{"id":680252,"date":"2026-01-07T16:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680252\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:12:14","slug":"hollyoaks-ste-hay-finally-finds-out-husband-james-nightingale-is-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680252\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollyoaks&#8217; Ste Hay finally finds out husband James Nightingale is alive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"> <strong data-node-id=\"1.1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Hollyoaks spoilers\" data-node-id=\"1.1.0\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">Hollyoaks spoilers<\/a> follow.<\/strong><br data-node-id=\"1.2.0\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Hollyoaks&#8217; Ste Hay is set to have his life turned upside down when he discovers his husband James Nightingale is alive, and back in the village. Scenes set to air this week will see Ste&#8217;s life take a dramatic turn. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Ste thought James died in a car explosion, and has even moved on with new boyfriend Rex. But James actually faked his death, and will have to do a lot of explaining about his actions. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">James reappeared recently, finding Ste passed out in the car park of The Dog after he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a69918567\/hollyoaks-james-nightingales-return-dangerous-cliffhanger\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a69918567\/hollyoaks-james-nightingales-return-dangerous-cliffhanger\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"drugged by his son Lucas as part of a revenge plot\" data-node-id=\"10.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">drugged by his son Lucas as part of a revenge plot<\/a>. In today&#8217;s episode (Wednesday, 7 January) Ste thinks he&#8217;s hallucinating because of the pills until he realises the truth. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"12\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Kieron Richardson who plays Ste said: &#8220;Talk about timing for James\u2019 return. It\u2019s New Year, which normally means fresh starts but for these two we have to go back.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"two individuals standing in a modern kitchen setting\" title=\"Hollyoaks Ste Hay James Nightingale\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1801\" height=\"1200\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hollyoaks-ste-hay-james-nightingale-695d9132f133f.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lime Pictures<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"15\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;Ste has to get over the shock of James returning initially but then there is also everything that has happened during him not being there to unpack. He has been raising his grandchild, dealing with abuse from Lucas and complex relationships, while grieving. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"17\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;It\u2019s been great to work with Greg who is so great and giving as an actor that it\u2019s felt special again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"hollyoaks james nightingale outside in the village wearing a scarf with holly leaves to his right\" title=\"Hollyoaks James Nightingale\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2115\" height=\"1190\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hollyoaks-james-nightingale-695d55a49228a.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lime Pictures<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"20\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Gregory Finnegan who plays James Nightingale added: &#8220;The moment we\u2019ve been waiting for is finally upon us. James and Ste, two characters who have been circling each other for a decade are about to come face once more.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;They\u2019ve loved, they\u2019ve hated, they\u2019ve had joy and they\u2019ve had plenty of sadness\u2026 so what does the future hold for them now that James is back on the scene?<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"24\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;I loved working on these scenes, back working with Kieron and my Hollyoaks family. I can\u2019t wait for the fans to see what happens.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"26.0\">The episode streams on Channel 4 from 7am on Wednesday 7 January and airs on E4 at 7pm.<br data-node-id=\"26.0.1\"\/><\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"26.1\"><br data-node-id=\"26.1.0.0\"\/>Hollyoaks<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"26.2\"> airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.channel4.com\/programmes\/hollyoaks\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.channel4.com\/programmes\/hollyoaks\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Channel 4 streaming\" data-node-id=\"26.3\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"26.3.0\">Channel 4 streaming<\/strong><\/a><strong data-node-id=\"26.4\"> premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"28\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"28.0\">Selected omnibus episodes are available via <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;tag=digitalspy.com-21&amp;ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C1920.a.69817313%5Bsrc%7C%5Bch%7C%5Blt%7C%5Bpid%7C3985ea33-9b2c-43ac-b8a5-cfda163c2fa4%5Baxid%7C2cc9af92-6f13-4c6b-a571-6ed72afa7270\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noskim noopener\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Prime Video\" data-vars-ga-product-id=\"3985ea33-9b2c-43ac-b8a5-cfda163c2fa4\" data-node-id=\"28.1\" data-vars-ga-axid=\"2cc9af92-6f13-4c6b-a571-6ed72afa7270\" data-amazon-ascsubtag=\"[artid|1920.a.69817313[src|[ch|[lt|[pid|3985ea33-9b2c-43ac-b8a5-cfda163c2fa4[axid|2cc9af92-6f13-4c6b-a571-6ed72afa7270\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"28.1.0\">Prime Video<\/strong><\/a><strong data-node-id=\"28.2\">.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"30\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage\" data-node-id=\"30.0\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"30.0.0\">Read more <\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"30.0.1\">Hollyoaks<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"30.0.2\"> spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hollyoaks spoilers follow. Hollyoaks&#8217; Ste Hay is set to have his life turned upside down when he discovers&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3937],"tags":[1380,206371,1331,77,1330,206370,382,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-680252","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-c1e213d7-cd4e-4432-b0d5-a0b5dad3b427","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-locale-gb","13":"tag-shorttitle-hollyoaks-ste-hay-finds-husband-james-is-alive","14":"tag-tv","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115854701058258752","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}