You can’t think Hollyoaks without thinking LGBTQ+. Synonymous with years of representation, groundbreaking storylines and character journeys, as well as iconic ships that have had audiences over several generations in a tizzy, the Channel 4 soap is an ally and then some.
Now approaching its 30th anniversary, Hollyoaks boasts a history of fantastic gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and non-binary characters, all who have been at the centre of storylines both focusing on their gender identity and sexual orientation but, just as crucially, not.
As show stalwart Kieron Richardson said when we sat down for a chat on set recently, the characters ‘just are – they can be lead characters at the forefront of the show.
‘It’s not like, “We’re going to have a gay one, we’re going to have a lesbian in it or a trans person,” they were just lead characters. They had stories and their sexuality was just a part of them, it was never that this was a focal point of why they were in the show. I think we always led the way with that.’
And if anyone should know, it’s Kieron himself whose character Ste Hay has been central to some of the soap’s most blockbuster storylines of all time.
Drug addictions, murder mysteries, far-right grooming, explosive affairs – he’s done it all, and his love for the show that made him a household name shone through when we chatted.
Ste’s life is a bit of a car crash for the most part, sometimes even literally – at the start of this year, his world was upended once more when he accidentally hit and killed teenager Ella in a traffic collision.
Amplifying Kieron’s point that Hollyoaks’ LGBTQ+ characters are far more than box-ticking vehicles for certain topics, Ste’s marriages have also been chaotic, packed with drama and created online frenzies.
Perhaps most notably, the chemistry between Kieron, 38, and former co-star Emmet J Scanlan drove the iconic ‘Stendan’ relationship to a cult status it will never shake off.
Ste and Brendan were a couple far from your traditional boy meets boy – it was as messy and often toxic as any soap couple and it created an online buzz that was off the charts and pretty new for the time of the early 2010s, when social media shipping was just starting to take off.
Stendan set the foundation and tone for how soap shipping would very quickly progress over the years that would follow.
In my work in the TV drama industry over the last decade, it is something that I have found consistent – if a TV show gets an LGBTQ+ pairing right, then they are onto a winner.
Your Syed and Christians, Sophie and Sians and Robert and Aarons in EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale respectively are proof that the soap genre generates a massive amount of investment from fans – one soap star recently told me of a viewer who reached out to her after a devastating experience coming out to her family, and how watching the character on screen had helped her heal and validate her.
‘It’s something I would never take for granted,’ she insisted, her voice carrying real emotion.
Metro.co.uk’s very own Maisie Spackman penned a sensational piece for us, explaining how Coronation Street’s Nina and Asha pushed her to take the brave step of coming out to her loved ones.
And now Hollyoaks is having another wave of love from viewers invested in the love story of Lucas Hay and Dillon Ray, affectionately dubbed ‘HayRay’.
Just turned 20, Hollyoaks is the first TV credit of Oscar Curtis, who was plunged into the deep-end as a re-cast Lucas when a chilling conversion therapy story got underway.
With Lucas manipulated and abused in that scenario while struggling with his sexuality, things felt bleak for so long but Nathaniel Dass’ Dillon proved to be a ray of hope.
The couple are now in a strong place, with Oscar promising some happier, quieter times.
‘There is a happy ending – for now, definitely,’ he promised me when I couldn’t help digging for gossip.
‘We’re working on a little trip, a little hiatus for Lucas and Dillon, it’s much needed after all the drama and everything so we’re really just grafting towards that.
‘A nice little grace period! You need the contrast. You need the tranquility to go along with all the craziness.’
He and Nate have quickly become best mates, something which Oscar says helps when it comes to more intense scenes as they have a trust for one another.
Rather than being daunted by the fan excitement and support, Oscar is evidently honoured to be gifted with the role and the storylines, and his love for the fans is clear.
‘Filming with Nate has been easy because we get along so well. I think the chemistry shows on screen, so that’s nice.
‘It’s great to see such a good reaction from the fans. That’s probably the best thing and most rewarding part of the job, seeing people appreciate your work and enjoy the story that’s being told.
‘Especially with this being my first job, when you see what you put in. For a large majority of it, I was quite nervous because it was a whole new experience for me even when it comes to cameras and positioning everything about acting, so when you finally see it, it feels really good.’
As now being felt by the HayRay fandom, the thrill over genuine representation in exciting formats is palpable, particularly with an audience like Hollyoaks’, with a large proportion of younger viewers.
‘There is an enormous power that soaps have,’ actor Jeremy Sheffield mused during another of my conversations.
‘Young people can deal with plot lines which are on every day. I might know those storylines, I might know what it’s like to be a gay man, but for many people it’s new to them.
