Gemma Merna (born 6 February 1984) is an English actress and model. She is best known for portraying the role of

Carmel McQueen Carmel Valentine (also McQueen) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Gemma Merna. She debuted on-screen during episodes airing on 13 August 2006 and was introduced by series producer Bryan Kirk ...

in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'' from 2006 to 2014.

Career

Merna joined the cast of the

soap opera ''

'' in August 2006. In 2007, she won ''Best Comedy Performance'' in 2007 at the

British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies give ...

. In 2008, Merna appeared on the game show ''

All Star Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV (TV network), ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''#All Star Family Fortunes, All St ...

'' in a ''

'' v ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' special. In February 2013, she appeared on ''

'' playing against gardener, garden designer and television personality

Diarmuid Gavin Diarmuid Gavin (born 10 May 1964) is an Irish garden designer and television personality. He has presented gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show on nine occasions from 1995 to 2016, winning a number of medals, including gold in 2011. He has als ...

. In 2009, Merna appeared in the spin-off show ''

Hollyoaks Later ''Hollyoaks Later'' (originally ''Late Night Hollyoaks'') is a British television spin-off of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. The series allows for more sexual content, 'edgier' storylines and stronger language than ''Hollyoaks''. The s ...

'' as

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

. She also appeared in an episode of the game show '' Hole in the Wall''. In 2011, she appeared in the documentaries ''50 Greatest Wedding Shockers'' and ''Hollyoaks Best Bits''. In 2013 and 2014, Merna was a panelist in an episode of ''

Big Brother's Bit on the Side This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition ran from 2000 to 2018 and the celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018. ''Big Brother'' ''Big Brother'' was a daily sho ...

''. In January 2014, she was a contestant on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

diving show '' Splash!'', fronted by

Tom Daley Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, she was the first contestant to be eliminated from the show in Heat One. On 24 August 2014, it was announced that Merna had decided to leave ''Hollyoaks'' and would leave in November 2014 in one of ''Hollyoaks'' biggest stunts.

Jennifer Metcalfe Jennifer Joanne Metcalfe (born 4 September 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles of Jade Nicholls in Emmerdale and Mercedes McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', which she has appeared in since 2006. Her port ...

– who plays Merna's on-screen sister

Mercedes McQueen Mercedes McQueen (also Owen, Fisher and Browning) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera '' Hollyoaks'', played by Jennifer Metcalfe. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 as the first characte ...

– announced her decision to leave the soap opera a few days after Merna's announcement. The character was killed off in an explosive train accident on 12 November 2014, with cast members and television critics praising Merna's performance in her final scenes. On 8 September 2014, Merna appeared on the panel show '' Virtually Famous'', presented by ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' actor Kevin McHale. On 25 October 2014, Merna appeared on a special celebrity episode of '' The Chase''. In 2017, Merna appeared in an episode in TV show Doctors. She also joined former TV mum

Nicole Barber-Lane Nicole Barber-Lane is a British actress known for playing Myra McQueen in the long-running teen soap ''Hollyoaks''. Career Before working in ''Hollyoaks'', Barber-Lane appeared in ''Emmerdale'', '' Bodies'', '' The Cops'', and in a Yorkshire ...

as teammates on the 28 October 2017 "Soaps" episode of ''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...

''. In January 2022 Merna announced on a Instagram post that she is returning to filming.

Personal life

Merna was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and grew up in

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

where she attended St. George's RC High School,

Walkden Walkden is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, northwest of Salford, and of Manchester. Historically in the township of Worsley in Lancashire, Walkden was a centre for coal mining and textile manufacture. In 2014, ...

. She was engaged to long-term boyfriend Ian Minton and they married in 2012. In a 2009 interview with '' Closer'' magazine, Merna said that having a breast enlargement at the age of 21 was one of the best things she ever did and that it gave her so much confidence."I'm finally happy with my body"
Closeronline.co.uk, 23 June 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2011gemma merma died on the 15 of October 2022 from a hat attack at her family home

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merna, Gemma 1984 births Living people English female models Actresses from Manchester English television actresses English soap opera actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses