Northern Irish actor and former Cast Offs star Peter Mitchell makes his debut in Hollyoaks next week, appearing as Hollyoaks High's new headteacher Pete Hamill. Confident and charming, Pete shares a mysterious history with bad boy Brendan Brady, who's left alarmed by his sudden appearance in the village. Pete is a wheelchair user and as tension builds between him and his old acquaintance, Warren begins to suspect that Brendan could be responsible for the newcomer's disability. Could this be what Brendan has to hide? And does Pete have a score to settle? DS recently caught up with Peter to hear more about his new role.
When did you first hear about the role of Pete?
"I first heard about the role in July or August time last year, when my agent phoned me and told me that Hollyoaks wanted to meet me. So I came over to Liverpool and I met with Paul Marquess, who was the producer at the time. There was no audition process as such, it was a meeting with Paul and the first word of conversation was, 'Peter, we think your character should be…' and then he explained it. So it soon became apparent that there was a job there for me and they wanted to create a character especially for me, which was beyond my wildest dreams."
Was that because Paul and the team were aware of your previous work in Cast Offs?
"Yeah, exactly - it was through Cast Offs, which was also a Channel 4 show. They'd seen me on that, so it was extremely flattering that they wanted to create this character for me. I still can't believe it."
How was the character of Pete first described to you?
"When we first spoke about him, they said that he was very similar to myself. Like me, Pete is in a wheelchair but he's comfortable, he's over his accident and he gets on with it. It's not going to be a sad story - often when you see disabled people on TV, the audience is expected to feel sorry for them because of that disability. But with Pete, he gets on with it and he's an independent man. That was very reassuring and I was very, very excited about the role."
What more have you learned about Pete since you started filming?
"I've been filming now for nearly two months - six or seven weeks - and he's a great character to play. To be honest, there's still a lot more that can come from him. He's the headmaster of Hollyoaks High and he's very authoritative inside the school. He takes no nonsense from the kids and he demands respect. Outside of school, he can be very charming - he's charming with everyone because he's a nice guy. But with a certain individual, things are very different…"
That brings us to his history with Brendan Brady…
"Yes, obviously there is history between Pete and Brendan. The interesting thing is that Brendan is always in control - of his past, of his friends and of his enemies. But Pete has a bit of a hold over him. It doesn't take long to find out why, either - the story comes out very quickly!"
We first see Pete in Ireland, don't we?
"Yeah - Mercedes, Cheryl and Lynsey are in Ireland visiting Mal's grave and they bump into Pete. In that first scene, straight away the audience will discover that there's history between Pete and Brendan. Once Pete leaves, Cheryl talks to Lynsey and it's obvious that Brendan's not going to be happy to see his old friend when he turns up in Hollyoaks!"
Is Pete surprised to learn that Brendan is in Hollyoaks?
"Oh, no - Pete knows. He's very aware of that fact - he knows that Cheryl, Lynsey and Brendan are all in Hollyoaks. Pete is coming over to the village for the headmaster job, but with Brendan being there, he's got that wee bit of extra incentive because he knows his old friend Brendan is there…"
There's been some speculation about whether Brendan is responsible for Pete being in a wheelchair - could that be the case?
"Well, everyone knows that Brendan Brady is a shady character with some dark, dark secrets. Obviously with Pete being in a wheelchair, people are going to assume that Brendan is responsible for that. All I can say is that there is a backstory there and it doesn't take long for the truth to come out."
What has Emmett Scanlan, who plays Brendan, been like to work with?
"Amazing - absolutely amazing. When I watch him go into Brendan mode, I have so much respect for him and he inspires me - he really, really does. We've had a lot of scenes together and off-camera we have a bit of craic. We're all in the same boat here and we all get on great. But then, as soon as 'action' is called, Emmett goes straight into Brendan mode!"
Had you watched Hollyoaks much before joining the show?