‘They’re not exposed to some of the things I was – I travelled round the world, I am very privileged to have experienced lots of things but it is new to a lot of people watching.
‘So for a programme to be able to do and show that every day on television, year in, year out, it’s very, very powerful. Much more powerful than I think I realised.’
Jeremy, 58, previously played vile Hollyoaks villain Patrick Blake until 2016 and, eight years on, has now returned – but as a different character.
Even sharing the first name, Jeremy told me of his (very infectious!) delight at being able to play a very different side – and one that, in many ways, is much more him.
From what he wears, to his mannerisms, the actor admitted that a lot of his new alter-ego was created with his own self in mind.
‘They did sort of base this on me, I think. Jeremy’s funny and laughing and running around, he’s completely different. It’s nice to be really physical, I’m moving around, jigging around, using his arms, folding my arms, I’ve got my hands in my pockets. Patrick didn’t do any of that!’
That’s not to say that there isn’t a darker edge to the story ahead – Jeremy warned me of some very sinister developments but we will address that another day! COs, you know, spoilers.
The freedom of being able to inject so much of himself into a character he plays made the comeback a bit of a no-brainer for the actor, who has come back over from Spain to take on the role.
In his earlier roles, it was quite the opposite, as the first openly gay man playing a straight role as a leading character in a UK TV show.
Jeremy was very much out but it wasn’t largely in the public domain when he was cast in Holby City.
He told me: ‘It dawned on us that it would become a lot of press and it was the moment for me doing something bigger and higher profile. I remember talking to my agent about it, who was very cool and easy with it. I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?
‘Because those questions were going to come up. I was playing a leading man kind of role, who was straight and had these different women.’
Jeremy opted to do an interview, but mention of it was so subtle in the piece that few people who read it actually picked up on the fact he is gay.
Laughing, he said: ‘The whole reason for the article really was to put it out there and not talk about it any more but no one got it. It was like “Oh shit, that didn’t work!”
‘So I then had to do the cover of Attitude!’
Considering the climate for gay actors entering the industry now, he continued: ‘I had to go through that, it wasn’t terrible but it was a lot of thought. Those firsts are done now – I think, I hope, that actors don’t have to worry so much. I’m hoping that young gay actors are much more comfortable.
‘I know in America they still have that fear. I spent a year there. I didn’t end up working very much. I did a couple of films over there but I didn’t really get to the point where I had to have those interviews and have those questions asked. I don’t know now what effect that has on people’s careers. I suspect it probably still does.
‘I hope not here in the UK. I hope casting directors and producers across the board in the UK have joined the 21st century and it’s not an issue, but you don’t know.’
It certainly seems to be the case for Hollyoaks, a show which proudly showcases its allyship with the LGBTQ+ community and which tackles both the positive and uplifting angles along with the more challenging issues.
Setting itself aside from many other shows, it was the first soap to cast a female transgender actress in a trans role and has also recently led the way with a powerful story focusing on the exploration of Ro’s gender identity as he came out as trans at the age of 12.
Happy Pride!
It’s Pride Month, and I loved every minute of talking to the cast at Hollyoaks, as part of Metro.co.uk’s loving, varied and vast coverage of all things LGBTQ+.
And, along with the many voices over the world we are endlessly proud to platform, Jeremy beautifully nailed the importance of Pride – and THAT feeling of being part of it.
‘I’m old so I have a long history of Pride,’ he spoke wistfully. ‘The first Pride you go to – I don’t know if it’s changed now – in my day, you come to terms with your sexuality yourself, then you come to terms with it hopefully well with your parents and your friends and your family.
‘But then Pride is that moment when you’re with thousands and thousands of gay people and friends and family of gay people, and it has some sense of acceptance that’s almost beyond your friends and family.
‘You’ve been through that hurdle but then you have this moment of acceptance and then celebration.. Normally when you’re going through the coming out process you’re not feeling celebratory, you’re feeling anxious, concerned, worried, fearful, then suddenly you have this moment of joy.
‘So for me, Pride’s always been a great moment of joy. A moment to mark that joint celebration of being free to be who you are.’
He added: ‘I nearly put a thing in to do a series of doing Prides all around the world.You know, really weird ones in strange places where it’s still difficult, which it is in many parts of the world, and it’s political and more profound.
‘Then the others, different cultures, just different ways people perceive gay life, homosexuality. I thought that would be a very interesting comparison to see how each country and each culture looks at their LGBTQ+ community.’
Get it pitched, that could be a winner!
It’s easy to fall into the trap of dubbing Hollyoaks as a fluffy, teen soap filled with sexy people – I have long fought to challenge that narrative.
