NEARLY four years after she last wreaked havoc in C4’s Hollyoaks, Gemma Bissix is returning to the soap as villainous Clare Devine.

And yes, she says, expect more drama and destruction in her wake.

Fans still recall how Bissix’s Hollyoaks alter ego Clare Devine tried to kill her husband, Max Cunningham, in front of his little brother, Tom, in 2007. Ellis Hollins, who plays Tom, was only nine years old at the time.

“I could have scarred the poor boy,” says Bissix who, six years on, still feels bad for subjecting him to those spine-chilling scenes. “I remember saying to his mum, ‘Is he okay with these things?’”

Thankfully, Hollins doesn’t appear to have suffered any long-term effects. “On my first day back on the Hollyoaks set, I went up to Ellis and was like, ‘do you remember how nasty I was as Clare?’,” Bissix explains.

“He was like, ‘no, you were dead nice’. He did say, ‘I remember looking out of a log cabin and seeing you trying to kill Max’, but he said it like it was a lovely memory.”

Bissix is no stranger to the comeback, having previously left the programme and returned before. Her first dramatic exit was in late 2007, following Clare’s sinister poisoning campaign against Max, who she’d married purely for his money.

After failing to finish the job, Clare was almost killed herself when she was pushed over a banister at The Loft nightclub. She survived, only to hatch a revenge kidnap plot which ended with her car plunging into a quarry.

Presumed dead, Clare wasn’t seen again – until 2009, when she returned for a few months, this time hell-bent on murderous revenge against Warren Fox. Her deadly arson attempt failed, however, and she was jailed for attempted murder.

Having served her time, she’s returning once again. “Clare’s back and she’s on the lookout for men with money – it’s her full-time job,” says Bissix.

The 29-year-old, who kickstarted her career as Nigel Bates’ stepdaughter, Clare, in East- Enders, is grateful for the variety of work coming her way. It includes a role in Agatha Christie play A Murder Is Announced, alongside fellow former EastEnder Dean Gaffney.

“Over the last few months I’ve been in panto, a play and now I’m back in Hollyoaks,” says Bissix.

It’s so much fun playing Clare and she loves filming in Liverpool, even if it does require a bit of effort removing Clare’s war paint at the end of every shoot. “Clare’s quite expensive looking and I’m quite a tomboy. It takes a lot of work to make me look that glamorous.

“When I went to make-up a few weeks ago, they bleached my hair, stuck me in a spray tanning booth and put so much make-up on me.

At the end of a day’s filming, I have to douse myself in a bath for about an hour to wash it all off.”

Hollyoaks is reuniting her with one of her EastEnders co-stars – Gillian Taylforth, who also joins the series this month, as new character Sandy Roscoe.

“It’s great having Gillian coming in,” says Bissix. “I’m not sure if I’ll have scenes with her but I worked with her when I played Clare Bates in EastEnders and she played Kathy Beale. She’s a lovely lady and a fantastic actress.

“It’s good to have actors who you recognise from other dramas, and having Gillian in the show is going to bring in an older fanbase.”

As Sandy, Taylforth will be a mum to five strapping lads, but Bissix doesn’t think Clare will take a shine to any of the brothers. “Clare won’t be interested in Sandy’s sons if they’re just hunky. She wants someone with a lot of money in the bank too,” she says.

“But I have seen a couple of them around the set and I have to say, they are gorgeous.”

  • Hollyoaks is on Channel 4 and E4 on weekdays.