Finally! Hollyoaks legend confirms permanent return after ‘death’

The one and only delightfully dastardly James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan) is back in Hollyoaks – for good.

Nothing can keep one of the biggest schemers in Dee Valley down for long, even death!

Gregory has signed up to reprise his role as the calculating solicitor on a permanent basis, less than two years after the popular character was controversially killed off in a fiery explosion, shortly after discovering that  he did not have a brain tumour. Talk about bad timing!

One year later after Hollyoaks’ massive time jump, a bereaved Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) was struggling to accept his partner’s death and despite the support of his new boyfriend Rex Gallagher (Jonny Labey), spiralled into a mental health crisis as he started to believe that the man he loved was still alive.

Which was of course, one hundred percent correct.

Reports of James’ death had been greatly exaggerated, as Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) discovered one year later coming up to Hollyoaks’ 30th anniversary, when he stumbled upon the supposedly deceased lawyer at a poker game, delighting fans up and down the country.

Despite James’ insistence that Darren keep his mouth shut, soaps never stay buried in Soapland and James soon found himself back in the village, face to face with Ste.

Ste, who was unknowingly poisoned by son Lucas (Oscar Curtis) at the time, believed that he was suffering hallucinations. But James was quite real, and was forced to explain how he survived the bomb that Dave Chen-WIlliams (Dominic Power)placed in his car to kill Donny Clarke (Louis Emerick.

Then he fled the village and faked his death, believing Ste was in love with Rex after he cleated on him previously.

Although that iconic reunion made fans rejoice, appearances of James since then have been few and far between on the Cheshire-based soap. However, now viewers can look forward to seeing much more of Mister Nightingale back in the village, according to a Hollyoaks source speaking to Digital Spy.

‘Gregory is already back filming as a regular cast member again.’ The Source told DS. ‘It’s great news for fans, who were devastated when he exited the soap amid the 2024 stunt plot and one-year time jump.’

‘Producers saw how much viewers had missed James, so the opportunity to bring him back with a shock on-screen reveal last year was impossible to resist.’

‘Some people had started to wonder whether his recent guest appearances would be all we’d see of him, but it’s just been a waiting game to bring him back to the village full-time.’

Back in March, Gregory got the call to return to Hollyoaks while working in a very different job indeed – a school drama teacher. This explains the sporadic appearances, as he could only film for the show during school holidays.

“It has been a bit manic – teaching by day, resurrecting myself by night – but genuinely joyful to see so many old pals again, and the school couldn’t have been more supportive,” Gregory told the i Paper.

However, Gregory has now completed his contract with the school, freeing him up to return to Hollyoaks for the forseeable future.

James’s recent appearances have explored his unresolved feelings for his ex-husband Ste Hay, who is now married to Rex Gallagher, whose recent cross-dressing has caused tension in their relationship.

Now James is back for good, will he and Ste rekindle their old flame and break Rex’s heart? Or will the wily lawyer end up in bed with someone else?

One thing is for sure. The residents of Hollyoaks could always use a good lawyer…