Stuart Manning is "gutted" his ‘Hollyoaks’ character was killed off last night (15.11.18).
The 39-year-old star’s alter-ego Russ Owen was surprisingly murdered by Breda McQueen (Moya Brady) on his and Mercedes McQueen’s (Jennifer Metcalfe) wedding day after it was revealed he had got Breda’s daughter Goldie McQueen (Chelsee Healey) pregnant, and Stuart admits he didn’t want his character to be bumped off.
Speaking in a video shared on his Twitter account, the former ‘Night and Day’ star – who returned to ‘Hollyoaks’ this summer after nine years away – said: "It’s been an amazing three months, the best time of my life working on ‘Hollyoaks’.
"I’ve met some of the most amazing people and worked with some of the most amazing people, cast and crew.
"Thank you to all you guys for being so amazing over the past … lots of years.
"But now I’m gone. Russ has been killed. So I don’t know what to say, apart from thank you. I’m going to miss everyone.
"I’m a bit gutted to be honest. I didn’t really want to die. But there you go.
"Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the hour episode. There’s lots more to come."
He also tweeted: "Going to miss so many people and I want to THANK all of you for following me and supporting me!! Hopefully you’ll carry on following me and see what I do next! X (sic)"
As well as bumping off Russ, flashback scenes showed Breda was in fact responsible for the deaths of Carl Costello (Paul Opacic) and Glenn Donovan (Bob Cryer), making her a serial killer.
Mercedes was later arrested after she was found crying over Russ’ dead body.
Russ previously bought Mercedes the Dog in the Pond pub after accusing her of being a serial killer, when he should’ve been keeping an eye on Goldie and Sylver McQueen’s (David Tag) mum instead.
Jennifer recently said: "Russ has had some making up to do, after accusing her of being a serial killer! So, he buys her The Dog in the Pond, and Mercedes is now a landlady! Russ then starts to get a bit paranoid over her close relationship with Sylver.
"She realises that it was Sylver’s idea, and that makes it so much more meaningful for her. They can’t be together, but she can feel how much he cares for her.
"They were first loves and she’s the only person he’s had any romantic connection with. Mercedes has put it to the back of her mind over the years, but now he’s living with her, it’s bringing back those memories.
"She is trying to convince herself that Russ is the right one, and Sylver’s not an option."
Stuart Manning ‘gutted’ after his Hollyoaks character is killed off
