Hollyoaks star 'helpless' in hidden health battle - 'My body's exhausted'
Hollyoaks star Isabelle Smith has opened up about her daily battle with endometriosis and Frankie's upcoming storylines on the Channel 4 soap in an exclusive chat with The Mirror
Despite arriving in Hollyoaks just last year, Isabelle Smith has quickly become one of the soap's rising stars. The actress took on the role of troubled teen Frankie Osborne in January 2024 and, eight months later, she won Best Newcomer at the Inside Soap Awards. She has also been nominated for Best Dramatic Performance at the 2025 British Soap Awards, which takes place on 31 May.
With hard-hitting storylines and potentially more awards to come, it's hard to believe that Isabelle was working on checkout tills before landing the job. 'It's just been very surreal – I never expected any of this to happen,' she says. 'I was working in the supermarket before I got my job at Hollyoaks so it's been a whirlwind.'
Viewers have watched as Frankie endured harrowing abuse at the hands of her brother JJ and recently began taking and selling drugs. The scenes are intense and Isabelle has a health condition that she has to manage at the same time.
'Endometriosis affects me every single day as I'm sure it does a lot of women,' she says.
Endometriosis is a condition where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb grow in other parts of the body. Isabelle explains she underwent a laparoscopy – surgery to diagnose and remove endometriosis tissue – when she was 21, but she still suffers daily symptoms, which can include chronic pelvic pain, painful periods, heavy bleeding and digestive issues.
'It's been nearly three years since I had that and it hasn't gotten any better,' she reveals. 'When I'm on set, I'm just mindful that things might take me a bit longer. If I've done Pilates, I need to remember that I probably need a rest day in between. I get really bad fatigue so when I'm filming long days, sometimes I come home and I just go straight to sleep because my body's so exhausted. I try to keep my blood sugars up with snacks and make sure I have a hot water bottle and ibuprofen on hand, just in case.'
Isabelle, 23, says she's learnt not to push herself too far at work and to look after herself. 'That's coming more with age – the power of being able to say no to things and putting my health first,' she says.
'I've not been very good at doing that but I'm getting a bit older now and my friends and family are so understanding. I need to say, 'No, actually I can't do that because I need to rest,' which sometimes makes me feel a bit useless and helpless but everybody reminds me that it's just my body and I need to take care of it.'
After a challenging day of filming, Isabelle has boyfriend Adam Seel to spend time with – the couple live together in Manchester. 'We film in Liverpool so my drive home is where I do a lot of my de-stressing,' she says. 'I'll put on some good music, call my boyfriend to have a debrief then we'll have tea and watch a good series. If I've had a bad day, I'll put on Married At First Sight because that always cheers me up. I've got a little cat because I've grown up with animals and we didn't have one here so I was feeling a bit down. So we adopted a cat and it's crazy – they really are like emotional support animals.'
With her upcoming storylines sounding very dark, it's no wonder she needs to wind down after work. Viewers are set to see Frankie's sexual exploitation storyline develop as her parents, Darren and Nancy, try to find her after she's taken hostage by the gang who have been grooming her. Darren manages to find her at a manor house but, with the gang preventing their escape, it's unclear whether they'll make it out unharmed.
'We've been exploring sexual and criminal exploitation and Frankie is somebody who is very vulnerable at this time in her life,' says Isabelle. 'She's not really sure who she can trust so she's fallen into another trap. Frankie has been taken, she's not sure how she's going to get out and I think she's in a little bit too deep. She's quite isolated and that's when the sexual exploitation side of things really ramps up – there's going to be some harrowing scenes but it's so important that this stuff is given a spotlight because it does happen in real life.
'It can be very intense and quite overwhelming to film, but I just remind myself of why we're doing this and how it's helping so many people.'
As for Isabelle's future at Hollyoaks, the actress admits she thinks she might know when she's going to leave. 'I think I know in my head and I think they know as well – but Frankie is here for a while longer,' she says. 'But in the world of soap, I could get hit by a bus – you don't know what's going to come through with each script and that's what makes it so fun and fresh.'
For her next project, Isabelle admits there are certain actors she'd like to work with. 'I'd love to work with Siobhan Finneran – I think she's incredible. A dream would be to work with Jodie Comer. Just all these powerhouses of women.'
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