'Hollyoaks' star Joe McGann and his brothers once turned down the chance to star in 'Bread'.

Joe McGann

Joe McGann

The Channel 4 soap newcomer has joined the cast as Edward Hutchinson, the dad of the missing Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) - who is being held captive on the pig farm by Breda McQueen (Moya Brady) - but his career could've taken on a different direction as the star admits he and his famous siblings, Stephen, Paul, and Mark were once offered the chance to appear in the sitcom.

He said: "Years ago, we all got offered 'Bread' and we all turned it down, because we didn't want to be thought of as one unit.

"That would've stuck us together forever."

Despite the four brothers all being actors, Joe admits they were all keen to try to carve out individual careers to "try to avoid" people thinking they came as one package.

He added to What's on TV magazine: "One of the things we've tried to avoid is being thought of as just one unit."

The 61-year-old star recently opened up about what he gets up to when he is not shooting 'Hollyoaks' scenes, and admitted he is "very much an eco-warrior" and is keen to do "something about climate change".

He said: "I am a very keen walker and an advocate for being outdoors, and in nature for reasons of mental health, for connection with our food and the land.

"I'm very much an eco-warrior, and I'm a passionate believer that we need to do something about climate change.

"You're most likely to find me outdoors than sitting front of a TV."

And he is also fascinated about science and the mind.

He explained: "I am extremely interested in science, particularly the science and biology of mind, and how we think.

"That tends to be my hobby I suppose, I read very little fiction and I stay away from the news so I'm reading more about memory, consciousness, and the way that we get from being a chemical soup to whole human beings."


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