Former Hollyoaks star Abi Phillips announces engagement

"The most perfect proposal at sunset at the edge of the lake."

Former Hollyoaks star Abi Phillips has announced that she is engaged to her partner, Gav Gilly.

The former actress played Liberty Savage on the Channel 4 soap between 2010 and 2013 before embarking on a career in the music industry.

In a post on Instagram, Phillips took a snap alongside her fiancé in which she showcased the rock on her finger in front of Lake Garda, writing: “So this happened last night! 🥹

“The most magical week in Lake Garda, with my favourite person in the world @gavgilly ended with us getting engaged, the most perfect proposal at sunset at the edge of the lake” she continued.

“The last 11 years together have been the best of my life and I’m so looking forward to forever together, thank you for making this trip the most incredible week, it will forever hold a place in my heart, I love you so much!”

The news comes just over a year after Abi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, with the singer recalling her feelings after hearing the news.

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“I'm going out of my mind. They basically sent me down to have a lot of blood tests, I think they took about 10 bottles of blood from me. They were pretty certain it was thyroid cancer,” she recalled.

“I wasn't sobbing but my eyes were just leaking everywhere. It just was just really bizarre. I couldn't really think, I was just devastated. I couldn't actually believe it,” she continued. “It is scary and no, you don't want to hear that [C] word, but it's better to hear it and be able to do something about it, rather than to hear it later and it'd be too late.”

Liberty Savage was recast following Phillips’ departure in 2013, with Jessamy Stoddart taking over the role in 2018.

Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4, with new episodes dropping each weekday morning. The show airs Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, and at 7pm on E4.