It was the twist nobody saw coming – during Hollyoaks' 30th Anniversary celebrations last year, James Nightingale (Greg Finnegan) was shown to be very much alive despite dying in a car explosion.
His initial exit coincided with the Channel 4 soap's cost-cutting measures, with five, 30-minute episodes per week reduced to just three, 20-minute episodes.
That meant that swathes of village favourites had to leave, and James was unfortunately one of those casualties.
The following week, as the drama sky-rocketed one year into the future, his husband Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) was still in a coma after the incident and after waking, refused to believe that his beloved had perished.
We even saw the rest of the Hay-Lomax clan paying tribute at James's grave.
However, it later transpired that he had seemingly survived, and blackmailed Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor-Dawson) into not saying anything. Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) spotted them together, though died in a plane crash before she could reveal all.
In today's episode, Ste initially thought he was hallucinating his hubby after being poisoned by twisted son Lucas (Oscar Curtis). James quickly realised that Ste was unwell, and called an ambulance.
However, when Rex Gallagher (Jonny Labey) arrived, he fled the scene – but not before telling Ste how much he loves him.
Later, with Ste recovering at home, James paid him another visit and explained that the reason he fled the village was because he believed he was in love with Rex, and that they had no future together. His fugitive son Romeo (Owen Warner) was also in need of help.
Overwhelmed with anger and emotion, Ste pondered whether he could ever forgive James for putting him through so much turmoil.
Speaking of the upcoming story, Richardson teased: ‘Talk about timing for James’s return. It’s New Year, which normally means fresh starts but for these two we have to go back…
“Ste has to get over the shock of James returning initially but then there is also everything that has happened during him not being there to unpack. He has been raising his grandchild, dealing with abuse from Lucas and complex relationships, while grieving.
“It’s been great to work with Greg who is so great and giving as an actor that it’s felt special again.”
Finnegan added: “The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally upon us. James and Ste, two characters who have been circling each other for a decade are about to come face-to-face once more.
“They’ve loved, they’ve hated, they’ve had joy and they’ve had plenty of sadness… so what does the future hold for them now that James is back on the scene?
“I loved working on these scenes, back working with Kieron and my Hollyoaks family. I can’t wait for the fans to see what happens.”
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Hollyoaks and Brookside to crossover again as three legendary characters arrive in the villageHollyoaks is available to watch on catch-up on Channel 4 and airs Monday to Wednesday on E4.
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