Hollyoaks star written out of Jennifer Metcalfe stillbirth storyline after fiancée suffered real life miscarriage
Ayden Callaghan’s partner reveals: ‘He was so brave’
JOE Roscoe actor Ayden Callaghan pleaded with Hollyoaks bosses to be removed from scenes in which his on-screen girlfriend Mercedes McQueen gave birth to a stillborn baby.
The emotional storyline came when the 35-year-old and his real life fiancée, Sarah-Jane Honeywell, were expecting having previously lost a child to miscarriage.
Actress and presenter Sarah-Jane, 42, recalled the situation in a heartstring-tugging post.
She explained that Ayden had learned of the plot development just as they had “started to feel OK about [their own loss]”.
Sarah-Jane said: “I hadn't even thought about the possibility of a stillbirth until then, but now it was firmly in my mind.
“I just thought, if something does go wrong at our real birth and he is acting that out, I just don't know how either of us will get through that.”
She continued: “He was so brave.
“He didn't know if he would be sacked, black listed and he certainly knew that he would lose money - but he loved me and the baby he hadn't even met so much that he put his whole career on the line for us.”
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As Mercedes was comforted by her family on-screen, Ayden’s character was briefly written out with it explained that he was visiting his mother Sandy in Canada.
At the time he and Mercedes had split-up after she lied that the baby wasn’t his.
Ayden and Sarah-Jane meanwhile went on to welcome son Phoenix in August 2015, without any complications.
Sarah-Jane claimed that her other half’s decision to stick to his guns about the storyline made a “difference to the rest of her pregnancy”.
She went on to praise the Channel 4 show however for tackling such a “heartbreaking, barely talked about subject.”
The Higgledy House favourite concluded: “If it's done well it can help all of us deal with it – but of all the actors in the show, I wished with all my heart that it didn't have to be Ayden that was doing it.”
Despite Ayden’s decision to not be involved, they storyline was praised by critics and fans alike.
It also earned a nod at this year’s British Soap Awards with Mercedes actress Jennifer Metcalfe being nominated in the best actress category.
The 33-year-old – who has not experienced the loss of a child in real life – spoke about her character’s plight on This Morning.
She said: “Mercedes loses her baby and the lady who wrote the script had been through a similar experience herself.
“I spent three hours reading the script and blubbering on the sofa. I just kept thinking about how many women have been through this.”
Hollyoaks airs weeknights on Channel 4 at 6:30pm, with a first-look on E4 at 7pm.