EXCLUSIVE: Hollyoaks’ Parry Glasspool On ‘Freeing’ Shirtless Scenes And Why He’d Hate Harry Thompson

No newcomer has shaken up Hollyoaks this last year more than Harry Thompson, played by Parry Glasspool, as he threw a major spanner in John Paul and Ste’s relationship.

It’s safe to Harry is a bit like Marmite—you either love him or you hate him. And as it turns out, actor Parry Glasspool, 23, is on the fence about his own alter-ego, too.

Despite finding his character ‘annoying’, however, Parry has been convincing enough as Harry to earn a nomination for Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards next week. He’s the youngest star in his category, which also boasts Richard Blackwood, Shayne Ward and Gemma Atkinson.

We got Parry on the phone for his reaction to the nod and to talk all about ‘Starry’.

Congratulations on the Best Newcomer nomination! How did you react when you heard?

I was really surprised. I remember coming into the press room at Hollyoaks and they were like, ‘Congratulations on being nominated’ and I was like, ‘For what?’ I didn’t really know what it was at first!

I came in with a bunch of newcomers, like the Lovedays and Nadine [Mulkerrin] who plays Cleo, so this nomination is for all of us.

All my excitement is usually internal. It’s great to be nominated. I can’t wait to be in a room with actors like David Tennant!

Why do you think Harry’s been a hit with viewers?

When he first came in he was a bit of a cheeky chappie. He and Cleo had a thing and then John Paul [James Sutton] was like, ‘OK, what’s really going on here?’ As it’s been going on, Harry’s turned into a little tyke! If I was watching it, Harry would really annoy me right now.

I’ve heard from a few young lads how Harry’s storyline has helped them with their sexuality and their struggles, so that’s a good thing.

How have you settled into Hollyoaks?

I’ve settled down now but it’s still a bit surreal, thinking I’m doing my dream job every day. You catch yourself moaning about long hours and stuff and it’s like, ‘No, you’re doing exactly what you want to do.’ I’m loving it.

What do you make of your Best Newcomer competition, Richard, Gemma and Shayne?

Sometimes when we’re sitting in the green room, Corrie comes on and ever since Shayne came on, as he’s my competition, I’ve been keeping an eagle eye on him!

It’s surreal, because I remember watching him on X Factor when I was in school. That’s strange to think about, being in the same category as Shayne Ward.

How will you celebrate if you do win the NTA?

I’d get completely drunk! [Laughs] I’m not sure, I haven’t planned to win, it’d be a bit of a shock if I did, I think I’m a bit of a wildcard.

Harry has been a splinter between Hollyoaks’ favourites John Paul and Ste [Kieron Richardson]. What has the reaction been like?

It’s kind of torn the viewers in half because you’ve got all the people for McHay, which is John Paul and Ste, and then you’ve got the Starry fans for me and Ste.

People have got behind Ste and John Paul, they got married, they set it all up, and suddenly it’s been dashed and there’s a bit of an age gap—people don’t take to that at all, they say, ‘Why would Harry want to be with Ste, he’s a trainwreck?’ and ‘Why would Ste want to be with Harry other than lust?’

It’s torn viewers 50/50.

Have you had any nasty comments from viewers?

It’s usually just people telling me how annoying Harry’s been recently and how much they want the Gloved Hand Killer to kill him … that’s lovely to hear! But there’s also nice stuff.

Hollyoaks has always been praised for the way it tackles gay relationships, going back to John Paul and Craig Dean. Why do you think that is?

They’re not the same kind of relationships. People like to stereotype gay men as promiscuous and everyone’s sleeping around—in the soap world, everyone does that anyway—but you’ve got characters like John Paul, I wouldn’t say he’s promiscuous, and you’ve got Ste, who’s a bit scally; you have a nice contrast between them and it’s realistic and nice.

And then you’ve got Harry and Ste, where it’s all about lust and their excitement. It’s nice to not have all the relationships the same and fall into stereotypes.

Harry is a bit of a young, popular schoolboy jock, there are lots of kids like that in school that you’ll find out in years to come they do come out and they’re using it as a bit of a veil, and they don’t know themselves.

Harry’s dad is Hollyoaks legend Tony Hutchinson, played by Nick Pickard. What was your reaction when you heard you’d be working with him?

It was a bit mad. I didn’t really watch Hollyoaks when I was younger, I was more of an EastEnders man. But I did watch Hollyoaks when I was in uni and he was the face of it, along with Kieron [Richardson] and Emmett [Scanlan]. I remember them the most.

When I looked up who my character was, I was like, ‘I definitely know his face, I’ve definitely seen him, I’ve seen him for years now.’

He’s such a pro, he comes in, does his job, has fun and he knows exactly what he’s doing.

When I see him getting really serious, being friends with him, there’s something about it you just can’t take seriously, so I’ll just be staring at Nick and start cracking up. I don’t know what it is.

Hollyoaks often requires some shirtless scenes from its male cast members. Do you still feel nervous about them? How do you prepare?

My family are all sports people so I’ve kind of kept myself at a certain degree of looking OK. My mum would never let me get past a certain point—she’d always let me know.

When I first did a topless scene, I did a week of eating really clean and not drinking, making sure I look great. But then as you go on, you fall into a bit more and it’s easier, you realise you don’t look too bad and you can eat what you want.

Now I’m completely comfortable doing those scenes. It gets freeing after a while, not having clothes on.

Parry Glasspool is nominated for Best Newcomer at the NTAs. To vote visit nationaltvawards.com/vote.

For more EXCLUSIVE NTAs content click here.