James Redmond
“It’s been great working with all my old mates!”
Rory ‘Finn’ Finnigan makes an unexpected return to Hollyoaks village this week – and this time it looks as if he’s moving back for good, as he sets his sights on building a new business venture. Meanwhile, actor James Redmond – who first starred in the soap way back in 1997 – feels like it’s been a grand homecoming as well…
“Out of all the characters I’ve played during my career, Finn is the closest to me in real life,” he shares. “So it’s nice to be back. I’m quite a loyal person, and Hollyoaks was my first-ever TV job 20 years ago. I’m very proud to have started here – I hadn’t done any acting at all when I got the role of Finn. Also, my dad’s from Liverpool, so I have family not far. And I’m a Liverpool Football Club fan, so I’m here a lot anyway!”
Finn arrives back buoyed by the news that his best mate Tony is opening a new restaurant in the village. But his hopes are crushed after he learns Tony has chosen Darren and Luke as business partners.
“It’s been great working with all my old mates,” explains 46-year-old James. “It’s more interesting to play when you have history there. Finn and Luke have history, as have Finn and Tony, and there’s also Darren, Cindy… If you’ve worked with someone before, you find your way in much quicker. I didn’t get to work with Gary Lucy [Luke] when I popped back in 2015 – blimey, I don’t think we’ve worked together since 2001. So things like that are lovely. Gary Lucy is exactly 10 years and two days younger than me, you know!”
While it’s all smiles on screen, however, could there be a feud brewing between Finn and Tony? Jealous Finn sets up his own catering business with Cindy, whom he hit it off with on his most recent visit. James can’t reveal too much about what’s in store, but he does reckon fans will see a different side of the character this time.
“I think Finn has changed,” says the star. “He was originally Jack the Lad, never fazed by anything and always in control. He’s the classic guy who thinks women are his strength when really they are his weakness. But I think he’s wiser and more self-aware now. While I still get to do quite a bit of comedy playing Finn, I also get to play scenes with emotional depth, too.”
After his original stint on Hollyoaks, James spent five years starring in Casualty as John ‘Abs’ Denham. And in the years since, he’s added a couple of new strings to his bow away from TV.
“I have a few properties, which are very handy as an actor when you don’t have a regular income!” he reveals. “I do standup comedy as well. I’m away three nights a week doing gigs around the country.”
In recent years we’ve seen James pop up in Emmerdale and Coronation Street – so can he just not stay away from soap?
“Maybe it’s just easier for my agent to get me into a soap,” he muses. “Some actors don’t want to do them – they pretend they hate them and then years later moan that they always wanted to do Corrie or whatever. I take the roles I get, though!”
In between his other TV roles, James has made a few returns to Hollyoaks – his favourite stint being the Hollyoaks
Later series in 2013, which co-starred Eastenders’ Danny Dyer. “It was great, but they put it on E4 at 10.30 at night, so no one watched it!” he sighs. However, many younger fans are being introduced to him for the first time, which has caused a bit of a mix-up…
“One of the Hollyoaks fan pages put my pic up and people thought I was playing Finn
O’connor [Diane’s stepson who was jailed for raping
John Paul Mcqueen],” laughs
James. “He’s about 18, and people thought they’d recast the character with me. They were a bit surprised!”
Inow get t op lay scenes with emotional depth ,too