For decades, it has led the discussion on some of the leading topics in the UK and the world, some that other shows in later timeslots haven’t dared even touch.
And the audience, with a skewed but not exclusively young demographic, is receptive to the approach and the stories that they are being presented.
It’s this that keeps actors like Kieron where he is, cut him and he would bleed Hollyoaks. And he has more to sink his teeth into as well, via a dalliance with dangerous newcomer Rex, played by former EastEnders star Jonny Labey.
Jonny, 31, has his own experiences of LGBTQ+ fandoms in soap, having played Paul Coker, the happy-go-lucky boyfriend of the comparatively gloomy and troubled Ben Mitchell.
The joyful nature of the character was a big win with viewers, and they hoped he might have a positive influence on Ben. He did – until their happy ending was snatched away and Paul was killed in a homophobic attack.
This was way back in 2016, but Jonny is still widely recognised for the part, and this is something he is more than happy with.
‘The storylines I did, even seeing it fromall those years ago doing EastEnders, were very much focused on that coming out story,’ he smiled during our relaxed chat on the set alongside Kieron. ‘It was a really proud moment and still something people mention to me and it still lives in people’s hearts and people were really touched by it.’
The three of us were sitting in conversation as the actors enjoyed some down-time.
With Hollyoaks commencing the filming of a stunt sequence ahead of a big change in September that will see a flash forward by a year, Kieron and Jonny have been exceptionally busy.
And, without giving too much away, I can reveal that that is very much with each other as married Ste finds himself in an exceptionally passionate situation with sinister Rex.
I can’t say a lot, but there are big twists to come there after those sparks fly!
‘I wouldn’t say sparks flying, I would say explosions, inferno,’ Jonny corrected me with a grin. ‘It basically goes straight into it and then there’s a twist just to add to the torment.
‘You’re left to question what Rex’s intentions are – you learn to hate him just that little bit more!’
But, as with the other characters we have talked about, there’s a much deeper side to Rex. Jonny told me more, explaining: ‘Rex has become this metaphorical onion. He has so many layers and they’re all this bitter taste at the moment.
‘It’s been really fun to play and he’s such a terrible character on the surface but we’re digging, we’re using JCBs to get down to the core of Rex. It’s a new character and sometimes those processes need to be established.
‘With a character as daring and careless as Rex, anything can happen. It’s really exciting!’
It seems like we should be braced for the beginnings of #SteRex. Or #Sex, depending on how you prefer to construct ship-names. From what I hear, it would be very apt given the spicy scenes ahead…
Kieron added that he hopes the dynamics can shift somewhat, with the conflict putting Ste on a more level footing than past pairings that have seen him victimised.
But whatever happens, he’s going to be at the thick of the action where he belongs. Kieron is extremely busy, and admits the only drawback is not having as much time to spend with his children Phoebe and Chase, who he shares with husband Carl Hyland.
‘There’s so much guilt from working and yesterday I had to miss sports day. It’s awful but you have to work so it’s like finding that balance.’
Beaming from ear to ear as he spoke about them, he expressed what every parent knows to be true – time is going too fast! And, as for seven-year-old Phoebe, she reckons she’s ready to follow in her dad’s footsteps, as they run scripts together.
Kieron took me through their adorable bonding activities: ‘I’m like, “You say this, then you’ve got to do a sad face then a scary face and a shocked face!”
‘She loves it and she wants to get into it now. I’m like, “Not yet, you’re still too young.”‘
If and when that time comes though, what better place to look than Hollyoaks? As it enters a new era and steamrolls to its 30th birthday, there’s a lot to be excited about.
With the climate of television changing, and viewer habits completely transformed, the soap genre is having to take a look at how it evolves and survives.
Spearheading a digital first model and going online before all others, including globally, Hollyoaks is once more thinking outside of the box.
For those in the LGBTQ+ community who are used to Hollyoaks taking braver and bolder steps, this is no real surprise.
And Kieron is a poignant representation of the journey Hollyoaks can take young, LGBTQ+ people on.
‘It’s just something growing up, before you say those words ‘I’m gay,’ it’s the scariest thing in the world,’ he reflected to me.
‘Especially growing up in the early 2000s, there just wasn’t much representation and it’s embedded in. You feel like: “I can’t tell anyone – and I’m definitely never going to be a dad.”
‘The fact to be in the year we’re in now, to have come out so loud – I’ve told millions of people and I don’t shut up about it now – and be a dad which I thought was something that was going to be unachievable.
‘If I can show that I’ve done that, imagine these kids that are watching the show nowadays, when they’re my age, the world could be hopefully a lot better than it is right now.’
