Melissa Walton

Melissa Wells (formerly Walton; ) is a British actress best known for playing Loretta Jones in Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.

Early life Walton studied at Bablake School in Coundon, Coventry, then took a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts at Stratford-upon-Avon College, which she passed with three distinctions. As an amateur actress, Walton appeared in pantomime at Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, was a member of the Coventry youth group YOG and attended Three Spires Dance School. Allan said Walton had impressed her with her performance in Hollyoaks Later. Speaking of her research Walton stated: "I loved it. It's really good exercise. It's really good for toning. They didn't ask me to, but I did... I went and I had pole dancing classes. I had a pole put up in my living room."

Walton had initially signed on for a three-month stint. In 2009 Allan decided to renew her contract and keep her with the series until 2010. It was soon revealed that Marquess planned to give Hollyoaks a "shake up", changing the productions team and beginning a cast cull by axing three established characters. Stephanie Waring (who plays Cindy Hutchinson) then revealed that all remaining cast members feared their character would be axed. One month later, Marquess announced his plans to axe a further 11 characters, including Loretta at the end of Walton's contract. Walton departed alongside co-star Kevin Sacre, who played her on-screen love interest Jake Dean. but later said she was looking forward to pursuing other projects. Walton also confirmed that she was happy the door was left open for a potential return, stating she would consider reprising her role as Loretta in the future.