Hollyoaks has aired a tribute to James Nightingale in Leah Barnes’ exit scenes.
James was killed off as part of the time-jump cliffhanger last week when he was targeted with a car bomb set up by the villainous gangster Blue (aka Dave Williams).
Long-time cast member Ela-May Demircan’s final scenes also aired during Tuesday’s (September 24) E4 episode, as her character Leah headed off to university in America.
Her final week revolved around whether she’d put her newborn child up for adoption, or if her father Ste Hay would agree to raise the child.
Ste decided at the last minute to look after the newborn baby boy, which created a problem for Dillon Ray since he’s desperate to keep secret that he’s the child’s father.
Dillon was scared about his secret son staying in the village with Ste, warning Leah that his boyfriend (and Leah’s brother) Lucas would never forgive them if he found out the truth.
Leah reckoned that the best interests of the child were most important — and she was certain that Ste could give the boy the best possible life.
Next, Leah stopped in to visit her mate Frankie Osbourne to promise her that her “dreams are going to come true”. She also assured her friend she was doing the right thing by pursuing charges against her abusive brother JJ.
“Frankie, you are the bravest person I have ever met,” Leah told her friend. “Once you get this trial done, there is literally nothing you can’t do… You’re a hero.”
Leah then visited her dad Ste’s bedside at the hospital, where he told his daughter that she was “ready to take on the world” as the first person in his family to go to university.
“You’ll be a top lawyer one day,” he predicted.
Leela and Ste light-heartedly joked about what the late James Nightingale would have thought about Leah moving to America, before the teen made a big decision.
“I think I want to call [the baby] James,” she decided. “That way, he’ll be with us every day.”
Ste broke down in tears, telling Leah: “Yeah, I would really like that [name].”
Leah asked Ste to take care of young James, before sharing a hug with her father and her baby boy.
As Leah turned to leave with Leela, Ste joked: “Have fun… and no more one-night-stands!”
