Richard Linnell lived out 'action hero fantasies' in Hollyoaks school explosion

\'Hollyoaks\' let Richard Linnell live out his "action hero fantasies".

The former soap star - who played Alfie Nightingale on the Channel 4 show for three years until his departure in 2019 - has reflected on the infamous school explosion storyline, which is being repeated this week as part of the \'Hollyoaks Favourites\' series.

Recalling how it was shooting the dramatic scenes, he said: "Oh, it was absolutely incredible.

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"They built an entire fake front of the school for the stunt, so we were actually half outside for the whole shoot.

"You had to keep your wits about you. Half the walls were \'breakaway\' and made of polystyrene, but through all the smoke you couldn\'t tell which was which...

"Stunts are always a lot of fun as you get to, however briefly, live out all your action hero fantasies."

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There was one moment in particular which has stuck with the actor as he was absolutely living the dream.

He added: "There\'s one section of the sequence where I get to throw a filing cabinet down the gaping hole in the floor, and then turn around and say a witty quip.

"I\'m gonna be honest, I have never felt cooler."

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Richard - who left the soap just over a year after the stunt - has been busy with other projects, including German kids TV show \'Pan Tau\', which is a remake of a an old favourite from the 1970s.

There have also been more secretive projects for Richard, who teased: "Other than that, I had a whistle-stop visit to South Africa in December for something I\'m not too sure if I can tell you...

"All I\'ll say is you\'ve likely seen me on TV earlier this year, but I highly doubt you knew it was me.

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"Outside of the acting world, I\'ve been trying to keep busy. I\'ve started volunteering for Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire, as an animal rescuer."