Hollyoaks (County Lines)

INTERVIEW WITH NIAMH BLACKSHAW (JULIET NIGHTINGALE)

Category: Interview

Why do you think Jordan targeted Juliet?

She’s very confident and witty, she knows what to say and how to play the game. Having the gift of the gab is good in certain situations but not in this instance, it just makes her the perfect person to put this pressure on because she can handle it. Also, because of her childhood, she’s very experienced and informed. She’s also very easy to manipulate. Juliet cuts off her family and she thinks she’s in control, but she’s not – she’s very vulnerable and naïve and that’s the perfect mixture.

We’ve seen that Juliet will have much darker hair this time next year, how do you feel about dying your hair?

I’ve been dark before, so I don’t mind doing it again, it’ll just be nice to get rid of the side ponytail! [laughs] I’m excited for me and Juliet to have a change. When I put my hair in a side ponytail, it immediately makes me feel like a young teen, but as soon as Juliet starts to look a bit older, she will then become older. I think people are going to look at her and treat her differently too. 

It’s also revealed that she’s in love with Peri, have you filmed much of this development yet? We’ve filmed the seeds of it. The way Juliet interacts with Peri suggests that her feelings are more than platonic. Peri is still very oblivious to Juliet’s feelings, she thinks that Juliet’s just this little kid that’s going out with her foster brother, Sid. It’s not even hit Peri yet but for Juliet things are moving forward. 

What are Juliet’s feelings towards current boyfriend, Sid?

She loves Sid as much as you can love someone that you’re not attracted to. They’re in this together and they’re always going to be best friends. I really hope that Sid doesn’t get too upset that Juliet can’t reciprocate his feelings, so that they can develop a friendship – I think it would be the strongest friendship to exist.

Can you tell us about this week’s episodes on location?

This week Juliet and Sid go on a trip to deliver some drugs to one of Jordan’s contacts. They end up going with Ollie and Imran as a cover, so it looks like they’re just a group of friends having a nice weekend. Meanwhile, Juliet and Sid will be going to a ‘trap house’ to deliver the drugs and in return receive some money to take back to Jordan. While they’re there, Juliet gets herself in a situation with another girl in the trap house. Her actions put her in a position where she can be further blackmailed by Jordan. The game changes for Juliet and Sid after this, they see what they’re getting into.