Declan Hawthorne

Hollyoaks is set to introduce a dark new villain as part of its upcoming conversion therapy storyline, which will see Lucas Hay (Oscar Curtis) targeted by headteacher Carter Shepherd (David Ames).

Actor Alan Turkington, best known for his roles in Heartstopper, Mr Selfridge, Doctors and Holby City, is set to take on the role of toxic and intense Declan Hawthorne, and will appear on screen later this month.

Declan will team up with friend Carter and manipulate Lucas into revealing his true feelings for Dillon Ray (Nathaniel Dass), before ultimately urging him to repress them in sinister scenes.

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hol...r-lucas-story/

Hollyoaks bosses have cast Alan Turkington as a new character in Carter Shepherd and Lucas Hay's ongoing storyline, Digital Spy can exclusively reveal.

The actor has already started filming in the role of Declan Hawthorne, who'll appear on screen later this month.

In upcoming scenes, Hollyoaks High headteacher Carter takes Lucas to a church as he continues to manipulate the vulnerable teenager.

Carter teams up with his companion Declan and they encourage Lucas to open up about his sexuality. Although reluctant at first, Lucas is drawn in as Carter and Declan use religion and Lucas' family life as an excuse to quiz him.

Lucas opens up about his feelings for his friend Dillon Ray, but the conversation takes a dark turn when Carter and Declan urge him to suppress his feelings.

The unsettling scenes form part of Carter's long-running storyline, which has seen him practise so-called 'conversion therapy'.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Alan commented: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the Hollyoaks family, who have made me feel so welcome ? even as a very unwelcome character!

"We've already filmed some incredibly intense scenes, including those in Declan's first episode. He's a toxically religious man who fervently believes in the therapy he is advocating. He feels that these men have lost their way, when really it's he who has 'strayed from the righteous path'."

He added: "I feel very privileged as an actor to be able to highlight the evils of conversion therapy with this storyline and I can't wait to see how tensions play out with Carter, Lucas, and maybe some others in the village."

Declan's first episode will be available to view on Channel 4 Streaming on Wednesday, February 28 from 7.30pm. The character will appear in other episodes beyond this.

Alan will already be a familiar face to some Hollyoaks fans, as he previously played Lynsey Nolan's brother Eoghan for four episodes in 2012.

Eoghan arrived in the village for Lynsey's funeral and the show explored his complicated history with fan favourite Brendan Brady.

Alan has also previously appeared in Heartstopper, Mr Selfridge, Doctors and Holby City.

Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.

Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.