Hollyoaks lines up tragic aftermath for Rex after Froggy death

 Jonny Labey chats to us about what's in store.

Hollyoaks' Rex Gallagher was left grief-stricken this week as he discovered the tragic death of his grandfather Froggy. It's another devastating blow for the struggling mechanic, so where does he go from here?

Froggy lost his life in a dramatic showdown with Clare Devine-Banks, who'd just escaped from prison and rushed back to the village to settle some old scores.

Rex was distraught to lose his beloved grandad, especially after Froggy had lovingly supported him while he explored his identity in recent weeks.

In real life, former Emmerdale actor John Middleton has bowed out from the role of Froggy and is now moving on to star in comedy play Allegra alongside Coronation Street's Dame Maureen Lipman.

Jonny Labey, who plays Rex, recently caught up with us for an exclusive chat about Froggy's exit and what happens next…

We really were! We established a real force of nature with the family dynamic when the Blacks banded together last year. It was turbulent, but there were so many interesting scenes!

"I remember one scene last year where Froggy got everyone together and forced them to talk things over. Seeing all of those dynamite personalities around one table was very exciting – and John was very much the head of that.

"I know John's doing a play now with Maureen Lipman. It was sad to see him go after his wonderful time on the show, but it's great that he's landed on his feet with his next project straight away."

How will Rex deal with the loss of his grandfather?

"In Froggy, Rex found a really unexpected champion for his identity. That was explored beautifully. Froggy has probably seen a lot in his time! Even though people may have assumed he'd be the person who was less approving of Rex exploring his identity, he was someone who'd been in prison for 20 years and lived a varied life.

"It was a really interesting take on the situation where we showed that Ste had a bit of a resistance to Rex experimenting with his clothes and Froggy was the one who encouraged it. Froggy became really proud of what Rex was doing.

"Rex feels like that journey is incomplete. It tears Rex apart to lose Froggy and he is inconsolable."

It was wonderful. The scene that really stands out to me is the one where Froggy told Rex that he was going to have his love and support whether he wanted it or not!

"Froggy really had to fight for that. He wanted Rex to realise that he was being genuine. Froggy didn't like the fact that Rex seemed to be discarding him as a granddad and just seeing him as a criminal. It was his priority to be there for Rex.

"Froggy has died, but there's still so much that was left to say, explore and encourage. Now Rex's support network has very much been taken away from him."

This week, we saw Ste step in to support Rex after the sad news about Froggy. Does this bring the couple closer again?

"It does to an extent. I know that Rex feels like he's almost betrayed Ste by exploring his identity. He's tried to break down this masculine persona that he's got.

"Ste is on board with it, but he has to deal with how Rex thinks he'll react. Rex second-guesses everything, thinking: 'Ste isn't going to approve of this'. He judges himself and fears that he's ruining the relationship while trying to express who he is. That goes on for quite a bit.

"I think Froggy's death definitely brings them closer together, because obviously Rex realises that he's by himself now. It's really sad and difficult to watch, but they do get through it so it's not all doom and gloom!"

That's the ever-burning question! Can he ever stay on the straight and narrow? Can he hide who he is? When certain things arise, character is character.

"That's the thing that's really interesting for me in this storyline. Rex is trying to explore his past and trying to speak to the young boy he was before he joined the gang culture. He would have been an openly queer younger boy, but he fell into some really dangerous circles.

"It's basically about trying to honour that voice and work out what happened to the young boy he used to be, but he has been through what he's been through.

"I've always said that Rex has that exciting unpredictability, so when something goes wrong, it could spark him into something unexpected even though I know he means well. I don't think that side of you really goes!"