Hollyoaks’ latest episode ended with brutal scenes, as Ste Hay violently attacked newcomer Jed after a confession about the far-right group he’s been manipulated into joining.
Stuart and Johnny have been manipulating him for months, trying to get him to adopt their racist views while isolating him from his loved ones.
Things looked as though they could be turning around for Ste, when Jed warned him about Stuart and Johnny’s real intentions.
During a date with the character, Jed claimed they had both been groomed by them, before encouraging him to turn his back on them.
But after Ste began to have doubts about his so-called friends, with Jed’s plea of going to the police together ringing in his ears, he soon ended any hopes of the manipulation being over - for now.
After learning Stuart’s wife Alice had tried to get him access to his daughter Hannah by speaking to Sinead, he made the decision to remain loyal to the men, even dropping Jed in it.
He warned them about his plan and what he said, but things soon escalated as Johnny and Stuart vowed revenge.
They then forced Ste to do their dirty work for them, getting him to beat Jed up in a savage attack.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror online about the scenes, actor Kieron Richardson explained his character’s motive for choosing the group over Jed.
While teasing Ste might not be convinced by the group for much longer, he also shed light on why Ste attacked Jed with him completely manipulated by Stuart.
He told us: “I’m sure the audience have been screaming at the telly. The episode before they finally thought it was gonna be over, but he’s so deep into it and they’ve got such a hold on him that it’s not gonna be easy for him to just go back to his family, if they’ll even allow it.”
On the episode, he added: “Jed has planted this seed of doubt in his head and he’s questioning a lot of things, and I think to try to be loyal to Johnny and Stuart after all they’ve done for him, he tells them what Jed has done.
“They get into his head straight away and say he’s lying, and then at the end of the episode it’s all thrown back onto Ste’s shoulders. Johnny and Stuart say they need to teach Jed a lesson when as a matter of fact, it’s ‘You’re gonna be the person to do it’, so Ste has to beat him up.”
On whether this could change things, Kieron added: “I think he’s definitely questioning it a little bit but because of the manipulation, which they’re so good at doing, they can easily get into Ste’s head and he loses that doubt.”
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6:30pm on Channel 4, with the next episode at 7pm on E4.
