Nick Pickard was "overwhelmed" by the reaction to his apparent 'Hollyoaks' exit.
Nick Pickard
The soap stalwart's alter ego Tony Hutchinson was targeted by serial killer Breda McQueen (Moya Brady) last week and after the 44-year-old star was removed from the show's opening credits, devastated fans used their social media accounts to object to his axing, only for it to be revealed on Monday (02.09.19) that the chef was still alive but being kept captive at the pig farm.
While Nick mostly missed the social media storm, he was stunned by the outcry when he took a "little look".
He said: "I'm not really active on social media. I'm not even a big texter, I'm a phone calls man. Although I did have a little look and I was overwhelmed by the reaction it got.
"It makes you feel nice to know loads of people are watching and enjoying it. There were thousands of comments."
Even Nick's close friend, former co-star Will Mellor - who played Jambo Bolton - was convinced he'd left the show.
He told RadioTimes.com: "I saw Will Mellor recently, he came to visit the set, and then yesterday he rang me demanding to know why I hadn't told him I was leaving the show! He had the right hump, he thought I'd not told him and was keeping it a secret!
"I haven't lied to any of my mates or family, but a woman ran up to me in Asda over the weekend desperate to know what had happened to Tony - I wasn't going to let it out to her and spoil the surprise, so with a wry smile I said what I always say to fans: 'You'll just have to keep watching!' "
But fans shouldn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet as Nick warned it still isn't "looking good" for his alter ego.
He said: "It's not looking good. Breda starts losing the plot and things get a lot darker, she spirals and feels like she can't really kill Tony and starts to see him as a friend. He tries to play her a bit, it all gets very Stockholm syndrome! It's going to be good. But that pig farm set stinks!"
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