Hollyoaks stars speak out as ‘dead’ James Nightingale returns and reunites with Ste

Hollyoaks stars Gregory Finnegan and Kieron Richardson have spoken out on James Nightingale’s shock reunion with husband Ste Hay after his return from the ‘dead’.

James, as viewers will recall, was controversially killed off ahead of the Channel 4 soap’s time-jump in 2024, going up in flames shortly after finding out that he did not have a brain tumour.

An unexpected twist followed one year later, with James making an unannounced comeback just shy of Hollyoaks’ 30th anniversary when Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) stumbled upon the supposedly deceased lawyer at a poker game, much to fans’ delight.

James made it quite clear that it was imperative that Darren keep shtum, reiterating that Ste must never know about him evading death.

But as is ever the case in soapland, secrets don’t stay hidden for too long and this week saw James stage his long-awaited return to the village, where he came face-to-face with Ste.

Ste, who was unknowingly poisoned by son Lucas (Oscar Curtis) at the time, believed that he was having hallucinations of his husband, who was forced to explain why he never revealed himself to be alive until now.

James said that, after surviving the explosion, he fled the village, believing Ste to be in love with Rex Gallagher (Jonny Labey), who he cheated on him with previously.

Discussing the big scenes, Gregory Finnegan said: ‘The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally upon us. James and Ste, two characters who have been circling each other for a decade are about to come face once more.

‘They’ve loved, they’ve hated, they’ve had joy and they’ve had plenty of sadness… so what does the future hold for them now that James is back on the scene?

‘I loved working on these scenes, back working with Kieron and my Hollyoaks family. I can’t wait for the fans to see what happens.’

Ste Hay star Kieron added: ‘On the return Keiron said: ‘Talk about timing for James’ return. It’s New Year, which normally means fresh starts but for these two we have to go back…

‘Ste has to get over the shock of James returning initially but then there is also everything that has happened during him not being there to unpack. He has been raising his grandchild, dealing with abuse from Lucas and complex relationships, while grieving.

‘It’s been great to work with Greg who is so great and giving as an actor that it’s felt special again.’