He'll be great with Linda!

James is an absolutely brilliant character, with multiple layers and he is played by a great actor in Gregory who really shines through amongst some of the 'actors' Hollyoaks has. I love how he has humour, but you can see that he uses humour as his guard. He obviously seems damaged, when his ex came onto the show he seemed to act differently and there was hints that it may be because of that ex and also Marnie turning him into a manipulative slimeball.

I did like James when he was in the show at the beginning, his involvement in Starry was great to watch because it got one over on Ste (who is a horrible character) but it was refreshing seeing him have genuine affection for JP and Marnie took that away from him. It's great to see different sides to the characters. To me, James actually looks like Dr Browning, that's who he reminded me of.

A better version! Hopefully, he won't end up like Dr Browning.

I hated Browning found him horrid, and pointless

I can see similarities in his looks to Browning but he is much more cunning and intelligent than Browning ever was.

I wasn't comparing James to Brendan in terms of character. Just the way they evolved. James first scene was stealing candy from a baby and asking for extra sprinkles(or something) on his coffee. Clearly a quirky character. But they've continued to add layers and depth to his character in a similar way to Brendan.

Whether this was planned or they just realised how good Gregory Finnegan is I have no idea.

I certainly think James is the most interesting character we have had since Brendan. Browning was a terrible character. I recall he was a main player after Brendan left, as if he was the 'new Brendan' He was nothing of the sort. The fact that he killed lovely Lynsey for that dreadful Mercedes made me despise him. He was so under Mercys spell he was such a sap really. I was glad when Cindy caved his face in!

I agree. As far as gay characters go in HO I'm fed up of them. It's every other scene and grating, as it's all the soap seems to be about.

However, I quite frankly cannot abide his wretched, bitch of a mother, the actress is bad and the character is poor. I hope James has enough mummy issues to turn all Norman Bates on her ass.

They have said she is close to James. I have a theory James is not Mac's son which would explsin the comment about Mac excluding them when Nathan was born. She is only in it for a week so far so this must be a device to show viewers noted of the backstory of the Nightingales.

I'd rather Mac be James son because i find thier distant relationship more interesting on the basis that they just didn't bond as father and son rather than it being a paternity issue, which has become quite repetitive now. However I think if this is the road HO are going down, I get the impression that Mac is in the dark about it. At least I hope so.

I suspect you are right though. Linda's arrival will reveal some interesting secrets around the nightingale family, more notable James. A paternity issue may or may not crop up but I suspect something else happened in James past to make him who he is. Only Marnie and his gran are privy to that.

I dont want him to be someone else's kid, makes sense being Macs but mac not bonding with him that much, could be cos of his sexuality, could be because im assuming Morticia and Mac were young and he resents having a kid young, it stopped him doing things he wanted, or tied him to morticia

I quite like James and agree he is one of the best things about the show right now.
I think he has great chemistry with JO and would love for them to get together but then Hollyoaks is really shit at portraying couples just being couples and they always throw drama over drama at them.

Like when JP and Ste first got together, I quite liked the idea of that but they never really were a couple there was always some drama spiting them up or fighting or whatever. Not for a minute did we see them just be, which I think is important if they want viewers to be invested in a relationship onscreen.
I have no interest in seeing that yet again with JP and James.

John Paul and Ste were wrong for each other and it was clear the show only put them together because they were the only gays in the villiage. I didn't see any chemistry between them either.

Where as James and John Paul seem to work on screen and you can really see James vulnerability around him

I don't mind soaps throwing drama at couples, otherwise it would get boring fast. It just annoys when it doesn't ring true and they just expect the viewers to swallow it in the name of 'drama'.

I think James particularly has enough skeletons and traits as a person to make it interesting for him and JP without HO going down the road of predictability and no imagination. Whether HO utilise that potential though is another question.

As much as I hate "Starry" they have done well with developing that relationship on screen, and Mercy and Joe has been done well (bar the random decision to marry) hollyoaks seems to be getting better lately

I agree but it can not be just drama, I think they should give a relationship time to "breathe" and really show why a couple is together in the first place.

I think JP and Ste made a certain sense on paper but was totally mishandled and just an endless string of unnecessary drama.

@ChelseaEllie
Yes Mercy and Jo are a lovely couple though I could do without Jo constantly acting like she is out of his league. I mean he is not suit & style guy like Beckham but he is still fit as.
Harry and Ste are sorta lovely but also kinda ridiculous, I can't really warm to them mainly cause I dislike Ste.

I get what you mean about Ste, but you can see that they have love for each other, and they had time on screen to develop feelings etc, and show they are strong as a couple, I cant stand them, think Harry is crazy to want Ste, find Harry a horrid actor, but the relationship was a slow build on screen and since has shown moments of affection, rather than JP and all his partners (even Scott) where it goes from nothing to full on

He and Scott came from no where and suddenly JP is living in Tonys house with Scott, we dont see anything that suggests it works other than JP needs a house to stay in

Oh don't get me started on JP and Scott. Scott is a horrible, horrible character or more like not a character at all just a walking cliche with tropes instead of a personality.
Still JP treated him badly and I disapprove of that but then JP could always be incredibly selfish at times, he is after all a McQueen.

I agree that no one in their right mind would want to be with Ste really, he is just a complete mess and eternal victim of his own making. Not that "Mr I'm allergic to shirts", is such a catch.

I cant stand Scott, but I find that the writers have done a horrible job with him, normally in hollyoaks tradition, the characters appear, they are painfully OTT then a month or so in the calm down, get depth and become more rounded, Scott didnt, or the stuff they put in to make him better failed, him being a virgin should have been explored more, could have made us like him more, but some how that failed, i saw him as meaning to be an older George , but with no redeeming characteristics

I agree JP treated him badly, it was clear that JP drifted towards him because he was lost and lonely, and at points homeless, and scott worshiped JP, and JP thought that could be enough, he was wrong, he needs to have passion, not just friendship. I do think that relationship was all about Scott, they wanted JP to be bad and us to have pity for Scott, doubt they expected most people to want scott gone and most people blaming bad writing not JP

RITFL!! Perfect description of Harry. God, I can't stand him or Parry Glasspool. Neither Harry or the actor are God's gift to humanity, yet they both act like they are.

Stop talking about dull Harry and Ste! This is all about the fabulous James

Of course!!! James >>>> alll the others. I'm so glad that they stuck Harry with Ste, freeing JP for James!! (even though we had to go through the purgatory of JP/Scott before getting here).

This is hollyoaks, JP will get with James and cheat on him with Scott, whe he will marry before getting Morticia pregenant

I'll just enjoy it until it lasts. What else can anyone do???

that has to be Stes new story line in reality, either getting Diane or Myra pregnant, the mother of his Hubby or 2 kids by 2 different generations

No one should be subjected to Ste. It's like a fate worse than death for a gay character on this show.

As for James, he's a way better character than Brendan.