James Sutton: I'd do another soap

James Sutton: I'd do another soap (Image credit: Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment)

Former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale star James Sutton has said that he would consider joining another soap if he were given the opportunity. The 29-year-old played John Paul McQueen in the former, and starred as Ryan Lamb in the latter - but did not rule out joining the likes of EastEnders of Coronation Street if the offer were there. "I don't think they'll have me in another soap. I've done two - would the audience believe another character?" he said. "Of course I would do another one, but I'm not sure if they would offer me another soap role." James also praised the quality of UK soaps, calling them "the stalwart of the TV world". "They are hugely popular with amazing scripts," he said. "Some of the best actors are on them: sometimes you forget how talented these people are when you watch them week in, week out." "I loved working with Barry Sloane on Hollyoaks," James added. "What an incredible actor, just very honest and very raw. He had no boundaries, and I learnt a lot from him." However James - who has set up his own pop-up acting company, Broken Leg Workshops, to give budding performers a break - admitted that it was Emmerdale's late producer Gavin Blyth who had given him the most useful piece of career advice. "When I first signed up for Emmerdale, Gavin told me to just enjoy it and have fun, because it takes the pressure off yourself if you are relaxed," he recalled.

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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.