The Ste and Leah Hollyoaks wedding is set to be a chaotic, tear-soaked affair, and Kieron Richardson, who plays Ste Hay, reckons his character will ultimately stand by Leah no matter what secrets surface on the big day.
Leah Barnes is due to marry fiancé Imran Maalik in episodes airing next week, but the build-up has been anything but straightforward. A recent fling between Leah and Prince McQueen is casting a long shadow over proceedings, and Imran himself pulls a mysterious disappearing act on his own wedding day before eventually making it down the aisle, only to deliver a confession that threatens to blow the whole occasion apart.
Kieron Richardson on the Ste and Leah Hollyoaks wedding day drama
Richardson spoke to Digital Spy during a set visit for the wedding filming, and was clearly enjoying the scale of it all. ‘It’s been amazing to film the big Leah and Imran wedding episode because it’s a long time coming,’ he said. ‘Ste’s had a lot of weddings, so he’s now passing the baton to his kids. Leah’s up first with Imran and in true soap fashion, it’s not going to go well!’
He admitted the pace of the storyline caught him off guard. ‘I knew the story would build to a wedding, but I didn’t know it would be this quick and I didn’t realise all the secrets people would be keeping,’ he said.
As for Ste’s headspace on the day itself, Richardson was careful to keep details vague, but made clear his character is carrying some heavy personal baggage into the ceremony. ‘I think at this point in the story, the audience will know Ste is dealing with a lot right now. For him to even make it to the wedding was a big deal. It’s a distraction on the day of everything going on around him. But as soon as the wedding is over, he’s going back to what’s distracting him.’
Leah’s affair with Prince, and why Ste can’t exactly take the moral high ground
On the subject of Leah’s fling with Prince McQueen, Richardson was candid about the awkward position it puts Ste in. ‘Ste’s got no idea what Leah is up to,’ he said. ‘He just thinks she’s got all this money, she’s been splashing the cash on him, they live in this amazing houseboat, but he’s got no idea who she’s been kissing!’
When the affair does come to light, Richardson does not expect Ste to play the outraged parent. ‘I think if Ste was to find out about Leah and Prince, there’s not much he can really say!’ he laughed. ‘It’s a bit like “like daughter, like father”. I don’t think he can come down too hard because it’s learned behaviour, and she’s grown up with “daddy Ste” cheating and cheating and cheating.’
It is the kind of honest self-awareness that has always made Ste one of Hollyoaks‘s more compelling long-running characters, and Richardson clearly relishes the comic as well as dramatic weight of the moment.
Show bosses are not confirming exactly how the wedding concludes, but the promise is tears, tantrums and turmoil, with more than one ongoing storyline reaching a flashpoint on the same day.
Richardson was effusive about the visual spectacle the production team has put together. ‘The village looks amazing,’ he said. ‘We’re in the height of summer and the design team have done an incredible job. With the money Leah and Imran have, they could have gone to a big castle and spent it all there, but they’ve closed off the road and we’re having it in the heart of the village.’
Setting the drama in the show’s most iconic location was a deliberate creative choice, and Richardson clearly agrees with it. ‘There’s nothing more exciting for the audience than to see drama happening in the most iconic place the show is known for, which is the village,’ he said.
New episodes of Hollyoaks air Monday to Wednesday, with each episode available to stream on Channel 4 from 7am before its E4 broadcast the same evening at 7pm. Full episodes are also made available on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release, with selected omnibus episodes on Prime Video.
Related Posts
