Hollyoaks uncovered

Here at The Lesbian and Gay Foundation we’re addicted to the ever-developing Hollyoaks love story between out and proud John Paul McQueen and sexually confused Craig Dean. So when we received an invitation to visit the set and interview actors James Sutton (John Paul) and Guy Burnett (Craig) we very nearly came to blows deciding who got to go!

outnorthwest’s John Lucas, Sam Palmer and Michael Nastari trekked over to Liverpool and tried not to look too starstruck... There’s no question that gay representation on mainstream TV has come a long way since the days of Kenneth Williams and John Inman, but for all the good work shows like Sugar Rush and Queer As Folk have done to depict realistic, non-stereotyped gay teenagers, gay sexuality still appears to only be acceptable post-watershed.

It’s refreshing then to see Hollyoaks, a show that broadcasts in the early evening and has a huge youth audience, finally taking the road less travelled. Over the past twelve months viewers have seen John Paul McQueen and Craig Dean conduct a realistic physical and emotional relationship. There’ve been tears, tantrums, and full-on snogs, with no sneaky cutting away at the last minute. In other words it’s been treated exactly as a heterosexual relationship would be, with the added emotional baggage of sexual confusion, but no attempts at playing down the physical aspect of teen romance. Actors James Sutton and Craig Dean are both straight in real life. (We didn’t get any vibes either, so disappointingly this seems to be true.) How did they feel about taking on such high profile, not to mention physical gay roles? “It was challenging” says James. “As an actor you want to play parts that are as different from you as you can get. This is a seventeen year old guy going through something I’ve no experience of. I spoke to a lot of my gay friends about their experiences of coming out, and particularly the problems they faced.” The will they? won’t they? element of John Paul and Craig’s relationship looks to be coming to an end shortly as Guy recently announced he would be leaving the show. What will happen to John Paul without Craig playing with his heart? “I think we’re gonna move away from the sexuality storyline” explains James. “We’ve covered it now; I think it’s important to show a young gay guy just getting on with his life. Being a person rather than a gay character. Who knows? He might even get a long term, boyfriend and be happy instead of all that angst and crying!”

Sexual confusion

Long-term happiness is probably too much to ask for a Hollyoaks character, but the intentions to present a regular gay guy are admirable, and it’s obvious the Hollyoaks team are very passionate about it. “It’s been in discussion for three or four years for my character” says Guy, “I turned it down in the past because I was worried about it being something repetitious and boring. When (Hollyoaks producer) Bryan Kirkwood approached me with this storyline I said I’d only do it if it didn’t turn into a cliché’. I didn’t want Craig to just become gay overnight. I thought it’d be more interesting to focus on his sexual confusion. I spoke to a lot of people, I really wanted to understand the whole nature of the relationship, and that includes the sexual side of it. If Craig is acting quite aggressively towards John- Paul before they sleep together, does that mean he’ll be equally aggressive when they’re in the act? I assumed so but from speaking to various people I learned that the opposite was true. Although we obviously don’t film explicit sex scenes, it is important to bear things like that in mind for the post-coital moments.” Guy’s talk of post-coital tenderness is getting us a little hot under the collar, so before we completely lose our self control we reluctantly move away from that line of questioning. Have either of the boys experienced any homophobia as a result of playing gay characters? “Oh God yeah” laughs James. “Everyone assumes we’re gay. I get loads of blokes shouting ‘queer’ at me, usually when I’m in bars with my girlfriend, much to her amusement.” They’re both aware of the darker side of these incidents though. “The attention we get is because we’re on television” explains Guy, “We can’t switch that off, but at the same time it’s not our real lives. We don’t have a realistic experience of what it is to be gay men. I get loads of letters from young gay guys” says James. “I’ve had people telling me that they had the courage to come out after seeing the show, which is just incredible to me. I had no idea it would have such a big impact. Of course I also get a few absolutely filthy letters, mostly from older guys. I never get any letters from girls; maybe one in every ten letters will be from a thirteen year old girl, written in crayon. But that’s it.”

Role models

The responsibility of being role models to young viewers is something the boys are aware of and not entirely comfortable with. “I get asked a lot what advice I would give to young gay guys who may be experiencing homophobia” says James. “I’m really not the right person to ask as I haven’t been through it. Bullying was rife at my school, but I managed to avoid it. There’s a lot of work done in schools these days to combat bullying, but when I was there it was horrendous. Certainly nobody would have dared to come out in my school, it was unheard of. I would urge anyone who is being bullied, for whatever reason, to talk to somebody. The worst thing you can do is bottle things up.” Overall the storyline seems to have been incredibly well received a promising sign which will hopefully inspire other soaps to take a more matter of fact approach to gay storylines. “I haven’t personally had any negative feedback at all” says James. “I think the show had a few complaints from the usual Middle England types about gay kissing before the watershed, but none of it has been directed at me. The whole reaction to this story has been amazing.” Serious issues out of the way we take our chance to slip in a few fan questions. The boys are diplomatic when asked what they think of the new title sequence. “I can see what they wanted to do with them” says James, and leaves it at that. They’re as nonplussed as us when it comes to the way the village turns seemingly level-headed people into complete psychopaths over the course of one night. “ Must be all the TCP” shrugs James. With Craig’s imminent departure from the show, Guy is understandably eager to spread his wings as an actor. “I’ll have been with this show for five years when I leave. I think that’s a good run. I’m really happy with the work I’ve done, particularly this storyline. I feel like I’ve learnt more as an actor in the last year than I ever have before. I think it’s also best for this storyline that we bring it to a conclusion. I’d hate for the audience to get bored of it, or for it to get repetitious.” “I’d love to do film work, or theatre. Maybe some more short-term TV work. I’d like to experience something different to soap opera for a while. Just get a different acting experience. But I never say never, the producers have been incredibly supportive since I told them I wanted to leave. The door is being left open. I’d like to come back for a one-off, maybe complicate matters whenever John Paul leaves! But I’d like to be working enough that I have an excuse not to come back too!”

Baring all

Would he ever consider baring all on stage, as Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe recently did on the West End? “Sure! That play (Equus) is on tour now and they were putting actors forward for the role while it’s in the north. But I think Richard Fleeshman got it in the end.” With all the attention have come the inevitable photoshoot requests, something James finds flattering but a little intimidating. “Loads of magazines have asked us to get our kits off. I’m in the next Hollyoaks Boys Calendar, but it’s a head shot. You won’t see me getting naked very often; I’d feel a bit overshadowed compared to some of the guys on the show!” We’d like to try to change his mind in this respect, but unfortunately the boys have work to do and there’s just time for a quick photoshoot and for us to marvel at how impossibly tiny the Dog in the Pond is in real life, before we’re saying our goodbyes. Our revelation that Phillip Olivier did Pride last year on a throne wearing only his underpants is a source of much mirth and we ask the boys if they’d consider a similar appearance this year. “Sure” quips Guy, “But only if I can be in full drag!”