Hollyoaks star Nathan Sussex discusses Buster Smith flashback scenes
Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks star Nathan Sussex has spoken to Digital Spy about his surprise return as evil Buster Smith in flashback scenes.
Tonight's E4 first look episode (September 21) sees Brody Hudson confide in Sienna Blake about what happened when he went to see his abuser in prison months earlier.
Special flashback scenes, filmed in March before the UK lockdown, then show the moment that Brody (Adam Woodward) and Damon Kinsella (Jacob Roberts) visited Buster together.
Speaking to Digital Spy about what's ahead, Nathan explained: "I missed Adam and Jacob when I left and it was really nice to get to work with them again. They are quite intense scenes.
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"There's unresolved business and I think Brody is looking for closure. What I probably can say is that Buster is up to his old tricks again and his manipulation is still there."
He continued: "I was absolutely thrilled to come back. The call came through at the beginning of the year and I didn't expect to be coming back to Hollyoaks so soon, if I'm honest. I'd been missing everyone and it's a fantastic show to work on.
"I think there was always unfinished business. Where we left it at the trial, Buster didn't get convicted for the offences against Brody. We saw him get sent to prison for his crimes against Ollie, so you could sense those unresolved issues.
"It left it on a cliffhanger and it's very clever that later down the line they're able to revisit it.
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"I filmed my scenes back in March. Then as we know, the lockdown happened and everything shut down temporarily. I think my episodes were due to screen in the summer, but they had to preserve a lot of the footage they'd already filmed."
Ollie and Brody's storyline explored the issue of sexual abuse in football. When Buster faced trial in early 2019, he was sent to prison for abusing Ollie but didn't face justice for his historic crimes against Brody.
Nathan added: "I was so pleased with how the storyline was delivered. Let's not forget, it's a really difficult story to get out there. A lot of actors would run away from it.
"I knew exactly what I was taking on and it didn't bother me in the slightest, because I wanted to get the story out there. I wanted people to feel like they could be heard, as a lot of people have been through this issue and didn't feel like they could turn anywhere.
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"When it actually came out and it finished, the response was incredible. Even today, people still stop me and talk about the storyline. What it's done is leave a mark with people, in a positive way. As harrowing as the story was, people still remember it.
"It was a collective thing – the episodes were so well-written and the cast really pulled it together in their performances. The directors were really on board too. Everyone treated it with the sensitivity it deserved and I think that's why it was so successful."
On why Brody's part of the story was left unresolved, Nathan explained: "We worked so closely with Survivors Manchester and it was really important to them that everything wasn't tied up in a neat bow. In reality, not everyone gets their justice.
"It was important to see that one of the stories didn't have a happy ending. Brody's story, which was the biggest historical case, was left as it was. I think that was well played out on Hollyoaks' part."
Hollyoaks airs Buster's return tonight (September 21) at 7pm on E4 and tomorrow (September 22) at 6.30pm on Channel 4.
Survivors Manchester is available to support boys and men who have been affected by sexual abuse and rape. Its website can be found at www.survivorsmanchester.org.uk and its helpline is 0161 236 2182. Local support agencies for all male and female survivors can be found at www.thesurvivorstrust.org. In an emergency, please dial 999.
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