The 30th anniversary of Hollyoaks featured a shocking twist: James Nightingale (Greg Finnegan), who everyone believed died in a car explosion, was revealed to be alive.
He left the show around the same time it faced budget cuts, which meant the number of episodes each week went from five half-hour programs to just three, each lasting twenty minutes.
This resulted in many beloved local players having to depart, and unfortunately, James was among them.
The next week, a year after the events unfolded, Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) remained in a coma. When he finally woke up, he couldn’t accept that his husband was gone.
We even saw the rest of the Hay-Lomax clan paying tribute at James’s grave.
It turned out he hadn’t died after all, and he forced Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor-Dawson) to keep quiet about it. Peri Lomax (Ruby O’Donnell) saw them together, but sadly died in a plane crash before she could share what she knew.
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Ste was convinced he was seeing things after his son, Lucas, poisoned him. Luckily, James noticed Ste wasn’t feeling well and immediately called for help.
When Rex Gallagher showed up, Ste quickly left, but Rex first confessed his feelings for him.
I recently went back to see Ste after he’d gotten home, and James finally explained why he ran off. It turned out he thought he was falling for Rex, but knew nothing could come of it. Plus, he desperately needed my help with his son, Romeo – that kid’s always getting into trouble!
Ste was filled with anger and hurt, and he wondered if he could ever forgive James for all the pain he had caused.
Ste is initially stunned by James’s reappearance, but he also needs time to process everything that’s happened while James was away. He’s been busy raising his grandchild, navigating difficult relationships and abuse from Lucas, and coping with grief.
Working with Greg has been amazing. He’s such a generous and talented actor that it’s really made this experience feel special and renewed my passion.
Finnegan said the long-awaited moment has arrived: James and Ste, who have known each other for ten years, are finally going to meet again.
It was fantastic to be back on set with Kieron and the rest of the Hollyoaks cast. I’m really excited for viewers to see the upcoming episodes.
Hollyoaks is available to watch on catch-up on Channel 4 and airs Monday to Wednesday on E4.
Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at TopMob, providing the latest news and spoilers for popular shows like Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks. Before joining TopMob, he worked as a Soaps Reporter at Metro for two years and also gained experience working on the sets of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
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2026-01-07 17:34