Gregory Finnegan isn\'t allowed to shave off his beard because it could ruin the continuity on \'Hollyoaks\'.
The 39-year-old star was keen to lop off his chin locks, but has been told that is "no longer happening" because he needs to ensure his character James Nightingale looks the same.
He told BANG Showbiz: "I thought I was having my beard shaved off, but I\'m told that is no longer happening.
"It\'s been about a year and a half, but no, I agree with the decision wholeheartedly.
"It\'s the greater look of the whole cast, and I totally respect that.
"It is a strange thing that I have to keep this to a grade two.
"But that\'s life. I\'m willing to sacrifice my beard length for the show.
"It\'ll keep me nice and warm, I\'ll be thankful of it in January and February."
But Gregory\'s wife Ariana Fraval, who plays DS Cohen in the Channel 4 soap, is "not very happy" about him keeping his beard length.
He added: "She is not very happy, actually. She was really looking forward to it coming off.
"But what can I do? I\'m in their hands."
On Friday (27.12.19), \'Hollyoaks\' aired a special flash-forward episode on E4 which zoomed 12 months ahead to New Year\'s Eve 2020, and Gregory recently teased fans they are in for a "wild ride" leading up to the end of next year.
He said: "I\'m not directly one of the flash forward-ers.
"But Romeo is and I know what he\'s getting up to, so presumably that is going to impact pretty heavily on James as well.
"I\'m excited in that I know what he\'s doing.
"How we get to that point is going to be a wild ride."
The flash-forward ep will show how some of the village\'s youngsters have been affected by the soap\'s upcoming county lines storyline, which will play a huge part in the show throughout 2020.
