DS chats to former Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas about his exit and life after the show.
So there we have it... Warren Fox is no more.
What did you think of his death scene? I have to say I thought it was quite an imaginative one. Death by mirror's not something you see every day.
Last week, I gave the man behind the sly Fox, Jamie Lomas, a call to chat about his final episodes, his death scene and what he plans for in life after Hollyoaks.
Was it always your intention to leave after this length of time?
"Well I wanted to go after two years. I sat down with Bryan Kirkwood who told me what he had in store and it was too good to refuse! The storyline was so fantastic."
Did you have any input into Warren's demise?
"Bryan was the brains behind it. Obviously we used to talk about the character all the time and the direction we would like him to go in but it's down to Bryan really."
You must owe a lot to him because Warren was his creation?
"Yeah, of course - we've become good friends and I'd love to work with him again given the chance. I always tell him I'll never forget what he did for me. Look what he did for the show as well - it was in a bit of a mess when he took over and he took it from rags to riches."
Would you have preferred Louise to have killed Warren off?
"I don't know really, it's difficult to say. Louise was the love of Warren's life - I had people coming up to me saying 'She's not dead!' and I'm like 'She's dead!' - there's no more evidence than me sat on the bed with a pillow on my lap and her legs dangling. She's dead but I would have loved her to come back. I felt that it was quite fitting that Clare came back for Warren's exit though."
"I think they did an alternative ending in case she wanted to come back but she'd decided she didn't want to and that's why they brought Clare in."
What was it like filming the stunts?
"Awesome. As an actor that's the sort of thing you want to do! It was so intense filming them. I was glad that Chris Fountain had something to do with the exit because Justin and Warren have such a past. We work really well together and you'll see from the final episode that we've got a connection on screen and it worked really well. We got to do a lot of the stunts ourselves but it was so hot in the room we were filming in with the fire. It all added to the intensity and drama, though. We had such a good director as well in Sean Glynn. The whole week was shot so fantastically. That's the good thing with Hollyoaks, too - it's shot differently from any other soap.
Were you upset on your last day at Hollyoaks?
"To be honest with you, when I knew I was filming my final scene - obviously I've spent three years of my life there and I've got lots of good friends there - I got really emotional. I had to take myself off and have a word with myself and say 'Come on - you need to pull it together!' It was great because all the producers came down and clapped me and bought me a bottle of champagne. It was very emotional."
Were you pleased with the final scene?
"Yeah, it was weird to watch though. Seeing yourself dying on screen is a bit strange but I couldn't have asked for a better exit!"
Did you see filming for Warren's funeral?
"I didn't, but I phoned my friend Stephen Uppal [Ravi] while I was in Portugal playing golf to see how he was doing but he was really quiet. Then he said 'I was just on set filming your funeral!' It was bizarre!"
Was there anything you'd have liked to have seen Warren do but didn't get chance?
"They had a storyline where they were going to let him do some underground boxing. I sat down with Bryan and we came up with the idea but he thought it was a bit too gruesome. But now they've given it to somebody else! I really wanted that storyline and now it's happening to someone else - I can't tell you who, obviously, but it'll be great to watch because the guy who's doing it's brilliant."
How did you keep in such good shape working on such an intense show?
"Towards the end I did put a bit of weight on because I was in work all the time. When you're involved in such a heavy storyline like that you're that tired when you come home and you have to learn lines for the next day and go over your scenes - you just don't have time. It's only when the calendar's due to be shot that everyone gets in shape really!"
"I don't know. I'm shooting a short film the first week in June but to be honest, since I left, I've not stopped doing press so I haven't had a chance to think about it! I've got a couple of auditions for films and other projects. Whatever comes in, my agent and I will have a look at and see what's right for me. I want to pick the right role obviously and shake off Warren."
"I'm doing a film called Threads at the moment. It's a short film based in Sheffield - so I get to do an accent. It's about a character who's part of a far-right party. He had an affair with a black lady when he was younger and they had a son who he wanted nothing to do with. It's about his son coming back all these years later and he's still involved with the same far-right party and they're trying to connect with each other but he's gone that far that he can't. It's really interesting and the character's completely different to Warren. There's another film I'm looking at called Rose so that might be interesting as well. I'm just looking at the script at the moment so we'll see what happens. I'd love to go down the film route but I'm going to have to wait and see."
You could do what James Sutton has done and go to a different soap with a different character?
"Yeah, good luck to him! James is a good friend of mine - I'm sure he'll be great in Emmerdale! My sister [Charley Webb] is there, too. She's absolutely fantastic and she's been there since she was a kid!"
"Definitely! I'm an actor at the end of the day and if the right thing comes up, I'll never say never. I'm a big Coronation Street fan and obviously my girlfriend [Kym Marsh] is there, too."
Can't Kym pull a few strings to get you a Corrie cameo?
"I'd never ask for that - I'd get it off my own merit!"
Warren's final episode also signals the end of Bryan Kirkwood's storyline ideas with the teen soap. If you're interested to read what's in store for the coming months, then click here to read my recent interview with new series producer Lucy Allan.