Hollyoaks boss Bryan Kirkwood has explained why he decided to give Nick Pickard his own special episode, hailing him as "the best actor in the show".
Tonight's E4 first-look episode focuses entirely on Nick's character Tony Hutchinson, as he struggles to come to terms with the revelation that his son Harry Thompson supposedly killed Amy Barnes.
The tense visit to Chester follows a day in the life of Tony as the pressure builds following Harry's confession, but father and son are both unaware that the real killer was someone else entirely.
Asked why Hollyoaks created this special episode for Tony, Bryan replied: "Because we love him! It's just such a fantastic gift to have the longest-serving cast member also be the best actor in the show.
"The heart of Hollyoaks is this brilliant actor, and this extraordinary character who's been through so much over so long.
"Murder also gets thrown around in soaps so often. We thought, 'Tony thinks his son killed a woman, so let's explore the reality, the detail, the minutiae of a good, moral man like Tony reacting to the worst news in the world'. His performance is extraordinary and so moving."
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As tonight's episode follows Tony around, fans can look forward to much longer scenes than usual and a previously-unseen outlook on the Hollyoaks village.
Nick added: "I was really honoured that I was asked to do this episode. It was a bit like Chinese whispers when I first heard that the boss had an idea for a special episode.
"The speculation went on for ages and we weren't sure what was going on. The rumours were spreading around the building!"
Hollyoaks fans can see the results for themselves at 7pm tonight on E4, when Amy Barnes's killer is also revealed in a special flashback scene.
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Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest Hollyoaks gossip, as Harry confesses to killing Amy and Glenn comes to Sienna's rescue.
