Hollyoaks legend exits after 9 years in shocking ending as beloved actor admits ‘it hurts’
Hollyoaks legend Gregory Finnegan has left the soap after nine years, Metro.co.uk can exclusively reveal, with fan favourite James Nightingale killed off ahead of the show’s time-jump.
The actor, who made his debut as the suave and often villainous lawyer in 2016, has today released his memoir, The World According to Grog, following his final episode’s airing, and in it, he details many of his experiences on the show.
And, speaking recently to Metro.co.uk, he told me that he felt that James still had much more to offer as a character to the show.
However, Hollyoaks bosses made the decision to chop him as part of a brutal cull of around 20 cast members when Channel 4 ordered significant workforce cuts.
The show’s output has been slashed to three episodes in a new digital led model and upcoming episodes will see storylines fast-forwarded by a whole year.
However, having been blown up in a car alongside Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson), James will not be among the characters we are revisiting 12 months on.
‘It’s been a huge upheaval, to be honest and it takes a while to come to terms with it, obviously,’ the popular actor told me. ‘It’s not something that was just overnight, that you get over straight away. The show’s been such a huge part of my life for so long.
‘It’s been a complicated process under the backdrop of so many people losing their jobs, so it was a kind of group thing. The whole company has gone through a period of trauma, really.
‘I feel like now I’ve come out the other side. I feel quite good about it, I feel very at peace with the whole thing, which is nice. But I wasn’t initially, definitely not. It has been a real process.’
Describing the show as a ‘juggernaut’, Gregory readily admits that not all of his time on the show was good, describing years of ‘ups and downs’, but he is full of love for the people he worked with, many who are now friends for life.
‘In the book I talk about going through the five stages of Hollyoaks grief and all of those things – anger, denial – I get into how my mindset was at those junctures. I definitely felt like I had more to give, it was a shock, there’s no doubt about that.
‘I certainly didn’t want to be killed off. I went into a meeting where lots of people had lost their jobs. There were certainly some high-profile casualties and I think I was probably one of those. It was just really sad because the Nightingale family was completely decimated and I was the last man standing.
‘I wasn’t surprised. I could see what they were going for. To an extent they want a high-profile casualty that hooks people into coming back for their three episode offering. I’m a realist and I understand in this case I was the sacrificial lamb for that.
‘It hurts, it’s sad. I wish there was an avenue back, but I do say this in the book – this is soap. We haven’t filmed any scenes where you saw a dead body, so you never know.’
As well as enduring love for James, the show and those he worked with, it’s the fans that Gregory has just as much adoration for, and he hopes they will be able to discover new sides to him through The World According To Grog.
And, he was keen to deliver a final message to those who have supported him throughout his journey.
‘Thank you for everything,’ he said with affection. ‘The fans made James Nightingale what he was. Your support from day one was off the chart and I’ll always be so grateful for it.
‘It really made a difference and I’ll miss being asked about him and I’ll miss everything to do with James Nightingale. He’s one of a kind.’
