Yahoo News Hollyoaks casts Ripper Street actor Benjamin O'Mahony as County Lines drug boss
Hollyoaks will soon introduce Ripper Street actor Benjamin O'Mahony as the man behind the County Lines drug trade.
O'Mahony is joining the cast of the Channel 4 soap this spring as the enigmatic Victor, who calls the shots for drugs dealer Jordan Price, played by Connor Calland.
Connor Calland has teased that, through the introduction of Victor, viewers will see "how the hierarchy works" in the County Lines drug trade and realise "why Jordan is the way he is".
"You'll see that he's not the nastiest person in the village anymore," Calland ominously hinted.
O'Mahony has revealed that landing the "brilliant" role of Victor has opened his eyes to a nation-wide problem that he wasn't previously aware of.
"My agent called one afternoon and said that Hollyoaks were interested in seeing me about a County lines storyline," he recalled. "If I'm honest I didn't really know what county lines were, but the part sounded too juicy to pass up.
"I got the call that I'd got the job a few days after auditioning and I was over the moon!"
The actor explained that Victor is "satisfying" to play because of the "complex" nature of his backstory, saying: "In my day-to-day life I'm not like Victor, so it's about finding ways to empathise with a man who does some rather awful things to some very vulnerable people."
He added: "Victor is (arguably) a sociopath, who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants – comfortable with manipulating and exploiting vulnerable children to build himself the empire he thinks he deserves.
"I would argue that Victor sees himself as an efficient businessman working within a violent industry, but there is also another side to him that is addicted to the power and loves to see the fear in people's eyes."
The County Lines drug trade story is set to take centre stage in an hour-long special on Tuesday, April 14.
Hollyoaks airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first-look episodes airing on E4 at 7pm. Wednesdays through Fridays on E4 will feature classic episodes called Hollyoaks Favourites to compensate for the soap suspending filming.
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