Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson explains Ste's confession
Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks will air a huge turning point in Ste Hay's storyline next week, as he continues to struggle with his guilt over the car crash.
Upcoming scenes will see Ste confess everything to his husband James – explaining that he was responsible for Ella Richardson's death.
Ste's big admission comes after he devastates his family by turning back to drink and drugs. When James goes to clean up Ste, he is shocked to discover his car keys in Ste's pocket.
Here, Kieron Richardson – who plays Ste – opens up about revisiting Ste's dark side, and teases what happens when Warren and Leah find out as well...
How have you found the reaction to the hour-long episode?
"I think initially I said it's been so overwhelming, but then I don't want to say overwhelming because I’ve always known that this show is good and it has got massive potential. I’m excited for the future as the hour long isn't just where it all ends, it's actually where it all starts again. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I'm really proud. I’m excited for the audience to get to see this weeks’ worth of episodes and I really hope they enjoy it. Even though it's such a terrible time for Ste, and he's at his absolute lowest, we all know that me as an actor relish in Ste’s misery."
Ste quickly decides to cover his tracks, can you tell us about this?
"Obviously Ste’s guilty. It's a terrible, heinous thing that he has done, she's a child. Yes, he was trying to save his daughter, but at the end of the day he’s killed someone. Instead of confessing, he tried to get rid of the evidence. But as we get to these episodes, the evidence is back with a vengeance in the form of Kane and the car. This week is all about what he’s going to do. Is he going to confess, or is he going to try and get rid of the evidence again?"
A darker side to Ste is shown in upcoming episodes. Why is this?
"The comedy capers and his mop bucket are long gone for the time being. Even though he's still got his cleaning job, we go back to seeing the violent side of Ste, and I think this is really nice from the creative side of it that we are not forgetting the history that the character has got. When we first ever saw Ste, he was violent towards Amy so that's always there. Also, when Ste can't deal with something, he bottles it in, and he especially can't talk about killing somebody. His natural instinct is to go back to his addiction, which is alcohol and drugs, and that's also revisited this week. Even though it's an awful situation, it's sprinkling of all parts of Ste's history culminating in one week – his relationship with James, his relationship with drink and drugs, his history with violence, and being in the thick of a big story. It's great."
Is Ste ready to confess to James?
"I think it's a difficult one because a lot of their relationship so far has been Ste supporting James whether it's been through gambling or bereavement with the loss of his mum and sister, and everything going on with Romeo, this is probably the first time it's James seeing Ste in this kind of state and at his lowest. All the trouble from Ste so far has just been about his kids, whether Lucas has been playing up or Leah has been drinking. This is probably the first time that James has got to deal with this side of the relationship. This is the first time that Ste is openly going to say what he did the day of the crash to anybody, and there's a really intense scene that comes with the confession."
How is Ste’s behaviour going to affect his children?
"The kids haven't seen Ste especially drunk for quite a while. There are some scenes when Ste comes in drunk and he’s not in a great place and the kids have to witness that. There's a scene where Ste’s on the couch and he wets himself, which is so degrading. Imagine seeing your dad in that state it can't be nice at all. Ste tells James what goes on this week, and then we're left with the question of is James going to stay by Ste’s side or is he going to go to the police. Will he get his lawyer hat on and try and figure out a way to get Ste out of this situation. Are the kids going to clock onto what's happened? Why has their dad just decided to do this. What is Ste hiding? It's going to be interesting to see whether or not it's Leah who puts two and two together to work this out that the reason why her best friend has died is because of her dad."
Will Leah be the one to figure out the truth?
"I think in real life the guilt would take over and at some point he would have to tell, but obviously we live in a soap world so it's going to come out to everybody at some point anyway. Let’s not forget, Leah was in the car when it happened and Ste wouldn’t have been in that situation if Leah didn’t drink at the rave. I see a lot of the audience feedback saying, 'No Ste wouldn't do that, he just ran over a boot, it was somebody else'. I really don't think there is a twist, but then again, it's Hollyoaks, so never say never. As far as I’m aware, Ste did kill Ella though, so sorry."
How do you think Warren will react if he finds out what’s happened?
"Without giving too much away, as I’ve said it just before, all secrets do come out in soap, and at some point, Leah is going to find out too. But the biggest of all – Warren is going to find out. As we all know Warren Fox, he is the hardman of the village, and Ella was such a big part of his life in the last few months. He missed out on so much with her, and he got this opportunity to bond with a daughter he never knew he had, and then Ste took that all away from him. He's not going to be happy. Without saying anything, a really big thing is going to happen, and lives are in danger yet again."
Ste has been in emotional turmoil, how has that been to film?
"Like I said, I always relish in Ste’s misery. The comedy has been brilliant, and it's been different – I’ve never really done it before, and it was a little bit of light relief. To go into a story like this, that I hadn't done for a while, I was quite nervous thinking, 'Can I still do it?', It did take me a little bit of time to get into it, but I think by the time you get to these episodes, I couldn't have been any more in it. People say you give blood sweat and tears, and I really feel like I have given everything. The emotional side of it was really draining. There's a bit where Ste feels a little bit nauseous at one point and I actually think I was a little bit sick too.
"I try to give 100% and I don't want every scene to feel too samey – the character has been in the show for a long time now, and I don't want the audience to get bored. I’m trying to do things just to change it up a little bit. There's nothing more pleasing when you watch the special episode and you see everybody else and how great they are as actors it inspires you to be better. Just because you have been in a show a long time, I never wanted to get to a point where I felt I could do it standing on my head. I always want to try and do new things and I will continue to do that especially with the material that's coming down at the minute.
"I've said previously that there's lots of Ste's history in the story about violence and drugs and drink, but also Ste might go down a path that matures him a little bit, in a dark way. Ste will always be a little bit of scaredy cat, but also that aggression is in there somewhere and I’m excited to get it back out."
Lucas is struggling with his sexuality and dangerous Carter plans to give him conversion therapy sessions. Will Ste soon realise what’s going on?
"I think it's hard to give Ste's perspective on it. If the shoe was on the other foot, I can completely see it happening to Ste – he is so gullible. The situations he's been in – being groomed when Lucas was born, nearly having Lucas taken off him, and even the far right storyline – he was groomed into that as well, and he is very susceptible to be taken down a path.
" In terms of Ste being a father, even though he thinks he's one of the greatest dads in the world, he’s so selfish as a person and so absorbed with himself, and he is not even seeing what's happening right under his nose with his own son. He doesn't have a whiff that he might even be gay, let alone be in Carter's lair and getting converted. I just think it's going to come as a complete shock and surprise to Ste when he finds out, and unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it, it’s because Ste's such a selfish person."
Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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