“It’s really bittersweet.”

Hollyoaks spoilers follow from Monday’s episode (October 7).

Hollyoaks star Matthew James-Bailey has spoken about his dramatic exit from the role of Ethan Williams for the first time.

Ethan was killed off on his wedding day in Monday’s episode, as he fell from a balcony in suspicious circumstances following some explosive rows with his new wife Sienna Blake.

In real life, Matthew was sadly let go by the Channel 4 soap earlier this year as part of Hollyoaks’ drastic cast reduction for the new era of three episodes per week.

The news has left many viewers disappointed as Ethan had become a fan favourite since his debut as part of the Chen-Williams family in 2021.

Digital Spy recently caught up with Matthew for an in-depth chat about his departure.

How are you feeling now that your Hollyoaks journey has come to an end?

“It’s really bittersweet. It’s come to an end a lot sooner than I would have liked. In previous interviews, I’ve said that I’d happily stay at Hollyoaks forever. It wasn’t my choice to leave, but that’s just the way that the game works, unfortunately!

“It’s hard to say goodbye to the fans and all of the people there that I love. But you have to look at it as new beginnings, take the bull by the reins, get back on and do it.”

After so much feedback from fans who were supporting them, are you glad that your exit revolved around Ethan and Sienna?

“Yeah, I was really happy that it was back to being me and Anna [Passey, who plays Sienna]. I think that’s where Ethan shines – when he’s with Sienna. All the fans can see that the chemistry between us is incredible. It’s a massive privilege to bring that to life and it’s brilliant that the fans got behind that from day one and didn’t stop.

“All I want to do is serve the Hollyoaks fans and give them what they want. That’s the way I’ve acted on the show the entire time. People always say ‘don’t read the comments online’, but for me, that’s how I give my best performances because I know what the fans want.

“So I was really happy that me and Anna got to give Ethan the ending he deserved, rather than him going out in the back of a cab. I always thought: ‘If Ethan’s going to go, let’s do something impactful. Let’s do something the fans are going to remember’.”

Didn’t you mind that Ethan and Sienna’s relationship turned sour towards the end?

“I think in this industry, you have to embrace the drama of everything! If everything was plain sailing, it wouldn’t be as interesting to watch. It’d be like watching me walk to Tesco and buy a pint of milk. As long as the fans are engaged, I’m happy.

“Obviously for me, I wouldn’t have chosen to kill the character off. I’ve always made it clear that I wanted to stick around and have an open end. I feel that’s what the fans deserve and what they should have, just so they can hang onto a glimmer of hope. However, that’s life, that’s the industry and it’s out of my control.”

Was it fun to film the wedding scenes and have a big on-location shoot?

“It was a blast and I had the best time doing it. People say it’s so stressful going to locations, but I love it! First of all, you get really nice food! (Laughs.) You get to stuff your face and you get to have a laugh with your mates on set.

“I’m so grateful to be where I am and in this position in my career. I like to approach every single day as: ‘You’re lucky to even be here, Matt, so take every day as it is. The good and the bad, and just roll with it’.

“So I really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day. Me and Anna were having loads of laughs. It was a nice way to end my journey – being on location surrounded by people I love, getting some really good shots and exploring some great drama.”

You also got to witness Sienna and Vicky’s big catfight…

“I can’t wait to see that air! I loved watching that on location at the time. Everyone else was sat inside because it wasn’t their scene, but I remember standing on the steps filming it on my phone. Anya [Lawrence, who plays Vicky] and Anna did a great job bringing that rivalry to life. To watch that first hand was great. I was sat there basically watching it like a fan.

“Fair play to them, they were rolling around getting wedding dresses covered in wine, grass and mud! They did an incredible job. It’s been a privilege to be able to work alongside such talented people.”

How did you feel about the Ethan and Vicky pairing?

“If I’m speaking honestly about it, it was something that I wasn’t overly comfortable with. I didn’t think it was the right direction to take the character. I think if you’re going to end a storyline between two people – especially Ethan and Sienna – you should maybe stay true to the relationship.

“For me, Ethan would never have done that. For him, it’s always been Sienna and I can’t see how that would have happened. I did make my thoughts clear on it.

“However, again – and going back to my previous point – drama is drama! It’s getting a reaction out of the fans, which is the main thing we want. But it wouldn’t have been the direction I would have taken Ethan in for his final moments. I think that was clear from the fans’ reaction as well.

“The way I tried to play it was that Ethan had a fling with Vicky to fill a hole in his heart, rather than being too attached to her.”

Hollyoaks is known for its back-from-the-dead shocks, so could Ethan come back?

“Stranger things have happened in the world of soap! There’s no question about it – if they picked up the phone and asked me, I would be back there in a heartbeat. I love the show with everything I have. All I’ve tried to do is champion Hollyoaks for the past three years and I was so lucky to have a platform to do that.

“I adore the show more than anything and I could have been there forever. It’s such a beautiful place to work, full of amazing people. I don’t think the fans are fully done with Ethan yet and I think there was a lot more to explore with him. If there was a way for him to come back, I would be there 100%.”

Ethan had a quieter year this year. Were you disappointed by that, or did you just see it as part of the ebb and flow of soap stories?

“I think it is part and parcel, but I can’t hide the fact that I was a bit disappointed. There were points where Ethan was coming to the forefront last year with the stories involving Rafe and Dilly. There were ways that could have been explored more.

“I was super excited when [executive producer] Hannah Cheers came in, because she’s a fantastic storyteller and she does her job so well.

“But then obviously as time went on, Ethan was fading more and more into the background and almost becoming this glorified bartender. As an actor, you crave more. I think we were on the cusp of something there with the character where we could have taken him in a great direction and told more stories.

