Yahoo News Hollyoaks' Gregory Finnegan explains how he "egged on" James Sutton to return
Hollyoaks star Gregory Finnegan has revealed that he was the one to 'egg on' his real-life pal James Sutton to return to the Channel 4 soap.
James is making a permanent return to his fan-favourite role of John Paul McQueen – and it appears that all the credit for putting the idea in James' head should go to James Nightingale actor Gregory.
"We're really good mates, we're writing partners, so I see him a lot anyway. We were having discussions about it in the early part of the year," Gregory explained to Bang Showbiz.
"He said, 'Do you think there would be any interest in that?' I egged him on to get in touch and he was like, 'Oh OK'.
"So I'm basically... 'You can thank me'. We're all really pleased."
However, despite pushing for his friend to consider returning, Gregory went on to say that he didn't actually share the idea with the soap's executive producer Bryan Kirkwood, saying that one was on Jame.
"I thought he could do that himself," Gregory added. "I'd keep out of it. I don't have that kind of sway. I'd love to say I did."
John Paul's return will see the character involved in a new issue-based storyline next year, as he'll play a key role in the next huge Hollyoaks plot, centring around the topical issue of County Lines drug dealing.
Related: Hollyoaks' Gregory Finnegan reveals why James Nightingale would shoot Mercedes McQueen
Meanwhile, Gregory is being kept pretty busy with a big storyline of his own, as James Nightingale is among the seven official suspects in the soap's big Who Shot Mercedes McQueen? storyline.
But speaking to the publication, Gregory added that he only found out he was involved in the storyline when he was called in to the do the suspects' photoshoot.
"I was like, 'What's all this?' They said, 'It's for the Who Shot Mercedes story', and I was like, 'Oh, great, OK. Am I part of that then?'" he recalled.
"I had a meeting with Bryan the next day and he spelled out what my involvement would be. We all got pulled in individually because he wanted to keep the circle tight, so it doesn't get revealed before it has to."
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7pm on E4.
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