SOAP hunk Gary Lucy was a “blubbering wreck” after filming his final ever Hollyoaks scene – 23 years after he first joined the show. Gary, 40, has played Luke Morgan on and off since he was 17, but made the decision to kill off his popular character in a heartbreaking and tragic dementia storyline. Speaking […]
SOAP hunk Gary Lucy was a “blubbering wreck” after filming his final ever Hollyoaks scene – 23 years after he first joined the show.
Gary, 40, has played Luke Morgan on and off since he was 17, but made the decision to kill off his popular character in a heartbreaking and tragic dementia storyline.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he reveals that the illness is one that is close to his heart – his beloved Nan has been suffering with dementia for the last 12 years.
Opening up about the hard-hitting storyline and his emotional exit, Gary said: “It was a story that I really wanted to tell and there was only one way it could end – with Luke’s tragic death.
“Young person dementia has never been shown on British TV before and sadly like so many others dementia is an illness that has touched my family.
“My Nan was diagnosed with dementia back when I was doing Dancing On Ice in 2010 and it’s absolutely horrendous. It really is such an awful disease.
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“I always knew it was going to mean that Luke would die, but it’s been hard saying goodbye, really hard.
“Every time I was doing a scene with someone we’d realise that it would be our last one together and I was in absolute bits.
“They’re getting upset, I’m trying not to get upset, but you can’t help it because the memories are just massive.
“We’ve all grown up together so to finish each scene with these people and re-live the memories, well it’s been very emotional.
“And then after I filmed my final ever scene everyone came down with flowers and I just completely lost it.
“I was trying to get my words out to thank everyone for all the support they’d given me over the years but it was hard because I was proper blubbering. I was a blubbering wreck.”
Gary became one of the hottest young actors on British TV when he quit Hollyoaks shortly after taking on soaps first ever male rape storyline in 2000.
He’d already appeared in the Sky One football series Dream Team, and BBC kids drama Grange Hill, but it was the role of Luke, and the groundbreaking storyline, that saw him go on to star in two of ITV’s biggest shows Footballers Wives and The Bill as well as BBC soap EastEnders.
He said: “I owe so much to the place and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I’m getting upset again now.
“It’s a special place there, not just because I started in 1998 it just is. It sounds cliched but it’s like a family.
“There is always someone there to pick you up if you’re falling, and trust me when I say that is not the norm.
“When I left in 2000 I thought every place I worked at would be lovely. I think with Hollyoaks there’s something that was instilled back in Phil Redmond days, working class people that are up for the job and here to learn and help each other out.
“We all muck in there is no nonsense. If we’re filming on location we all help carry the equipment, it’s just the way it is there.
“For me the overriding thing is I feel like it’s not like any other job that I’ve left. I’m walking away from a family and will miss them all.”
Gary retuned to Hollyoaks in 2017 after bosses got in touch to revisit the male rape storyline.
He came back with Sarah Jayne Dunn, 40, and was reunited with his old cast mates Ashley Taylor Dawson, 40, Nick Pickard, 46, and Stephanie Waring, 43.
Bosses then cast Susie Amy, 41, who had played his wife in Footballers Wives, as Luke’s ex Scarlett Morgan, mother of his son Ollie.
He was persuaded to extend his stay following a discussion with the soap’s former top boss Bryan Kirkwood and suggested the dementia storyline.
Luke was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at the end of 2019 and his condition has deteriorated over the last few months.
The cast and crew flew out to Majorca last month to film his tragic exit.
Gary said: “When they asked me to come back five years ago to re-visit Luke’s trauma, the psychological affects of not dealing with what he went through, and that he was now an alcoholic, I thought great.
“I spoke to Bryan Kirkwood, our wonderful former producer, and that’s when we discussed the dementia storyline.
“It’s something that couldn’t be rushed because of the nature of the illness.
“At the end of this I can feel like I hold my head up high. I feel like there’s not much more I could have done.
“I wanted to leave everything out on the field and I’m quite pleased that I can walk away feeling like I’ve done this.
“It was hard getting your head into these different stories but for me the heavier the better. You carry it emotionally and I do suffer because I put myself out there.
“Hollyoaks are great at offering help when you need it. Thankfully I’ve not had to speak to anybody but knowing it’s there is a safety net.
“I just wanted to tackle something that would stretch me and would leave a little bit of a mark but playing it has been one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do.
“We worked closely with the Alzheimer’s Society and had one of the top neurology specialists in the country provide an insight into it.
“We also spoke to a couple of ladies whose father has the disease. It’s also about showing what it’s like for those who are caring for people with dementia.
“It’s like a bereavement stretched over a long time, you’re watching the person disappear before your eyes and they have no idea what’s going on.”
Gary drew on his own heartache when reading scripts for Luke’s dementia.
He said: “We had to say goodbye to my Nan three times during lockdown.
“They’d call us and say she’s not eating and you have to come. One time was through a window which was absolutely horrendous, but then she pulled through.
“It’s a complete rollercoaster for the family. When we first noticed it with my Nan, it was back when I was doing Dancing on Ice.
“She’s Irish and has always been the life and soul of the party, she loved being around everyone, and was very sociable.
“She was coming to the live shows and couldn’t take the noise or the people and she was getting quite stressed, she just wasn’t herself.
I always knew it would mean the end for Luke, it’s something that had to happen. I wanted it to happen.
“Slowly but surely as the months went on she got progressively worse and more agitated and confused she’d be saying things like ‘Have you seen me Granny? I’d be like Nan, how old would your Granny be?
“She’d get so stressed out and confused. Then over time you learn to go with it but it’s just so awful.
“It’s very close to my heart and it was so important to cover it and do it with Luke.
“Sadly he’s been through so much but he’s a character that’s been around for a long time, he’s quite rooted and well loved, so to do it with that kind of character, it carries even more weight.
“I drew on a lot from my Nan sadly I was able to from the experience, the vacant looks, you could be having a conversation and realise half-way through that they are not there, the eyes are glazed over. I did draw upon on that and my mum was a massive help too.
“My Nan is in a home now but my mum is there every day and she’s also dealing with this and seeing others in the home at different stages at the illness.
“I always knew it would mean the end for Luke, it’s something that had to happen. I wanted it to happen.
“But what a gift of a storyline, and it’s better than leaving in the back of a taxi, which is what happened when I left EastEnders.”
Gary is looking forward to taking some time out with his four children and has already had a number of offers.
He said: “There’s a play and a few other things but I’m going have some time out with the kids.
“I’m going to go back to Hollyoaks for a special screening of my exit and of course there’s the British Soap Awards coming up which we are all really looking forward to.
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“It’ll be the the last time I’m there with my Hollyoaks family so I’ll probably get all emotional, again.”
Gary’s heartbreaking exit will play out on screen early next month. For more information readerscan go to www.alzheimers.org.uk
