Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson nervous over Ste's big January story

 "I have to do some really heavy stuff!"

Hollyoaks favourite Kieron Richardson has been experiencing "sleepless nights" over his character's big upcoming plot.

During a recent interview with Inside Soap, the Ste Hay actor was asked if he's excited about his character's major new storyline coming up in the New Year, which he previously teased to  at the 2023 Inside Soap Awards.

"I am, but I've also had a few sleepless nights worrying about it!" he confessed.

"I've been doing comedy plots for a while, being a support for Sienna [Blake] and James [Nightingale], but now it's falling on my shoulders and I have to do some really heavy stuff.

"I'm like, 'Can I even do this any more?' But the scripts are amazing, I just want to do it to the best of my ability. It's a nervous and exciting time for me," Richardson added, although it has yet to be revealed what the challenging material entails.

 the soap star recalled "the most exciting meeting" he'd been invited to "in a very long time" with Hollyoaks bosses.

"I can say that the name Hollyoaks is going to be on everybody's lips – or should I say that your jaw is going to hit the floor that much that you won't be able to speak?" said Richardson.

"The stories that are coming out, not just mine but for other people, it's really exciting. I loved having the comedy. It was something a little bit different. I am ready now to go back to 'bad boy' Ste. The tracksuits are going to get more muted again. We're going back to serious acting – no more silliness."

Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.