soap swap Axed Hollyoaks star lands brand new role in rival soap Coronation Street for gritty prison scenes

The character was tragically killed off after being crushed by a falling tree branch during a storm.

Jessica is now swapping Chester for Weatherfield by playing Brie, Lauren Bolton’s (Cait Fitton) fellow prison inmate.

The Sun understands Jessica will star only in a guest role and will just be on screen for a few episodes in total.

Her other credits include ITV crime drama The Bay, as well as episodes of EastEnders and Doctors.

Last year, Hollyoaks was forced to address the cull of cast members.

It came after The Sun was first to report Hollyoaks bosses plans to axe a whopping 20 cast members.

Stars including Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox), Owen Warner (Romeo Nightingale), Jamelia (Sharon Bailey) and Stephanie Waring (Cindy Cunningham) have all bowed out of the soap.

A source said at the time: “Losing 20 cast members in one fell swoop is eye-watering and devastating news for soapland.

“In the past, Hollyoaks has seen shock stunts claim up to five lives in a single episode.

“But the days of soaps having a big cast clear-out with a devastating stunt are long gone, especially on Hollyoaks where the budget has been dramatically cut.

“The necessary death toll would make almost any stunt idea totally unbelievable.”

In Coronation Street, Lauren was convicted of murdering abusive solicitor Joel Deering (Calum Lill).

Viewers were initially unaware who killed the villain, with several Weatherfield residents in the frame.

By November 2024, they learned Lauren was responsible as she’d hit Joel with a rock after he tried to strangle her boyfriend, Max Turner (Paddy Bever).

Max ended up in prison after taking the blame.

Guilty and concerned about Max’s welfare, Lauren confided in Shona Platt (Julia Goulding), who alerted David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) to the situation.

Lauren later admitted to DC Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) that she was the one who had delivered the fatal blow to Joel.