Keith Rice is returning to ‘Hollyoaks’.
The 24-year-old actor is "so excited" to be reprising his role as rapist Finn O’Connor in scenes which will see his stepmother, Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher) reach out to him for help after his sister Sinead Shelby (Stephanie Davis) reveals she has been raped by her controlling husband, Laurie Shelby (Kyle Prior).
Viewers will initially see Finn – who was jailed in 2014 for raping his teacher, John Paul McQueen (James Sutton) and attempting to rape Nancy Osborne (Jess Fox) – behind bars but later scenes will see him released and attempt to settle back into life in the village and Keith is "really intrigued" to see what the future holds for his alter ego.
He said: "I’m so excited to be back, and to be working with the talented ‘Hollyoaks’ cast and crew again.
"I’m really intrigued to see how Finn, following his time in prison, will integrate back into his family and also back into society.
"I’m looking forward to exploring it, and also still giving the storyline the respect and sensitivity it deserves."
Confirmation of Keith’s return comes a few days after fans began to speculate he’d be coming back after catching a glimpse of him in a behind-the-scenes video released by the soap to celebrate the new title sequence.
The actor previously reprised the role for guest appearances in both 2015 and 2017.
Finn’s first return scenes – which will also feature lawyer James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan) – will appear on screen next month.
Keith Rice returning to Hollyoaks
