Emmerdale‘s Kelli Hollis has shared the surprising bond she developed with co-star Shirley Stelfox, who hazed her with some teasing on her very first day. Though the actor received a warning from other cast members, she managed to hold her own with the soap legend, leading to a special moment between the pair.

Hollis joined Emmerdale in 2011, playing outspoken Ali Spencer, the sister of equally bold Rachel Breckle. But while her character was fiercely confident, Hollis recalled her first day on set as “nerve-wracking”, in a interview with the Daily Mail.

Her debut was made even more daunting by the presence of “the amazing” Stelfox, who played no-nonsense pensioner Edna Birch.

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“Everybody sort of warned me, they were like, ‘Just so you know, she’ll try and freak you out, she’ll try and scare you,'” explained Hollis. “So I dipped out into the little smoking quadrant, and there she was. I was so nervous to meet her.”

The star said that when she introduced herself to Stelfox, she received a surprising response.

“She was there with this beautiful mane of hair that you never saw on screen, just sat there and she just went, ‘Oh, is it you from that new, horrible effing family?’

“And I went, ‘Yeah I effing am! Do you know what I mean?’ And that was it. It sort of like bonded us for the whole time that I was there.”

Stelfox played Edna for 15 years on the soap before her tragic death in 2015. She passed away at the age of 74, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Her presence made a lasting impact on her co-stars including Hollis, who fondly recalled: “I absolutely adored Shirley. Obviously, she just did it to try and tease you and, you know, try and sort of freak you out a little bit.”

“But I absolutely loved Shirley. It’s so sad she’s not with us anymore, but I remember that happening on my first day.”