Hollyoaks' Emmett: Brendan hides Ste from his son
Hollyoaks actor Emmett Scanlan reveals to Soaplife how Brendan hides his real life from his newly arrived son Declan... Brendan has sneakily put an end to Ste's plans to move away with Noah. But his fight to win back his former lover has to be put on hold when his teenage son Declan comes to stay. "Family comes first for Brendan," says Emmett. "He's not the sort of person who'd want his son to know he's gay." So, more secrets and lies... What are Brendan’s feelings for Ste? "They haven't changed. There's still this deep attraction and love there but Brendan's very territorial about him, too. If he can't have him he doesn't want anyone else to..." Which is why he splits up Ste and Noah. Will he try to build a proper relationship with Ste now? "Can a leopard change its spots? Brendan carries this inner rage and I think his relationship with Ste will be as it always has been. I can't see them walking around Hollyoaks hand in hand." Nor can we after Brendan's son Declan turns up out of the blue! Is he staying? "At least for a bit. Brendan's ex-wife Eileen shows up unannounced and says she's going away for a fortnight to a wedding and Declan needs somewhere to stay." Is Brendan close to his son? "He wants to be, but he hasn't been around for a lot of the time. He's determined to make the most of this fortnight and use it to get closer to his son." Will he hide his gay side? "That - and he'll want to hide the fact that he's a psychopath!" Will we see a different side to Brendan? "Yes, a much softer side. My own daughter is in Ireland and I don't see as much of her as I'd like. It hasn't been hard to put myself in Brendan's shoes." Will Brendan ever be ready to reveal himself as gay? "I can't imagine it. Brendan doesn't see himself as a gay man. He's been married with kids. He just sees himself as somebody who sleeps with men.."
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.