Hollyoaks has waved goodbye to Keith Rice, as his character Finn O’Connor was found guilty at his trial this week.
The schoolboy was in the dock on the Channel 4 soap for the rape of his teacher John Paul McQueen (James Sutton) and attempted rape of another teacher, Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox), and was found guilty on both charges.
Keith, who has played Finn for 18 months, told Digital Spy: “My time working on Hollyoaks has been nothing short of fantastic. I would like to say thanks to Bryan Kirkwood for giving me the chance to play such a challenging and fascinating character, and the storyline between John Paul and Finn has been a privilege to be involved with.
Finn was found guilty this week (Lime Pictures)
“I knew when I was told about the storyline that it was going to mean an exit for Finn, but after researching and speaking to real people who have been affected by the issues we would be addressing, an exit didn’t matter to me in order to do it justice.
“What mattered was telling a story to make people aware and hopefully helping as many people as we can. I hope we have and continue to achieve that.”
The actor added: “I have had a great time working with the cast and production team and I have to say a massive thank you to Alex Fletcher, Nick Pickard, Stephanie Davis and Charlie Wernham for taking me in and looking after me right from the beginning.
John Paul gave evidence at the trial (Lime Pictures)
“But I wouldn’t be where I am right now without James Sutton. Not only is he an incredible actor but he is the same off screen and has become a friend for life. I have learnt an awful lot from him and throughout my time at Hollyoaks he has been an idol for me.
“The time, effort and hard work he puts into his discipline is something I admire and I will take a lot from James forward into my own career.”
Keith joined Hollyoaks in early 2013 when the character of Finn was brought back to the village. He was previously played by Connor Wilkinson from 2010 for a year.
