Zoë Lister: 'Batley's exit left a hole'

Hollyoaks actress Zoë Lister has admitted that the departure of co-star Loui Batley has left "a hole" in her professional life.

The 27-year-old, who plays Zoe Carpenter on the Channel 4 soap, told PA that her colleague's exit also has benefits because she is now working with a wider variety of cast members.

Batley was seen bowing out from her role as lesbian student Sarah Barnes earlier this month. The character met a gruesome end in a skydive tragedy on spinoff Hollyoaks Later.

Discussing the impact of Batley's departure, Lister explained: "There's definitely been a hole left in my working life. But it's been so busy that it's quite hard to digest that I've been working with different people a lot more, which has been nice because you get in a new little bubble."

She continued: "I really miss [Loui] actually. We were just in such a bubble for months working together and obviously the late night episodes were really great fun to work on, particularly because we do all sorts of funny stunts."

Lister announced in June that she is to leave her own Hollyoaks role at the end of the year.