Hollyoaks spoilers follow from Monday's episode (September 16).
Hollyoaks star Gregory Finnegan has spoken to Digital Spy about his shocking exit from the Channel 4 soap.
The actor's character James Nightingale was officially killed off in Monday's episode, which confirmed that he'd lost his life in the car bomb explosion.
With Hollyoaks now set 12 months in the future, Tony Hutchinson was seen paying a visit to the local graveyard to lay flowers on James' final resting place one year on from the tragedy.
In real life, Gregory was a casualty of the recent cutbacks at Hollyoaks, which has seen a major reduction in cast and crew as part of the shift from five to three weekly episodes.
Since finishing filming, Gregory has been working on the release of his first ever book The World According to Grog, which covers his time on Hollyoaks and wider acting career.
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Gregory recently caught up with Digital Spy for an in-depth and refreshingly candid chat about his departure.
How are you feeling now that your time on Hollyoaks has come to an end?
"Really sad is the overriding emotion. In the book, I talk about it being like a grief process, although I've gotten over it now. It was a shock to begin with. Then I was upset, angry and sad.
"But now I feel that I gave so much to the show – and James did as well. Now I feel proud of the journey I went on and the work that I did. It's going to be sad to leave James in the past, but I didn't have any choice!"
How did you feel about the exit storyline?
"Filming any exit was always going to be a tricky day to navigate. I think it's quite good when it's taken out of your hands. When you're leaving, you don't want to die – but if you die, in theory there's no going back.
"But I definitely didn't shoot anything where you could see me dead, and this is soap after all! So if Hollyoaks manages to continue for a few years, who knows?
"To be honest, I think James is collateral damage in the whole Ste/Rex plot. They've also used James' death as a device to keep the audience hanging and coming back to see the one-year time jump. That was the hook – who dies?
"It's an interesting way to go out. It'll be explosive, but it's a bit of a damp squib for any James Nightingale fan. It's not an exit to savour."
We haven't seen much of James this year. Were the producers preparing us for his departure?
"I honestly don't know, but it must be pretty obvious that [executive producer] Hannah Cheers doesn't love James much! I don't say that with any bitterness – I think it must be a fact really, because she's decided to kill me off and I've not been busy at all since she took over.
"I like Hannah and I think she'll do a really good job. I wish her all the best, but it does appear that her and her team weren't fans. I guess that's life."
How do you think the fans will react to your departure?
"I think people had started to cotton onto the fact that I was leaving, although I tried to not further that narrative for a long time because I wanted to keep everyone guessing.
"But if you're a fan of James Nightingale, I think there hasn't been a lot to enjoy or savour over the last year or so, to be honest. I think the fans possibly won't be too happy with it. I wasn't, so I imagine they won't be either."
How was it when Hollyoaks announced the job cuts at the end of February?
"I was at home and I got tipped off by somebody that a big meeting was going on. James Sutton [who plays John Paul McQueen] dialled me into the announcement, so I listened to that with everyone else. It was a complete shock and very sad. It's people's careers and a lot of people had been there for life.
"I'd done nine years on the show, but there were people who lost their jobs who'd been there for 30 years. It was a tremendously painful time to go through.
"I think anybody who's gone through a redundancy at their business or workplace can understand that. It's like a slow death, really. We just didn't have any information – and to be honest with you, we never got any information.
"I had two very short meetings – one where I was told that I was surplus to requirements, the other just to tell me that they were blowing me up. That was it. A lot of us were in the dark for a long time – and a lot of us still are."
Had you been worried the year before when Hollyoaks was taken off the main channel?
"We didn't really understand that either. We're all up for making bold moves and strategic decisions, but it seemed like an odd one to us. But I guess they've got all the figures so if it made sense to them, that's fine.
"The soap and continuing drama world is in a challenging place, there's no doubt about that. It's going to be hard to retain audiences and keep them engaged.
"I guess all we can do is hope that this new format for Hollyoaks is a great success. I certainly hope that it is. I don't have any sour grapes towards the show – it gave me a lot and I dearly hope that it goes strong for another 10 years or more."
James was such a fan favourite. Were you shocked to be part of the cuts?
"There were some people affected that got very angry, very quick! There were lots of tears. But as soon as the cuts were announced, I had a feeling.
"I hadn't been busy on the show. I didn't get any great sense that they had a storyline for me. There had been a potential storyline of a grandfather coming in, but the actor unfortunately passed on the role. I think that might have affected what happened.
"I was out of storyline and I had no family left on the show, so I had a funny feeling. I went into the meeting and could tell instantly what was about to happen.
"I had a strange moment of clarity, where I was able to come to peace with it in my mind. I went into the meeting thinking it was 50/50. I'm naturally a cautious and cynical person, so part of me did think this could be the writing on the wall here, and that's how it proved.
"Steph Waring's departure was a shock as well. There were some big shocks. But I guess that is going to happen – if it's your name and your time, it is what it is."
Would you have stayed on the show for years longer?
"I had no thought or intention of leaving. I don't know why particularly, and they meant it as a compliment, but a lot of people who came into the show would often say to me that I could go off and do this or that.
