Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks star James Sutton has broken his silence regarding his impending exit as John Paul McQueen. After seven years of his latest stint on the soap, the actor said he had “done everything” with the character.
It was reported in September that Sutton, who first appeared on the Channel 4 soap in 2006, would be leaving the series for the third time this year, though the exact nature of his exit storyline is yet to be disclosed.
During an appearance on 5’s Jeremy Vine, Sutton addressed his departure for the first time as he spoke to stand-in host Susan Calman, with the actor explaining his various reasons for leaving the soap again.
“I felt like I’ve kind of done everything that I could do with the character. I’ve had a lot of heavy lifting over the years,” he said (via The Mirror). “They just really like making me cry, I think. My character’s been through a lot of really quite difficult things.
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“I just felt like we exhausted everything that we could do with the character and kind of ran out of steam. And I thought, better to leave now than then, just to kind of fade into the background.”
While Sutton has left for the third time, the actor explained that departing hadn’t become any easier over the years, with the bonds that are forged behind the scenes being some of the star’s favourite experiences.
“It’s like any job in any industry if you’re there for a long enough time,” he said. “The people that you work with and see every day, that you have banter and a laugh with – that’s the real thing I’m going to miss.”
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While the details of John Paul’s exit storyline are yet to be disclosed, the character will see painful memories come back soon, with an innocuous encounter with a police officer causing him to remember his abusive relationship with George Kiss.
In upcoming scenes, John Paul will be working at the school as he calls the police regarding an incident with Ant Hutchinson. Officer Smithy arrives on the scene, but John Paul is shaken and reveals his distress to a support group later on.
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
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For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast from Inside Soap magazine. This week’s episode features a chat with Coronation Street star Jacob Roberts, who plays Kit Green.