“Obviously the job is what it is and that didn’t happen, so I’m just grateful that I got the ending story that I got. But of course I would have loved to do more.”

Do you know who killed Ethan?

“There are a few hints at who did it, but I do think the audience will be shocked. A few people are already guessing at this point. It’s nice to see the theories because the fans are very smart at these things!”

We know the show is filmed out of chronological order, so was your last day the wedding shoot or something else?

“My last day on set was actually a couple of reshoots, with Ethan telling Robbie that they should put their feud behind them and reaching out for a handshake.

“It was weird because you think you’ve already had your last day – which I thought was with Anna on one of the wedding scenes – but then you come in for reshoots and it’s like: ‘Oh God! I’ve got to say my goodbyes all over again! It’s doubly sad!'”

Did you get a leaving party?

“There wasn’t a leaving party. I’ve had to fly out to the States for another potential job out here, so I had to gather my thoughts, gather my feelings, see the people I love before I left and then shoot out to America.

“I’m having a lot of meetings out here over potential jobs. I’m very grateful for where I am, but I’m sure I’ll be back in no time and will meet up with everyone and have a party.”

What are your memories of coming into Hollyoaks with the Chen-Williams family three years ago?

“I couldn’t be more grateful for coming in with that family. Sometimes it’s the most intimidating thing in the world when you come into a show by yourself, because you have to work out how you interact with people and how each person works.

“Coming in with a family is the biggest blessing, because you have all these people to lean on. I’m super close with Lily [Best, who played Lizzie], Frank [Kauer, who played Mason] and Dom [Power, who played Dave] and we’ve all formed this genuine family.

“I mean this from the bottom of my heart – I know I can go to them with any issue or problem that I have, because we all came in and had the same shared experience.”

How was it to work so closely with Anna?

“There’s endless words for Anna – I could go on forever about her! I absolutely adore that woman with everything in me. To have her as a co-star and learn from her has been the biggest privilege of my entire life.

“Anna is incredible at what she does and she’s in the position that she’s in for a reason. She’s a soap legend and she will go down as an icon. The way she’s brought Sienna to life is phenomenal, and to share the screen with her for so long and build this relationship has honestly been one of the biggest highlights of my career.

“Now to call her one of my best mates is great – we talk all the time. Saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve ever had.”

The fans also loved your on-screen partnership with Ashley Taylor-Dawson, who plays Darren…

“Ash is incredible at what he does. All that man wants to do is help. You can see that in what he did with me, and you can see what he’s done with Izzy [Smith, who plays Frankie] as well and how he’s nurturing and growing her.

“He is fantastic to work with because he’ll give you the most incredible advice. He’s a man you can turn to with whatever need you have in your life. He’ll give you reasonable and sometimes irrational advice! (Laughs.) But I value that man’s friendship so much.

“I don’t think Ethan would have been in the position he was in without ‘his Darren’ – he’s a very good friend and I’m very grateful for that.”

Who else will you stay in touch with?

“I’m so lucky that I’ve got along with everyone there. Right now I’m in America with Ellis [Hollins, who played Tom] – he’s come and flown out.

“There’s also Owen [Warner, who played Romeo] and Billy [Price, who played Sid]. Me and Billy come from the same area in Essex, so that was always a lovely thing to have.

“I love Garcia [Brown, who plays Zoe] – she’s incredible. She’s my biggest fan and I’m her biggest fan. There’s also Rory [Douglas-Speed, who plays Joel]. I could honestly name so many people.

“When people say that it’s like a family between the cast at Hollyoaks, it really is. I know for a fact I can message any of those people at any point and it wouldn’t feel weird or out of the ordinary, it would be a lovely catch-up with a friend.”

Would you do another soap?

“I’ve loved it so much, so I definitely would. I feel like soap actors are some of the most underrated actors there are. The work that these guys put in is incredible. The turnaround is phenomenal. You’re working to such tight time schedules and it really helps you to hone your craft. I love that so much.

“So absolutely I would – there might be a potential on the horizon, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

How much of Ethan’s quirks and comedy was you putting random stuff into the scenes?

“I’ve always said that I wanted to bring Ethan to life. The writers are fantastic but a lot of the extra stuff came from me – I was always wondering: ‘How can I add another layer to this?’ Listen, a lot of it made it in and a lot of it didn’t make it in! (Laughs.)

“One example was a scene between Dave and Honour, where they were talking at The Loft. Ethan was going to be on the dancefloor. I remember the night before I was talking to Kieron [O’Sullivan], one of the producers at the time, and I said: ‘Listen mate, I’ve got an idea for a scene. I was listening to Starship’s ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ when I was brushing my teeth and I was lip-syncing. Would this not be really nice to add to this scene?’

“God bless him, he was like ‘absolutely, yeah’! He added it in and that’s become the scene that it is today. That was one of my weird little brainchildren that I brought to the scene! I like to think that I brought a lot of the comedy to life with Ethan and hopefully it went down well.”

Have you been aware of the outpouring of support you’ve received from fans since your exit was revealed a few months back?

“I do love reading the comments. I’m very fortunate to be in the position that I’m in, because I’ve got a lot of support from the fans. It’s the most beautiful thing – the one thing you could ask for. It makes you feel so much better about yourself.

“The longer I’ve gone on in my career, I’ve realised that I’m doing this to put a smile on people’s faces. As long as I can put one smile on one face, then I’m happy and I’ve done my job.”

Do you have a final message for the fans?

“I love you, I love you, I love you. With everything that you guys have done for me, you’ve made it the most incredible journey of my life. I have never been more grateful for a group of people. I know these people will come with me wherever I go in my career.

“I’ve never felt so supported and more loved. They have no idea how bad things have got for me and how much they’ve got me through. You’ve made this entire journey for me and I hope I did you proud.”

Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.