I definitely thought this myself and I've seen the comparison made a few times. What I love is that they're very different in fundamental areas, but they both have a certain something, a magnetism and charisma that makes them very compelling.

I don't get James. Didn't he basically say he's single because he doesn't trust anyone enough to get close to them? In that case, why get close to JP? How is he trustworthy in the slightest?

Maybe he just genuinely likes him, despite his better judgement, and feels a connection to him he can't suppress? The heart wants what the heart wants. I doubt James decided in all conscience "now I'm going to get close to JP", he certainly wanted to pretend it was all still a game to him. However, it's not! And the accident probably forced him to realize it.

Whoa whoa whoa - steady on, now!!! That's getting pretty close to blasphemous territory there! As the man himself said (canon) "There ain't nobody like me!"

James is improving rapidly as a character, and I'm growing to like him (sorta) but, to me, there is no comparison with Double B. Brendan had so many facets to his personality, and each was a joy to watch. He was incomparable.

I like the way that Greg plays James, and the character/storyline is developing nicely, but I really see no similarities to Brendan. And anyway, isn't it better to aspire to be your own, unique, character rather than an poor imitation of a previous legendary character?

I'm already tired of the Brendan comparizons, the Stendan comparizons, the Robron comparizons, etc... can't we just let these characters and storyline be what they are, without constantly having to find resemblances everywhere??

The narrative possibilities are only so many. Storylines, tropes and character types have been repeating themselves for ages in fiction, be it literature or cinema/tv. Hardly anything can be completely original nowadays, it all has been already done at one point or another.

Let's just hope the writers do James and his storyline justice.

So am I, especially because I don't think think they are that similar. What do they have in common except they're gay and anti-heroes with a dark side? I get what people saying about them both having that extra something that brings some kind of magenetism to the screen but in terms of personas they are poles apart.

Both characters personas are completely different when you really look at them. They carry themselves differently.

Brendan was a legend, one of the Hollyoaks greats and he won't be replaced any time soon. That doesn't mean James can't make his own stamp on the show for being well ....James. Otherwise everyone gay 'bad boy' will be compared.

I really like James and i think the character has a lot of potential. James has his own story to tell and his own journey to take. I took to the character instantly and I'm looking forward to finding out more. His relationship with his mum is a interesting one, albeit unhealthy. I also like that the show made him a lawyer because James strikes me as needing control in all he does and his profession fits in with that.

This is absolutely what I think happened. He's pushed John Paul away a few times now, but always goes back for more!

Yup, and I think this is why he proposed the bet with Joanne. It meant he could actively persue John Paul without admitting how he left. It was all in the name of a bet, therefore he could say to himself that he was just playing him.

Yeah, also Gregory said that in one of his latest interviews!!

Calm down!
I don't think they are exactly alike but their are similarities. I personally have not been that interested in a character in the way i was with Brendan since James, aside from maybe Patrick.

Its just nice to have a decent character played by a great actor, who clearly has many layers and is interesting to watch.

Everyone said Browning was the new Brady at the time, but he was nothing like BB.

I know that he didn't choose to like JP, but he did choose to pursue a guy who can't really be trusted in a relationship, even though he admitted he was single because he finds it hard to trust people.

Is he really so into him, that he's willing to suddenly do a 180 and trust a cheater? How much time have they even spent together?

I am calm. 😋 And I am not having a go at anyone who thinks there are similarities.

I just think James should be able to grow and evolve as his own person (character) without comparisons being drawn constantly, otherwise he it hinders him as being seen as a fantastic character in his own right.

You'll get no arguements from me that James has been the most interesting male character since Brendan.

Everyone, noone excluded, is a cheater on HO... why are you singling JP out??

Besides, JP doesn't cheat when he is deeply in love ( Craig, Ste). He becomes loyal to a fault with those people.

I think it's difficult to tell because right now we don't know what trust issues James has. It doesn't necessarily have to revolve around cheating. However it's clear that he likes John Paul so whether he has reservations or not, he can't help how he feels so he's taking a leap or at least he tried to.

How am I singling him out? James is into JP, not the other characters.

I thought he kissed Harry behind Ste's back? I wasn't really watching back then, so I'm not sure.


If someone has trust issues when it comes to relationships, surely cheating would be at least a minor issue? Fidelity is one of the biggest things you have to trust your partner with.

I'm just not seeing where the feelings came from. The first time they hooked up. JP was acting like a complete tool and James was treating him like a pet to pamper. How much interaction have they had since?

To be honest, in terms of screen time, not a lot. They slept together three times now and there was the occasion where JP pretended to be his boyfriend and it was clear that James did like being in his company. However out of fear, he rejected him. There was something there, I saw it it. The whole bet was as excuse to spend time with him and i do think it was John Pauls accident that made him confront those feelings. On screen it's not an awful lot of time but thier on/off fling span over 4 months.

I get what you mean about infeidelity but I get the impression that James reluctance to be with JP doesn't have anything to do with that.

He's one of the strongest and fascinating characters and I like him a lot more than I ever did Brendan who was too overused as a character before he left.

I hope they humanise him a little more but not totally change him altogether though.

I think James does like JP for real. he really was going to let JP and matthew stay at his place until Marnie told him not to. I don't believe for one second he doesn't care at least a little bit about JP. He had already broken up JP and Scott before he brought Matthew to the hospital too.

Point taken!

But if he were into any other character, male or female, they would still be all cheaters, because sadly it's what HO is. It's not like JP is the only one guilty of that, and that James for some reason chose him despite that. If James or anyone else had to be deterred by the cheating issue, they would all have to remain single forever.


Yeah, probably..I don't remember the timing and circumstances. However, after that JP turned into a martyr and doormat to Ste, so in that case I'm cutting him some slack, because he was punished enough by the mere fact of having to put up with Ste lol

I think James is an interesting character and Greg plays him convincingly. He seems like a shady character but Greg's acting makes him feel a bit more grounded than a lot of other bad boy type characters we see in soap right now.

Looks like our beloved James is going to get one over on Mercedes now!

I absolutely love James as a character. When he first came arrived in HO I didn't like him but his one liners and dead pan humour have won me over, not to mention the fact that he is smoking hot and absolutely gorgeous!
Hope we see a lot more of James and I hope he has loads of screen time with the legend that is Linda Gray as his gran!

I was about to write the exact same thing

For some reason he physically reminds me of Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang). Jim Parsons often wears a suit which makes the similarity even stronger for me. I keep expecting him to drop out an American accent.