Gregory is now looking to the future post James (Picture: Shutterstock/Lime Pictures)
I am far from being the only one whose jaw dropped and heart broke at the news that Hollyoaks had axed one of my all-time favourites James Nightingale.
There has been widespread fury among viewers both at the decision itself but also towards the cruel manner it was executed. James was brutally killed off in a car explosion by a character he had little to do with, just moments before a jump of a year, which has sparked fears that the aftermath may be blink-and-miss.
Having prominently starred in the show for an eventful nine years, it also came as a blow to Gregory Finnegan, who told Metro.co.uk that he was ‘hurt’ and what followed was a real process of ‘grief’.
But while he described to me a massive upheaval, things are looking very different and hopeful, with an already popular book charting his life and career and an open mind to future roles which will surely come knocking for the chap who won one of only two Best Actor British Soap Awards prizes for Hollyoaks.
And, you’ll be happy to know he is far from ruling out another foray into the world of soap.
Here, Gregory discusses his disappointment at James being killed off, the array of stories he has to tell in The World According To Grog, the friends he has made for life and a message to you, the fans.
How’s life for you at the moment?
I’m OK. It’s been a huge upheaval, to be honest and it takes a while to come to terms with it, obviously. It’s not something that was just overnight, that you get over straight away. The show’s been such a huge part of my life for so long.
It’s been a complicated process under the backdrop of so many people losing their jobs, so it was a kind of group thing. The whole company has gone through a period of trauma, really.
So it’s quite nice, to be honest, I feel like now I’ve come out the other side. I feel quite good about it, I feel very at peace with the whole thing, which is nice. But I wasn’t initially, definitely not. It has been a real process.
We feel you, James! (Picture: Lime Pictures)
In the book I talk about going through the five stages of Hollyoaks grief and all of those things – anger, denial – I get into how my mindset was at those junctures. That’s exactly what it felt like, a grief thing, then finally coming out the other side and you can see a bit more objectively and with a bit of context and enjoy it for what it was rather than what more you could have given.
I definitely felt like I had more to give, it was a shock, there’s no doubt about that.
Are you prepared for the reaction it’s going to get?
I don’t know, is the honest answer. It might be …read more
Source:: Metro
