The star exclusively discusses being nominated in the RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspired Villages. <\/p>
In a year that saw Hollyoaks back on top with an explosion of epic storylines, Ste Hay was at the centre of the drama as he accidentally killed Warren Fox\u2019s daughter Ella, leading him down a dark path of self-destruction.<\/p>\n
To celebrate his Best Actor nomination at the RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspired Villages<\/a><\/strong>, Kieron Richardson exclusively reflects on an eventful 12 months as drama magnet Ste, and teases what\u2019s in store for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n I feel like I\u2019m always the bridesmaid with awards, so don\u2019t want to get too excited! I\u2019ve shared ones for partnerships with Emmett J Scanlan (Brendan Brady) and Anna Passey (Sienna Blake) in the past, which was obviously amazing, and I was so grateful to be in two different double acts that got people talking. But one day it would be nice to have something for myself! It would a huge deal for me.<\/p>\n From the January stunt onwards, the whole team has worked really hard. Our new producer, Hannah Cheers, came in and literally flipped the storylines on their head in a very short space of time. We doubled the viewing figures and made the show a talking point again.<\/p>\n When people started coming up to me in the street asking about Ste killing Ella and what would happen next, I knew it was working. And it\u2019s good for the genre of soap to have audiences interested again.<\/p>\n I was excited. I didn\u2019t have any drama school training, so when I get the hard-hitting material I ask myself how I can portray it as truthfully as possible \u2013 not just memorise the lines and say them believably, I want that raw emotion. That\u2019s why I love this job.<\/p>\n The reveal of James finding out what Ste had done. I\u2019d done a fight scene earlier on and overdone a fake punch, so my arm was really sore and I was in pain as I had to do this big scene with Gregory (Finnegan, aka James). It had been a full-on day of intense, emotional stuff, and as Ste admitted to James he\u2019d killed Ella, I felt physically sick and improvised Ste running to the sink to throw up. It wasn\u2019t scripted! I couldn\u2019t have felt any more in the moment then I did at that point.<\/p>\n Ste is not inherently bad, he gets himself into situations that he doesn\u2019t know how to get out of. And he\u2019s often under the influence of somebody else\u2019s words or actions pushing him into things. I\u2019m protective of the character, but the audience seems to forgive him for the things he does.<\/p>\n The only time I felt that was with the far right radicalisation storyline five years ago. Ste had been susceptible to being groomed in the past, so it made sense for him to go through that, but it did make me feel uncomfortable.<\/p>\n After such a heavy storyline I had a few years of lighthearted comedic stuff with the Sienna friendship, but when Hannah came in as producer I knew I was going to get something meaty, as she had worked on the show before and knew Ste inside out.<\/p> It\u2019s amazing. Jamie (Lomas, who plays Warren) is so passionate about his craft, I can learn little bits from him a bit like I used to do with Emmett back in Ste\/Brendan days. The pairing with Warren in the criminal world reminds me of that era around 2011, 2012. Ste hasn\u2019t been in that space for a while.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read the final episode of being five nights a week before we switch to three with the jump, and it\u2019s a whopper! People will be desperate to tune in and find out exactly where people\u2019s lives are one year later.<\/p>\n But I don\u2019t want to spoil it, I was a fan first and remember being desperate to know how Becca and Justin\u2019s affair would turn out all those years ago \u2013 then I joined the show and it wasn\u2019t as much fun knowing what\u2019s going to happen! It\u2019s Hollyoaks, so it\u2019s going to be heightened, shocking, and as big and climactic as the January stunt was.<\/p>\n Alex Fletcher, who plays Diane. She is amazing and sometimes gets overlooked. Her performances are always genuine. Soaps started out as a little peek into people\u2019s living rooms, and when I watch her sometimes I can\u2019t tell she\u2019s acting, she\u2019s so natural.<\/p>\n The RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspired Villages, will take place on 13th July. Find out the nominees<\/a> ahead of the big day!<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our\u00a0Soaps<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n The star exclusively discusses being nominated in the RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspired Villages. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":53690,"template":"","categories":[1,2,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/hollyoaks-kieron-richardson-reveals-stes-darkest-moment-and-dramatic-future-ahead-scaled.jpg",2560,1705,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/hollyoaks-kieron-richardson-reveals-stes-darkest-moment-and-dramatic-future-ahead-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/hollyoaks-kieron-richardson-reveals-stes-darkest-moment-and-dramatic-future-ahead-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/hollyoaks-kieron-richardson-reveals-stes-darkest-moment-and-dramatic-future-ahead-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/hollyoaks-kieron-richardson-reveals-stes-darkest-moment-and-dramatic-future-ahead-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/hollyoaks-kieron-richardson-reveals-stes-darkest-moment-and-dramatic-future-ahead-1536x1023.jpg",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/hollyoaks-kieron-richardson-reveals-stes-darkest-moment-and-dramatic-future-ahead-2048x1364.jpg",2048,1364,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The star exclusively discusses being nominated in the RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspired Villages.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/53689"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Are you excited to be nominated for Best Actor?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Do you feel Hollyoaks has had a strong year?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
How did you feel about Ste turning bad and relapsing?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s been your most challenging moment?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Were you worried Ste would be hated after what he did?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Have you ever been concerned he can\u2019t be redeemed?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Do you like the partnership Ste has struck up with Warren?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Are you excited about the time jump in September, when Hollyoaks leaps forward 12 months into the future?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Which of your fellow castmates deserves an award?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"