{"id":539807,"date":"2026-04-19T18:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539807\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:25:14","slug":"hollyoaks-star-rebecca-ryan-battles-terrible-mum-guilt-after-landing-major-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539807\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollyoaks star Rebecca Ryan battles ‘terrible’ mum guilt after landing major role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Ryan, who shot to fame as Debbie Gallagher in Shameless aged 11, has joined Hollyoaks as feisty mum Beth Keane and she’s opening up about balancing her exciting new soap role with real-life motherhood<\/p>\n

13:00, 19 Apr 2026Updated 13:59, 19 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

\"Rebecca<\/p>\n

Rebecca is no stranger to the soap world<\/p>\n

Rebecca Ryan<\/a> says her feisty Hollyoaks character Beth Keane will take on anyone when it comes to protecting her brood. But much as she loves her new role, the actress admits she\u2019s struggling with \u201cterrible mum guilt\u201d.<\/p>\n

Former Coronation Street<\/a> and Waterloo Road star Rebecca and her husband Dan Acraman have two daughters, Aurora, two, and 10-month-old Oriana. While Rebecca is excited about joining the E4 soap, she says she\u2019s often worrying she should be at home with her kids instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard,\u201d she sighs. \u201cYou do get terrible mum guilt. If I\u2019m away from them for five minutes, I feel like I should be with them. I\u2019ve got the most supportive husband and family I could ever ask for, so I\u2019m really lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Shoppers rush for Marc Jacobs perfume that \u2018reels in the compliments\u2019 now 50% off<\/a>\"Rebecca<\/p>\n

Rebecca was a star on Coronation Street in 2022<\/p>\n

Rebecca, who turns 35 next week, also admits that she is grateful <\/a>she gets to do what she loves while juggling mum life with two young girls. Returning home after a long day\u2019s filming to their smiling faces makes it all worthwhile, she says fondly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to do what I love again because, especially when your kids are younger, it\u2019s easy to get stuck in a rut where you\u2019re just \u2018Mum\u2019. My whole life is going to forever revolve around the girls, of course, but it\u2019s nice to also have something that\u2019s just for me,\u201d Rebecca explains.<\/p>\n

Rebecca\u2019s eldest girl Aurora, who is about to turn three, often finds ways to try and keep her mum at home, she laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll wake up in the morning and I\u2019ll be getting ready for work, and she\u2019ll go, \u2018Mummy, where are you going?\u2019 and I say, \u2018I\u2019m going to work\u2019 and she goes, \u2018No Mummy, work\u2019s closed. You can\u2019t go, it\u2019s freezing,\u2019\u201d Rebecca says.<\/p>\n

Rebecca shot to fame in the much-loved Channel 4<\/a> series Shameless as Debbie Gallagher, when she was just 11 years old. Now, she\u2019s helping to mentor the two young actors who play her on-screen sons on Hollyoaks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She and co-star, ex-Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden, who plays Beth\u2019s husband Jonah, have been sharing little tips about acting for the small screen with Lewis Walton and Sam Meyer, honed after their years of experience in the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cLewis did a bit on Corrie before, but it\u2019s Sam\u2019s first TV acting job and it\u2019s really nice. I feel like me and Matthew can teach them little things on set \u2013 like, I don\u2019t know, what things mean when the crew say something technical,\u201d Rebecca explains.<\/p>\n

Rebecca didn\u2019t realise the enormity of her Shameless role until much later, and confesses that in the early days she also found it difficult to adjust when she had periods without work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really important, especially at a young age, to just try and keep as grounded as possible,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing an actor is the best job in the world<\/a> \u2013 when you\u2019re working. But it\u2019s really, really hard when you\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Now<\/p>\n

Now Rebecca stars on Hollyoaks as feisty mum and daughter to a Hollyoaks matriach<\/p>\n

She adds, \u201cWhen you start out so young, people tell you all the time that you\u2019re great, you\u2019re amazing, and you\u2019ve got to put it all into perspective because when you do have a quiet patch you suddenly ask yourself, \u2018Am I not good enough any more?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s just how this industry is. It\u2019s tough \u2013 and you\u2019ve got to learn how to cope with the good with the bad and continue to believe in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years later, Rebecca is still recognised for playing troubled Debbie, despite her more recent roles in Casualty and Corrie.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably what people recognise me for the most, especially now it\u2019s just come back on Netflix<\/a>,\u201d Rebecca reveals. \u201cThere are loads of new fans now watching Shameless for the first time, and old fans rediscovering it again. I love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebecca is taking on a very different role as Beth in Hollyoaks. While she\u2019s excited, she admits it feels strange to be playing the mum of two teenage boys, as in her head she still feels like a teenager herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still feel like I\u2019m about 18. I\u2019m like, \u2018Sorry, this is not possible. How am I a mum to grown-up boys?\u2019 But it\u2019s nice because I\u2019ve never played that kind of role before. I\u2019ve always been a child or a teenager,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt home, I\u2019m still in the baby and toddler phase. I\u2019ve got it all to come. It\u2019s just preparing me for the future and all the teenage angst I\u2019ll have to face.\u201d<\/p>\n

And her maternal instinct has truly kicked in when it comes to her younger co-stars, she grins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come on set, you instantly want to protect them,\u201d Rebecca says. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Are you OK?\u2019 and they\u2019re like, \u2018Yes, Rebecca, we\u2019re fine, don\u2019t worry.\u2019 I\u2019m just being a mum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rebecca<\/p>\n

Rebecca gave birth to her second child with husband Dan Acraman in 2023<\/p>\n

\"Rebecca<\/p>\n

Rebecca says she is grateful she gets to do what she loves while juggling mum life with two young girls<\/p>\n

With the Keanes caught up in a horrific car crash as they make their Hollyoaks debut, and Beth\u2019s link to the Osbornes, Rebecca teases a lot of drama ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fallout over the crash,\u201d she reveals. \u201cThat\u2019s the main event, for quite a while. It\u2019ll be interesting to see whose side viewers are on. It all blows up, there are a lot of repercussions. And they\u2019ve got a few skeletons in the closet, too. Grab your popcorn!\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Hollyoaks Mondays-Wednesdays on Channel 4 streaming from 7am, then on E4 the same night at 7pm.<\/p>\n

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok <\/a>, Snapchat <\/a>, Instagram <\/a>, Twitter <\/a>, Facebook <\/a>, YouTube <\/a>and Threads <\/a>.<\/p>\n