Hollyoaks spoilers follow from Tuesday's E4 first look episode (October 12).
Hollyoaks has killed off stalker Timmy Simons in the show's latest episode.
Timmy was murdered by his menacing boss Fergus Collins (Robert Beck) after finally being rumbled as Peri Lomax's stalker.
This week's scenes saw Peri (Ruby O'Donnell) discover that Timmy had become obsessed with her and had been watching her via a hidden camera.
Fearing that the truth about Operation Bluebird could be exposed if Timmy faced the police, Fergus decided to get him out of the picture and shot him.
In real life, Sam Tutty – who played Timmy – is now returning to the stage to portray the title character in Dear Evan Hansen. Last year, he won Best Actor in a Musical at the Olivier Awards for his role in the West End show.
Digital Spy recently caught up with Sam to chat about his Hollyoaks exit.
How did it feel to say goodbye to the show?
"I think what's consistent about Hollyoaks is that all of the characters have so much potential to go in so many different directions. I felt very emotional. I only had a limited amount of time before I was due to go back to Dear Evan Hansen, but I just felt there was so much more I wanted to do.
"I really enjoyed my time on Hollyoaks and everyone from the cast and crew was so fun to work with."
When you joined Hollyoaks, did you always know it had an end point because you were going back into theatre?
"Yeah, although I didn't know when that was! It was towards the end of my Hollyoaks contract when I knew that I'd be going back to theatre in October."
Were you glad to get such a dramatic exit?
"Yeah, Timmy going out execution-style was very emotional. It was almost as if Timmy knew what was coming. That was really fun to toy with on the day that we were working on those scenes. We filmed it in several different ways, so I'm looking forward to finding out which one they used!"
How did you feel about Fergus being the one to take out Timmy?
"I think what goes around, comes around. It was almost like a poetic justice, really. I wouldn't have wanted it to be anyone but him.
"Fergus knows Timmy's potential. He knows that he's smart and clever, but also that he can be manipulated and that he's impressionable. Nobody else in the village knows Timmy better than Fergus, so if it was going to be anyone, it was going to be him."
How was it to play the villain?
"At the beginning, I thought: 'Bloody hell, how am I going to play a villain? I've not even acted on telly before!' But the cast, crew and directors were so forgiving and accommodating.
"They really helped guide me into the choices I wanted to make, and if it didn't work out, they'd say: 'Okay, why don't we try it another way?' You could see how much they cared. That was really lovely to see and it was a brilliant working environment.
"I'm also very honoured to say that I'm good friends with Ruby and Niamh, who play Peri and Juliet, in real life, so exploring the story was more fun than anything. It was a real privilege to act with them."
Hollyoaks has often redeemed villains. Do you think that was possible with Timmy, or was he too far gone?
"I think Timmy obviously knew he'd made mistakes. He was someone who could be corrupted and was very impressionable, but there were also scenes where he showed that he knew the difference between right and wrong.
"What he didn't know the difference between was love and obsessiveness. That's where the corruption began and Fergus was a massive amplifier to that.
"I would have loved to have played Timmy for another year or so. I think turning over a new leaf was something he was capable of. But it's whether Fergus would have allowed him to do that. Timmy was fuelled by fear."
Did you like that Peri and Juliet got their revenge in your final episode?
"Yes, absolutely, I think they definitely deserved it. It was very fun doing those scenes as well. That was actually my last day. All six of those scenes were done on the same day."
What kind of reaction did you get from the fans?
"As soon as you compromise 'Jeri' and their ship, you are immediately on the chopping block – which I totally accepted and was hoping for, really. I didn't want Timmy to be well-received, because that wouldn't really bode well for Peri and Juliet!
"It was lovely to play someone who wasn't meant to be liked. It broadens my mind as an actor to delve into someone like that. It was really fascinating, a real gift and I'm really appreciative of Hollyoaks for letting me play someone like that and trusting me with the role."
Who will you keep in touch with?
"Niamh and Ruby, definitely. They're the best!"
The story isn't over, as Peri and Juliet still don't know about Operation Bluebird. Will you stay tuned to see how it all plays out?
"Yes. Whenever we did scenes about Bluebird, I was always so intrigued to see which direction they'd go with it. It's just that there wasn't enough time in my contract to allow that!
"That's one of the many reasons why I really wanted to stay – to explore that. I wanted to see if it has any effect on the village, and to see who is hacking Bluebird and why. There's so much untapped potential to explore that, but it's just down to me not having enough time."
How has it been to go back to Dear Evan Hansen?
"I did the show for six months pre-COVID. I'm in rehearsals again and it's so lovely to revisit the role. It's like wearing a familiar coat.
"With Hollyoaks, it was so lovely to delve into something that was new, something that I hadn't done, but I was so, so excited to come back to Dear Evan Hansen. It's going to be amazing and it's amazing right now to be rehearsing again."
Has Hollyoaks given you a taste for more TV work?
"150,000%! I always wanted to go into a soap. The fact that I did it in lockdown was very fortunate. It was nice that I could fit that in and it put a foot in the door for me to explore more things."
Would you do another soap?
"I would feel almost an element of betrayal, actually! I'd love to go back into Hollyoaks. Maybe Timmy's actually alive or there's some zombie special Halloween episode we can do!"
Do you have a final message for the fans?
"Thank you very much for watching, most importantly. I hope you enjoyed Timmy's maliciousness and manipulative personality as much as I enjoyed playing him."
Hollyoaks airs new episodes from Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first-look screenings at 7pm on E4. Selected omnibus episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video.
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Daniel has been writing about soaps on Digital Spy since 2004 and took over as Soaps Editor in 2010.
He has interviewed hundreds of soap stars over the years, from Bill Roache to Lacey Turner, and regularly visits the sets of Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks for behind-the-scenes trips and press events.
He has served as an awards judge on numerous occasions for the likes of the BAFTA TV Awards, RTS Programme Awards and British Soap Awards. In 2020, he was Highly Commended for Best Section Editor at the BSME Awards.
