for three weeks."
While revealing there would be no "long-term" injuries for the character, appearing to confirm she will survive, viewers could expect her to be different in the aftermath.
Jennifer said: "There's nothing [long-term], but I think it's a real turning point in her life, and she’s gonna have to kick back and think about her life if it comes to this... if it comes to someone shooting her.
"There's been a lot that's gone on in such a short amount of time. I think, and I don’t know this, but there should be a gear change with the character after this.
"It's got to have after effects and I think she needs to take a serious look at herself. I'll be excited for that, as long as it isn’t too nice!"
It's yet to be confirmed who shoots her, with suspects including husband Sylver McQueen, fling Liam Donovan, mother-in-law Breda McQueen, Joel Dexter, James Nightingale, Grace Black and even Diane Hutchinson.
Motives will be revealed in the coming episodes following the death of Harry Thompson, with the village learning Mercedes had threatened to kill him after framing him for a recent car accident.
Grace was left in a wheelchair after the car accident, with Mercedes and Liam pinning it on Harry before his death - while they later blackmailed Joel to stay quiet.
Harry's ex James and stepmother Diane are mortified, and even accuse her of being the person who killed Harry - while viewers know this is in fact Breda.
Mercedes also burns her bridges with Liam after dumping him before trying to get him back on side - while there's the fact she aborted a baby that could have been his or Sylver's.
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6:30pm on Channel 4, with the next episode at 7pm on E4.
