One of Hollyoaks’ most beloved stars has admitted he was “sheared like a sheep” by producers.
Greg Finnegan currently plays the role of James Nightingale in the hit Channel 4 soap, and has played the role for years. However, he has opened up on the real-life implications of being an actor and how he was forced to change himself at the wishes of his bosses.
In his upcoming book, Greg says that he was ordered to strip off by producers on the show before having his hair shaved. It came amid a desire for his character James to look a specific way, leaving Greg completely shocked.
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The autobiography, entitled The World According to Grog, the actor admitted that all of these incidents took place within the first day he arrived on set in 2015. “My first experience in the building was to be sheared, sheared like a sheep,” he explained.
(Image: Lime Pictures)
He admitted that after he arrived, he met star Faye Ward, who led the show’s make-up department. However, when she brought him into the make-up department, she made a bizarre request that left him reeling.
“I have no idea what had happened to make this switch happen but Faye took me down to Make-up and asked me, in her thick scouse accent, to strip. ‘Sorry, what?’ “Strip – your top half and down to your boxers.”
The interaction left Greg bemused, and he resorted to stripping down entirely in front of his cast members, to reveal how hairy he was. Faye proceeded to shave every part of his body and when Greg asked if it was totally necessary, she responded: “Bryan doesn’t like hair!” – a reference to executive producer Bryan Kirkwood.
(Image: Lime Pictures)
Greg goes on to say that according to other sources, Bryan was not a fan of facial or body hair of any kind. He went on to describe his first on set as being a “baptism of clippers” that left him feeling extremely exposed.
After being completely shaven by Faye, Greg revealed that he was made to have a spray tan so as to fit in with the other cast members at the time. “I was taken to a small booth in a broom cupboard, given a tiny pair of paper pants and darkened by several shades,” he wrote in his memoir.
“‘What have I let myself in for?’ I wondered, as I stood there starting to resemble an ethnicity I had no claim to,” he added. He went on to explain that the spray tan was done in full view of his other cast members, before being taken back to the make-up room for another trim.
(Image: Lime Pictures)
Greg’s explosive revelations come ahead of a huge plot shift for the show, as Hollyoaks embarks on a one-year time jump. Several of the soap’s cast will be culled in the relaunch, with the show also dropping from five episodes a week to just three.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
