Former EastEnders star Matt Lapinskas teases dark Hollyoaks role

Former EastEnders star Matt Lapinskas has spoken to Digital Spy about his new role in Hollyoaks.

Last week, Digital Spy exclusively revealed the news that Matt had been cast in the Channel 4 soap's upcoming Mallorca holiday episodes, which centre around Luke Morgan and Cindy Cunningham's stag and hen celebrations.

Matt will be playing a gangster called Alex, who'll be crossing paths with fan favourite characters like Luke, Tony Hutchinson and Darren Osborne during the trip.

Digital Spy joined the Hollyoaks cast on location in Mallorca for the special filming last week and Matt spoke to us about what to expect from his character.

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Matt explained: "Alex is the character that I'm playing. He's moved over from England to Mallorca, where he's set up his own little business on the strip.

"It's all about taking stag dos out, showing them around the island and showing them a good time.

"There's a friendly side to Alex and a darker side to him. There's a darker aspect to what he actually does out in Mallorca.

"I think Alex is dangerous, but to a point where he's just trying to make a living for himself out in Mallorca. There is a presence of danger to him, but there's also a nicer flip side to his character.

matt lapinskas as anthony moon in eastenders

BBC

"He's very friendly and very approachable, so that's why the characters will trust him at first.

"I think he uses that to his advantage. He uses that nice presence and the jokiness to get what he needs."

While Alex will only be appearing in a couple of episodes, Matt confirmed that the door is left open for a future return in the village itself.

He laughed: "We never know! A lot of the cast said: 'Oh, you're only here for a couple of episodes. Does he appear again?'

luke morgan and cindy cunningham in hollyoaks

Lime Pictures

"It's not in my hands. I've been written in for this nice segment out here, the big Gary Lucy story, which is great.

"But he could do. Alex is usually based in England, so we'll see where it leads. He's not dead at the end of it, so he could potentially return.

"It's up to them at the end of the day. I came out to Mallorca to do my work, do my job and we'll see where it takes us."

Matt previously played the role of Anthony Moon on EastEnders in 2011 and 2012. He's also well known for competing on the eighth series of Dancing on Ice in 2013, finishing as runner-up.

"It's nice to come back and do a soap at this age, because my time at EastEnders was fantastic but maybe there's some things I would have done differently," Matt told us.

"Now I've got that opportunity which is great, because not a lot of people get that. You don't always get a second chance to come back.

"I've been grafting, I've been training hard. I've been trying to be there mentally and physically and it's all come together."

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Discussing his recent hard work at the gym, he added: "I got myself a new trainer and he's got me in great shape. He's in constant touch with me.

"Even now I'm abroad, I've got a routine for that and I have to send him everything I'm eating so he can check in.

"Then Hollyoaks came along and it was never planned. It wasn't like I wanted to train because I'm doing Hollyoaks, I'm just going to train for me.

"That was it, just for physical and mental health. For me it's two hours in the gym, with my headphones on, I'm in my own zone and I crack on with it. I feel good in life and everything has aligned, really."

Hollyoaks will screen the Mallorca episodes in June.

Hollyoaks now streams first on All 4, with new episodes dropping each weekday morning. The show airs Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, and at 7pm on E4.

Selected omnibus episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video.