Hollie-Jay Bowes swaps Hollyoaks for music

Hollyoaks star Hollie Jaye Bowes has revealed that she is launching a music career following her departure from the soap.

The 21-year-old - whose final scenes as Michaela McQueen will be seen on screen this month - has revealed she is already in a band.

I'm in a band called Jeanie In The Radiator and we're doing really well at the minute" she said.

"We are really new, we only formed in November, and we've got quite a strong fan base in Manchester. We start gigging in October. I'm concentrating on that at the moment."

And she added that despite only recently joining the group, she has in fact been writing her own music for years.

"I've been singing since I was really young. I've always played around with making music and writing it since I was 12, always wanted to do it," she admitted.

"Now I've found a band who are as serious about it as I am and make it fun, it's perfect."

Hollie-Jay is also featured on the single Pretty Boy by the band Redtrack, who she mentored on the Hollyoaks music show in 2009. The track is released later this month.