I was so skint in lockdown I had to borrow cash from friends, reveals Hollyoaks’ Jeremy Edwards

HOLLYOAKS star Jeremy Edwards has opened up about how the second coronavirus lockdown "absolutely destroyed" him.

The TV star detailed how he was left skint after work dried up when productions were put on hold by the deadly virus.

Ex-Holby City star Jeremy, 51, who played Kurt Benson in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks in the 1990s, told the Metro about his money woes.

He admitted that he had to borrow money from pals as he wasn't able to bring money in when the entertainment industry shut down.

Jeremy said: “I didn’t mind the first one too much but the second absolutely destroyed me. I had to borrow money, there was nothing else I could do.

"All that I’m earning now is making up for that time. But I’m lucky that I’ve got work so I will be back on track this summer."

The actor and his wife Lydia Metz share daughter Scarlett, four, and son Theodore, one - who was born in March last year.

"We had it all going on. My wife was pregnant, my son was born
in lockdown and I had terrible back pain," Jeremy continued.

"At one point I was in so much agony, I could barely walk. It’s due to a slipped disc from an accident and it just keeps coming back."

Now, the star is working harder than ever to make back the losses he incurred during the lockdowns.

However, his return to Hollyoaks didn't go to plan - as he was due to make an iconic return 21 years after he was last seen.

However, Covid-19 also cut his appearance short, and instead of a half-a-year contract, he was "in and out in three months".

“I was supposed to be there for six months to a year, but Covid impacted that massively," he said of his soap return.

"They brought me in, which I thought was a mistake because it wasn’t what I thought it should have been.

"There were so many restrictions with filming that I couldn’t
go near anyone and I only had one storyline.

"I was in and out in less than three months with the promise that they’d bring me back properly when things calmed down but haven’t heard anything."

It comes after Jeremy admitted that "starting again" with a new baby is "hard work" after he became a dad again at 50.

The family were delighted to announce that they had a new addition following a "stressful" two-and-a-half-year IVF journey.

When asked if the couple are planning to have any more children, he told : "It could be done so we had room for more, but I feel quite old and I am feeling it.

"With Scarlett it’s a very easy life because I can talk to her and play with her. But starting again with a baby is hard work, so the idea of doing it again after this."