CLAIRE COOPER
We hear there will be wedding bells in Chester soon.
Yeah, there's a big celebration coming up. There'll be some happy faces and some not-so-happy faces...
Don't tell us that serial proposer Tony is going to be waiting at the altar for Jacqui!
No! It's this other bloke called Aleksander. But there are going to be lots of complications, and the whole thing is likely to cause many problems between Jacqui and her sister, Carmel, in the future. It'll be quite an upsetting time.
Oh no! The McQueens will stick together thought, won't they?
Well, the thing about them is that they do everything for each other. If any member of the family is in trouble, the others are straight there to help. So I hope they can move past this...
How are things in real life? Are you all close?
Oh yes, I love all the actors who play my on-screen family - they're brilliant. We're like siblings off screen, and we socialise together. I live with James Sutton (John Paul) and I'm really close to Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra). We all share a great bond and have a real giggle on set.
The McQueen family have always been a bit off the wall - but life is set to get even more bizarre for the clan this week, when Jacqui agrees to wed an Albanian man so he can remain in the UK! The brazen broad finds herself in a spot of bother when her dodgy ex, Davey, reminfs her that she owes his a lot of money. And it soon looks as if there might be only one way out for the desperate jailbird...
"It's all the fault of Jacqui's sister, Carmel - if only she hadn't nicked the cash to get her boobs done!" laughs Claire Cooper, who plays Jacqui. "Davey's got people on his back about the money, but he decides that Jacqui can clear her debt by helping him with an immigration problem involving this Albanian bloke, Aleksander".
When Jacqui arrives to meet her 'beau' however, it isn't exactly love at first sight!
"She walks into Il Gnosh and sees this unshaven, leering guy in the corner," says Claire. "She thinks he's a tramp! When Davey then introduces them and explains that he wants Jacqui to marry the fella, she assumes it's some kind of sick joke."
But Jacqui soon leanrs that Davey is deadly serious - and with a £6,000 debt hanging over her head and some sinister types lurking about the place, she has no alternative but to agree to the scam. Can the former inmate convince her skeptial friends and family that she and Aleksander are actually in love, though?
"They're all a bit shocked, bu Jacqui's mum, Myra, is pleased because she thinks her daughter is happy," Claire sighs. "Mercedes doesn't believe a word of it though. She knows her sister inside out, so can tell right away when she's lying."
And it's not just the McQueens who are puzzled by Jacqui's choice of boyfriend. Her ex, Tony, is also baffled by the sudden turn of events.
"The family go to the Dog In The Pond, and Aleksander drops the bombshell that he and Jacqui are planning to walk down the aisle!" shares Claire. "Tony's there and is absoultely gobsmacked. Deep down, I think Jacqui loves Tony, but circumstances keep getting the way of them being together. One thing's for sure though - if she goes through with the marriage, it could mean the end of any potential relationship with Tony..."
Taken from Inside Soap magazine - March 2007