Exclusive: Hollyoaks star explains Ro’s reaction to Rex death after tragic scenes
"It was a shock..."
Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks star Leo Cole has spoken out about his character Ro Hutchinson’s reaction to the death of his friend Rex Gallagher, played by Jonny Labey. Last week, the soap aired a devastating twist in which Rex was shot dead in the garage by a mystery assailant – who may or may not be Rex’s husband Ste.
Ro and his dad Tony had been away on a camping trip, so Ro was oblivious when he returned to the village in Wednesday’s episode (22 July). He soon became heartbroken when Dee Dee and Maddox broke the news about Rex’s death.
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Ro and Rex formed a close friendship while working together in the garage, and while speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Leo explained his reaction to Rex being killed off.
“I was gutted,” he admitted. “I’ve become quite close with Jonny inside and outside of work. He is amazing, and he was amazing to learn from. It was a shock, but I think for Ro it’s even more of a shock.”
Leo continued: “Ro’s obviously lost Diane, and before that, he lost Tegan. So that’s two big people in his life. He leant on Rex a little bit and he didn’t want to lose him. He did the wrong thing when he went and kissed him, but they got back on track and they became very nice friends.
“And I think that it’s just another loss and it’s another reason why Ro might be a bit uneasy about trusting people. I think that’s something that’s going to be really ace as an actor to explore.”
Speaking about the experience of filming Ro’s reaction to Rex’s death, Leo called it “incredible”.
“The people on set who I was working with were really nice, and it was a good experience,” he told DS. “It hit hard, as it hit hard with Alex Fletcher [who played Diane] leaving as well.”
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Ro was pivotal to Rex exploring his identity and experimenting with wearing feminine clothes in the months before his death, and Leo is proud to have been able to bring this sensitive story to the screen.
“It was amazing,” he said. “As a trans guy myself, it was really nice to have that representation on screen of a trans guy who’s pretty much figured out who he is helping somebody else figure out themselves.
“I think with Rex, it was really important to bring that storyline to the forefront – for him to explore it personally, emotionally, and then romantically with Ste. Ro was the person who was behind Rex no matter what; he was a bit of a crutch. It was really important to do and to see.”
