Hollyoaks' James Sutton teases new John Paul love interest

Hollyoaks\' James Sutton has revealed John Paul McQueen will get a new love interest in the near future.

The 36-year-old star recently reprised his role on the Channel 4 soap after two years away from the village, with the character newly single after splitting from his long-time partner Craig Dean (Guy Burnet), but John Paul will not waste much time in the village.

Speaking in a behind the scenes \'Hollyoaks Later\' video on the show\'s Instagram page, he said: "I know that John Paul will have a new love interest.

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"I know who he is, and I know the actor as well! It\'s very exciting."

James\' comments come after the show\'s 2020 trailer teased John Paul having a steamy smooch with his ex James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan).

And while it\'s not known if that will develop or not, Gregory was instrumental in James returning to the programme.

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Gregory recently said the show\'s supporters can "thank him" for James\'s return after he "egged" his pal on to see if he could come back to the soap.

He told BANG Showbiz: "We\'re really good mates, we\'re writing partners, so I see him a lot anyway.

"We were having discussions about it in the early part of the year.

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"He said, \'Do you think there would be any interest in that?\'

"I egged him on to get in touch and he was like, \'Oh OK.\'

"So I\'m basically ... you can thank me. We\'re all really pleased."

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But Gregory stopped short of directly asking the \'Hollyoaks\' head honchos about James\' potential return.

Asked if he had a sneaky word with executive producer Bryan Kirkwood about James coming back to the village, he added: "No, I thought he could do that himself. I\'d keep out of it.

"I don\'t have that kind of sway. I\'d love to say I did."