Actor Scott Neal Joining New Gay Storyline on "Hollyoaks"

Emmett Scanlan (left) and Kieron Richardson

Yesterday Hollyoaks actor Kieron Richardson came out publicly and then shared details about his previously straight character Stephen "Ste" Hay's upcoming gay storyline with bad boy character Brendan Brady (played by Emmett Scanlan).

That in itself was pretty enticing, but the news on this storyline keeps getting better and better. We're hearing that actor Scott Neal will show up on Hollyoaks in the near future, and the rumor is he'll be playing a gay character who is a part of Brendan's past.

Actor Scott Neal

Neal is probably best known for two previous landmark gay roles. When he was just 17 he played a gay teenager in love in the classic film Beautiful Thing.

Glenn Berry as "Jamie" and Scott Neal as "Ste" in Beautiful Thing (1996)
 

 Neal went on to play a gay constable on the long-running British police procedural, The Bill.

Neal as PC Luke Ashton on The Bill

The casting makes some sense, since Hollyoaks producer Paul Marquess was previously the executive producer on The Bill. Clearly, he's a fan of Neal's work.

Most recently, Neal played troubled gay teen Aaron Livesy's solicitor in two episodes of Emmerdale.