Hollyoaks fans are in for a sad week starting from Wednesday as Lily McQueen returns to the village unaware that these will be her final few days. And there isn't anyone as devastated for the teenager as actress Lauren McQueen, who has been playing the troubled schoolgirl since January 2018. Talking about the impact the harrowing storyline had on her, she told Inside Soap: "I was in tears reading my final episodes. It's such a huge storyline to go out on." She added: "Lily doesn't even know she has sepsis – she just thinks she has a cold or something. This story will hopefully make people more aware of the symptoms. It's a gradual thing throughout the episode. You see Lily getting worse and worse. But she just brushes it off and doesn't think anything of it."
Hollyoaks' Lily McQueen will die from sepsis
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Last week, Hollyoaks announced that Lily will pass away from sepsis, related to her ongoing battle with self-harming. The Channel 4 show will air an emotional week of episodes focusing on Lily's story and consequent death. After admitting herself to a mental health facility after struggling with self-harm, Lily decides to run away with her boyfriend Romeo Quinn, without telling her family of her whereabouts. When her family are told by the hospital that Lily's test results show she has sepsis – which is spreading to her internal organs – they are devastated and desperately try to find her so that she can get the treatment she needs.
Actress Lauren McQueen is leaving the soap to embark on new acting roles
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Lily made her first on-screen appearance in Hollyoaks on 6 January 2017. Her self-harming has been central to her storyline since her arrival in the soap, and Lauren has worked closely with the charities Samaritan and Mind for an accurate portrayal, in 2018, the storyline also won Best Storyline and Best Single Episode at the British Soap Awards. Since the news was announced of Lily's exit, Lauren has revealed that it was her decision to leave the show. She posted on Twitter: "I've decided to leave the show to pursue other acting roles and I'm so grateful I get to leave doing a huge storyline involving self-harm and sepsis with such an important message! I can't thank Hollyoaks enough for this amazing experience."
Hollyoaks in 60 seconds
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