Jake Hendriks (Kieron Hobbs, 'Hollyoaks')

Father Kieron Hobbs - played by Jake Hendriks - arrived on Hollyoaks in January as the local Catholic priest and quickly took a shine to gay student John Paul McQueen (James Sutton). After the village discovered their illicit affair, Kieron hung up his dog collar for the man he loves. Next week, in a bid to cement their relationship, John Paul gets down on bended knee and proposes. DS caught up with Jake to chat about the proposal, the return of Craig Dean and a possible end to his storyline.

Does Kieron love John Paul?
"I think he does. He has to love him to give credibility to him leaving the church. We're all in trouble if it's not. Kieron's never experienced anything like his feelings for John Paul."

Do you think that it's a little strange that Kieron's hung up his dog collar this quickly?
"This is an awkward one as it's one of the things that I've felt slightly uneasy about. I would have liked to have focused a little more on the faith and what that meant to Kieron. It's an odd one. I'd have liked to have seen more of Kieron's background, maybe other priests, to see where he's from. It does seem to have been resolved quite quickly, though. I think it may have damaged the credibility of him. My concern has been that he does seem to change his mind quite a bit and the more he changes his mind, the more you lose respect for the character. Hopefully it won't pan out that way."

There looks to be another soap civil wedding on the horizon.
"I don't think it'd be a big affair if it was to happen... Maybe a register office or something, as opposed to the pomp and ritual of a usual wedding."

How does the proposal come about?
"It's after their affair is finally outed to the village. I do think it's a genuine offer on John Paul's part. It's not very considered, but that doesn't make it any less sincere. At that moment, it seems like it's the thing they both want."

Beyond the engagement, their future isn't really that certain, is it?
"It's going to be a bumpy ride... We've just been filming the scenes where Myra finds out about the engagement. Almost everyone finds out before she does and to say she's not happy about it is an understatement. It's downhill all the way beyond that."

How did you feel when you realised you were going to be filling Craig Dean's shoes?
"When you get a job like this you're so grateful and happy about it but it's the moment when you realise the enormity of the task at hand you begin to worry! Going on the internet was a little daunting for me when I started typing in these names. I remember thinking 'oh, Jake, what have you got yourself into?' I thought the fact that Kieron was going to be a gay priest was going to be controversial and upset a few people - including my Irish Catholic nan - but when I saw that it was going to be with John Paul... "

You must be quite excited for Guy's return...
"Yeah, although a lot will depend on what the writers do with it and how much involvement I'll actually get. I do hope we all get some material together. I met Guy [Burnet] at the British Soap Awards and he's a quality lad."

Is there an end in sight for your storyline arc?
"It seems that everyone has their own idea about what's going on... maybe they could settle down as a threesome in a happy little commune? If that's the case, let's just hope Craig and Kieron get on. Or maybe Craig and Kieron will go off together?"