Hollyoaks' Gary Lucy quits soap and films final scene as co-star shares sweet tribute

Soap veteran Gary Lucy has filmed his final death scenes as he wraps up his 23-years long soap career on Hollyoaks.

The 40-year-old actor has played troubled Luke Morgan on-and-off since 1999 and thrilled viewers with a slew of har-hitting storylines including his groundbreaking male rape storyline.

The star has now wrapped his final scenes on the Channel 4 soap as his co-stars pay gushing tributes to him on social media.

Taking to Instagram, Erin Palmer, who plays Ella Richardson on the show, shared a collection of photos of the pair smiling as they posed for a photo on set before admitting she will “really miss him.”

“Best of times. Loved these scenes. I’ll really miss you @gary.lucy thank you for your lovely note.

“Till we meet again,” she said.

Soap bosses are lining up an hour-long special, to air the specially-extended edition in June as part of Luke’s emotional exit.

Cast and crew recently filmed in Mallorca for Luke and Cindy Cunningham’s joint stag and hen celebrations. The events of the holiday will take centre stage in the 60-minute episode this June.

The married father-of-four joined Hollyoaks in 1999 for two years.

He was the first actor to tackle a male rape storyline and together with Channel 4 executives received huge praise for their handling of such a sensitive topic.

Luke’s rapist Mark Gibbs was sentenced to eight years in prison, but Luke was haunted by what had happened and left the village for Canada.

Gary reprised his role in the soap briefly in 2002 for his parents’ remarriage, but made his big comeback in 2017 alongside Mandy (Sarah Jayne Dunn).

A year later, Luke’s son Ollie arrived in Hollyoaks and the pair struggled through their strained father-son relationship.

While Luke grappled with his alcoholism, Ollie was being groomed by his football coach Buster in an utterly heartbreaking storyline.

Two years ago, Luke was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and has been tragically suffering a decline in his health ever since.

The symptoms of his condition include a noticeable change in behaviour and an increase in his impulsive actions.

A flashforward scene last month seemed to confirm that Luke is going to die in the next few months meaning that Gary will be leaving the soap family for good.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk