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Malique Thompson-Dwyer ‘gutted’ about Lauren McQueen exit

Malique Thompson-Dwyer is "absolutely gutted" about Lauren McQueen’s ‘Hollyoaks’ departure.
The former ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ star – who plays Prince McQueen in the Channel 4 soap – was disappointed to find out Lauren’s character Lily McQueen will be killed off next week, just months after his on-screen brother Theo Graham (Hunter McQueen) left the show in October.
He said: "I am absolutely gutted about Lauren leaving, Theo, who played my on-screen brother Hunter, has already gone and now Lauren’s going.
"These are all the people I joined ‘Hollyoaks’ with so it’s going to be very different."
Lily’s death will hit Prince hard – and Malique says his alter-ego will turn "to the dark side" in the coming weeks.
He added: "Prince is on the borderline right now. He’s losing it a little bit. Let’s just say he’s turning over to the dark side."
Lily will contract sepsis and die suddenly next week, and Lauren hopes her ‘Hollyoaks’ legacy will be raising awareness of the life-threatening condition, which is also referred to as blood poisoning.
She added: "I was really grateful that I was going to be a part of another huge storyline involving self-harm and also sepsis.
"It really challenged me emotionally and physically. It’s amazing to be given a storyline with such an important subject matter with so much responsibility. I really hope it raises a lot of awareness and gets people talking. I hope Lily will always be remembered for everything she’s been through.
"From my very first day on set to now I have learnt so much and now I want to keep on learning and challenging myself in other acting roles.
"I can’t thank the producers and the writers enough for giving me the best storylines I could have asked for.
"The fact that we can change people’s lives through a storyline like Lily’s self-harm is incredible and that’s what I’ve loved about being a part of the show."