Hollyoaks' Gregory Finnegan teases new love for James: "It's someone we already know..."
"...and you won't see it coming…"
Hollyoaks' James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan) has been pulled back from the edge, literally, as Romeo Quinn (Owen Warner) stopped his father jumping from the village arch, overwhelmed by his grief for murdered boyfriend Harry Thompson.
As James continues to spiral he'll eventually find solace in the arms of a new man - and Finnegan says viewers will be shocked at the identity of his next unlikely lover.
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"I am filming with a new love interest as we speak," the actor tells RadioTimes.com as the audience reel from his alter ego's dramatic suicide bid on Friday 4th October's E4 showing. "James is going to get romantically involved with someone who currently resides in the village.
"It's an interesting one and I don't think anyone will see it coming, it's a bit out of leftfield. I'm looking forward to finding out what viewers make of it when it airs in a few months' time…"
While #Jarry fans try to comprehend the thought of one half of their favourite cursed couple moving on so quickly, and who on earth it might be with, Finnegan assures them serial killer Breda McQueen's most recent victim still occupies a special place in the lawyer's icy heart.
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"Losing Harry is definitely the lowest point James has ever been at," says the star, whose wife Ariana Fraval has joined the cast as DS Cohen, the officer investigating the murder. "This new love interest might be a rebound thing, it's early days and certainly takes him by surprise. They're not planning for a big future or anything, but then anything's possible!"
In the immediate aftermath of James trying to end it all, relations with his family will deteriorate further as he pushes them away, rejecting their concern. "Relationships will suffer," sighs Finnegan. "It will be hard to watch. James is completely dead inside and feels like he has no future, it's very bleak. For the foreseeable future it's over for him and the rest of the family."
Is James going to kill Breda in Hollyoaks Later?
Closure is coming as Breda's reign of terror reaches a climax in a special one-off edition of Hollyoaks Later in January 2020, which presumably exposes her catalogue of crimes accrued over the last year. While Finnegan implies he won't be heavily involved in the post-watershed special ("The script has been shrouded in mystery!") he reckons Mr Nightingale has a part to play in the chilling childminder's imminent downfall.
"I wouldn't have said this a year ago, but I think James is capable of killing Breda as revenge for Harry. I didn't think he had it in him before, but after losing Harry there is quite a change in who he is and he's treading different paths. The future becomes very dark and ugly for him.
"No one is suspecting Breda at the moment but from this point her behaviour becomes more erratic. She's certainly left a trail of breadcrumbs and accusations are going to start flying around."
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