Niamh Blackshaw has joined 'Hollyoaks'.

Hollyoaks' Juliet, Imran, Brooke and Ollie

Hollyoaks' Juliet, Imran, Brooke and Ollie

The actress will portray damaged and vulnerable bully Juliet Quinn, the daughter of Donna Marie Quinn (Lucy Jo Hudson) and little sister of Romeo Quinn, who has always been protective of his sibling.

Niamh said: "I am so excited to be joining the cast of 'Hollyoaks'.

"I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and I can't wait to get started."

Juliet's arrival in the village will come just a month after the re-opening of Hollyoaks High, which will open its doors at the end of September.

School head teacher Sally St Claire - played by Annie Wallace - said: "I'm looking forward to welcoming pupils old and new to the beautiful new Hollyoaks High campus, which I'm sure will be more productive and less eventful than the recent past. Hopefully."

The school, which will have a colourful new look following renovation work, has been shut since a devastating explosion caused by Mac Nightingale (David Easter), which claimed the life of loveable teacher Neeta Kaur (Amrit Maghera).

Mac will strike fear into the villagers next week when he wakes from his coma and makes a miraculous recovery from locked-in syndrome, which he was diagnosed with following a fall at The Dog In The Pond at the end of last year.

David recently teased fans they can look forward to a "juicy" plot involving his alter-ego.

He said: "He's obviously going to have some sort of revenge.

"You'll have to wait until he gets back.

"You're going to find out a little bit more about what happened with James. So that's going to be very interesting.

"It's going to be a pretty heavy storyline and there are lots of juicy things coming up. So keep watching and you'll see."

Niamh is no stranger to Soapland having played Lara Cutler in 'Coronation Street'.

Her cobbles character tragically took her own life after she was groomed by evil Nathan Curtis' (Christopher Harper) gang.