Silas is dead! Hollyoaks star Jeff Rawle reacts to shock exit

Bobby pushed him onto the electrified chess board his wicked relative had set up to murder the McQueens, ending his grandfather’s reign of terror. In a creepy post-credits scene, young Bobby then took Silas’s trademark peak cap and kill list, hinting he could carry on where his gruesome granddad left off as the village villain!

RadioTimes.com spoke exclusively to Silas actor Rawle about saying goodbye to his evil alter ego, who he first played in 2010, and whether this is really the end of sinister Silas…

When did you find out Silas would be killed off?

"I only discovered that during the talks around coming back for this stint, but the storyline sounded good and I think it’s the right time to pull him."

Are you sad this is the end?

"Is it ever the end of anybody in a soap? Harold Bishop returned from the dead! Part of me wonders if there is a larger game plan, there is something fascinating about that.

"People can’t accept death sometimes. When Hitler died, the conspiracy theories were rife as no one could believe it. Interestingly, the CIA apparently kept looking for him for 10 years after he seemingly burnt in a funeral pyre outside his bunker."

Could Silas survive being electrocuted?

"I had worked out a fatal flaw in the logic of Silas’s plan which could be manipulated. So, if you wanted to, you could possibly keep him alive… Is there something him and Bobby might’ve secretly cooked between them? Perhaps Silas was wearing a special protective suit under his clothes, even though it looks like he had 2,000 vaults put through him!"

What were your highlights of playing Silas?

"I had some great times. The pursuit of Lynsey the nurse, I loved [that] she came back as a ghost to haunt him. Karen Hassan, who played her, recently asked me to record a message for her friend’s Harry Potter party as I played Amos Diggory in The Goblet of Fire!"

Who did you enjoy working with the most?

"Karen was great, Jorgie Porter (Theresa) is wonderful and bubbly, Jess Fox (Nancy), Miles Higson (Seth)… lots of people. I’ve watched Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes) grow, she is so natural and always pulls it out the bag, especially under pressure.

"There was a scene this week where she had to plead with Bobby, it was fascinating to watch her do it and I thought she was just fabulous. She still loves the job. Where else can you go to work every day at this kind of pitch?"

Why do you think Silas was such a popular character?

"He had a macabre glee associated with everything he did, he wasn’t conflicted as some baddies are, and thought he was doing awful things for the greater good... Which is slightly unnerving when you think about it!"

Hollyoaks is available to stream on All 4 and airs every weeknight at 6:30pm on Channel 4 and 7pm on E4. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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