"But honestly, I loved turning up for work every day with that crew and I loved the character of James. Until the latter stages, I got to play comedy and tragedy. I was front and centre and that felt pretty good. I was very happy.
"With that continuity of working with a lot of the same creatives, you get a short-hand with how you work together.
"I really enjoyed the discipline of working on a soap. I would 100% work on another one because I like the genre, I like the storytelling and I think I'm suited to those long days filming. I'm very committed and I enjoy getting lots of variety. It's very sad that I'm not going to be able to do it for a while."
Did your new book come as a consequence of this difficult period at Hollyoaks?
"I'd written probably 90% of it already. I started about two years ago. I just started to write funny stories initially – auditions that I managed to mess up, all that side of stuff.
"I didn't really have an ending to the book, but leaving Hollyoaks was definitely the end of a chapter of my life. I thought it'd be nice to sign off with that.
"There are definitely some issues within that building. I don't get into it too heavily, but I do talk about the things that aren't so great."
You teased on Instagram that you'll share what you really thought of your colleagues in the book. Should anyone be worried?
"People got very worried and I said: 'It's possible that I really like you guys!' (Laughs.) I loved so many of the people in that building. I say in the book that I didn't like everyone – and I do go into some of the behaviour that wasn't so great, so there's definitely a bit of that.
"But for the most part, I loved my cast-mates and I've got so much respect for the work that they do."
Owen Warner (who played Romeo) joked on Instagram that he'll get a full chapter dedicated to him. Can you confirm or deny?
"Well I'm going to have to write it now, I don't want to let Owen down! (Laughs.) He's a great kid. I hit the jackpot when they cast him as my on-screen son. He comes across on screen like a lovely bloke and he absolutely is in real life too. He gets a mention, but he'll have to wait for the second book for his chapter!"
Could Hollyoaks have handled the cutbacks better?
"I definitely think it could have been done differently. I do appreciate that it's a hard thing to do – losing half of the staff and changing the way that they make the show. I don't know too much about how the show is going to be put together, but I gather that the storytelling is going to change quite markedly.
"Personally, my exit wasn't dealt with terribly well. I wasn't even told what my last scene was. I was initially told that they had a new scene they were writing. So on what turned out to be the last thing I ever shot on the show, I didn't know it was my last scene. I didn't say goodbye to anyone.
"I know the guys who were staying were as sad as anyone else. You may have secured your job, but it doesn't mean that you're happy with the way it's all gone down. It's been really hard.
"It was a sad, depressing way to leave after nine years, but what can you do? That's life and you just have to move on."
Did you have a favourite on-screen relationship for James? His romantic matches were always hotly debated…
"I loved working with Kieron [Richardson, who plays Ste]. He is completely the opposite to me. If we met in real life, we're not natural bed-fellows in that kind of way. But we really got on well and I hope we did some good work together. I've got a lot of time for him.
"Parry [Glasspool, who played Harry], we got on famously. I had a great time with him. Adam Rickitt [who played Kyle Kelly] was also a lovely chap. So I have been very, very lucky.
"And obviously James Sutton – he started it all off and he's one of my best mates. We're writing a new thriller together at the moment. He's god-father to my son Ezra, so he'll be a friend for life, I hope. It's nice to have gained a very close pal."
Did you have a favourite storyline?
"I talk about David Easter [who played Mac Nightingale] in the book… I think a couple of years ago he spoke about some of the issues that he's faced. Good for him, honestly.
"He could be quite challenging but he certainly plays a good baddie, you can't deny that! I'm really proud of the work that we did on the abuse storyline. I look back with a lot of pride on that."
Did you have a least favourite storyline?
"It was one that was pitched and it sounded good at first! We were going to follow James for a few months when he was homeless on the streets and really get into that. But then they told me that although James was going to be on the street, it was all off screen!
"I was like: 'Brilliant, thanks so much!' I was off screen for four months because apparently they'd blown the budget on taking the McQueens to Spain again or something.
"I ended up in a situation where I was off screen so I was getting no money, was completely skint and then I had to come back for one episode with James as 'The King of the Homeless'. I must say, the make-up department did a fantastic job but it was patently ridiculous. That was pretty absurd, really! (Laughs.)"
Are you already auditioning for new roles or focusing on the book?
"I've been focusing on the book for now. What has been lovely is that getting fired has given me a summer with the kids. That has been absolutely great, so I've been determined to enjoy the time and not panic too much, but the reality is that I need a job just like everyone else.
"I know the industry has had a challenging few years, but apparently everyone is very positive about 2025 and its prospects, so I hope that it brings some new challenges and many new parts.
"I've been playing James for nine years, so the thought of playing a new part is exciting."
Do you have a final message for Hollyoaks fans?
"An enormous thank you. The fans really made James who he was. They got behind him from very early on and loved his devilish side.
"It's been an absolute ride and I can't thank them enough. Hopefully they'll see me pitch up somewhere else and watch that! But it's been brilliant."
The World According to Grog is out now via physical copy and Kindle.
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.
