Soap stars open shop

HOLLYOAKS PEOPLE get everywhere. In fact, we calculate that given the frequency that cast members pop up around Liverpool, Chester, Manchester and everywhere in between, Hollyoaks must surely be the region's biggest employer.

They even manage to get on the telly. Every evening. But those are probably stunt doubles.

Here are some more, canoodling and lending support to their friend Louisa Kelly, a stylist on the popular teatime soap, who opened Cello, a designer boutique in Cavern Walks, at the weekend.

The store showcased new labels by Couture designers Kelly Seels and AnniLou who created one-off pieces exclusively for the event.

Fashion disasters: The Brookside boutique was "not to be"

Carly Stenson, who plays Steph Dean in Hollyoaks, commented: “I’ve always been a fan of the styles created by Louisa but I’m absolutely loving her new range of dresses. The colours are wonderful and the styles scream funkiness. I can’t stop looking around.”

Admittedly it helps when you open a boutique and your soap colleagues are well turned out. Which perhaps explains why a Brookside-influenced boutique called "Close Encounters" - which was created by the people who styled Harry Cross, Sinbad and Tinhead – is believed to have fallen the first hurdle.