"I obviously knew of Hollyoaks because it is a huge show and it does have a huge fanbase. So I was aware of the show, I'd watched bits of it and I did know some of the characters. But since I got the job, I have watched it religiously - I wanted to get to know the characters more and especially the Irish characters because Pete has history with them. So since I've got the job, I probably haven't missed an episode."
Brendan's ongoing story has a really strong following - were you glad to get the chance to play a part in it?
"Yeah, to get the chance to be involved in a storyline with Brendan and to film scenes with Emmett was great, because Brendan Brady is a huge character on the show. So it's brilliant to come into the show as someone who has history with him and to have the chance to do a lot of scenes with him. And when Pete comes into Hollyoaks, it is a huge storyline so I'm pinching myself - I'm absolutely buzzing."
What else can you tell us about Pete?
"He's got the scenes with Brendan, Lynsey and Cheryl but he also mingles with a lot of other people because he's the school headmaster, so there is a lot keeping him in Hollyoaks. There's a lot that we can do with him once he's in the village…"
You've already built up quite a few Twitter followers who are excited about seeing Pete on screen...
"Yeah, it's crazy! I started filming just before Christmas and Craig Vye, who plays Ethan, told me to start up a Twitter account before coming on screen as I'd get a few followers, so I set one up and Craig tweeted about me. It's gone from there and already there seems to be a lot of people who are excited about Pete because of Brendan's character and his shady past. I'm excited myself - I know what happens and I can't wait to see it. There's so much that the writers can do with this and it's nice that the fans are looking forward to seeing Pete. Hopefully I can do the character justice."
As the Hollyoaks High headmaster, are you enjoying having scenes with the younger characters as well as the older ones?
"Yeah, although the younger characters aren't really that young, to be honest! I think Stephanie Davis, Jonny Clarke and Anna Shaffer are all 18 and 19, and I'm only 26! Me playing a headteacher is great - there's going to be a lot of my old teachers at home who'll be shocked to see it! Not many teachers back home would have thought that I'd be a headteacher, whether it's on Hollyoaks or real life! (laughs) So it's great fun as obviously there's not many headteachers around at 26. That's the thing with Hollyoaks - they're always breaking boundaries, trying new things and they're not scared of doing things that other shows wouldn't. I think Pete is slightly older than me, though - I think him and Brendan are around the same age."
What were your first days on set like?
"I had a few scenes before Christmas which was nice because it broke me in, and then I moved over full-time in January. But my first scenes were with Jamie Lomas and with Emmett and it was absolutely fantastic to get thrown in with the bad boys straight away. Then my first three weeks were just crazy - I was working 12-hour days, five days a week, and then I was getting back home to learn my lines and only getting five or six hours' sleep per night! It's calmed down a wee bit now, though."
Apparently Pete also has some scenes coming up with Amy Barnes?
"He does - Pete arrives in the village and he bumps into Amy and Ste. It turns out that Amy is trying to get a job at the school as a teaching temp, but she doesn't realise that Pete is the headteacher. So they have a wee bit of a conversation and Amy fills him in that she's a young mum and her education suffered a bit because of that. Then Pete lets her know that he's the headteacher and it'll be him deciding whether she gets the job, and Amy's face drops! But she ends up getting the job and Pete and Amy have some good scenes together after that."
Have you had a warm welcome from the cast?
"Definitely. I didn't know what to expect - I'd only done Cast Offs before, which was six weeks, and I also did one episode of Doctors, which was two days. So this is my first full-time acting job. Straight away, everyone was just so friendly. We do have a big cast here - there's about 70 of us, but we are just like one big family. The atmosphere is just unbelievable and it's an amazing place to work. Everyone is so nice, so helpful and I honestly can't praise my fellow cast members enough. I'm pinching myself - it's Hollyoaks, everyone's so nice and I'm living in Liverpool - it's perfect! Honestly, I just couldn't imagine myself working anywhere else now - it's a dream come true and it's even better than what I thought it was going to be."
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