| Character Profile | List of appearances |
James Nightingale was the eldest child of Mac and Marnie Nightingale. After Mac learned that James was gay, Mac began abusing James, with the pair keeping the abuse quiet from James's siblings Nathan, Ellie and Alfie. On James's 16th birthday, Mac forced James to sleep with prostitute Donna-Marie Quinn, resulting in the conception of Romeo Quinn. Mac also later impregnated Donna-Marie, resulting in the conception of Juliet Quinn.
Mac's abuse led James to lead a self-destructive and mostly miserable life. Seeing an opportunity to get revenge on his father, James began working for Mac's soon-to-be ex-wife Cindy Cunningham regarding divorce proceedings. He then helped Marnie con Tony Hutchinson out of his restaurant, allowing her to set up Nightingale's, before beginning a relationship with John Paul McQueen. However, John Paul had an affair with Ste Hay and left the village after tricking John Paul into thinking James had killed Ste.
After Ste was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Amy Barnes, James - believing that his new flame Harry Thompson was the killer - exacted his revenge by working as Ste's lawyer to get him sent down for the crime. At the same time, James began a relationship with Harry. As Harry worked as an escort, James became his pimp to find him trustworthy clients. However, Harry confessed to killing Amy and was arrested after attempting to go on the run.
The arrival of Sami Maalik brought more drama to James's door, as Sami blamed James for the death of his father Kashif. He then carried out a revenge plan with the help of Kyle Kelly, having Kyle enter a relationship with James and fake his death so James will go to prison for his murder. However, Ste and Harry learned that Kyle was not dead and James was released. James then resumed his affair with Harry and attempted to get Ste out of the picture, to no avail. Ste ended up learning of the affair hours after marrying Harry.
James was left conflicted following Romeo's arrival and his revelation of his identity, initially rejecting him. After Romeo was evicted by Mac and arrested for punching Sami, James decided to give him a chance and let him move into Weirside View. After Mac's murder by serial killer Breda McQueen, Breda attempted to frame James but inadvertently framed Romeo, leading to James attempting to prove his innocence. He managed to get Romeo released by framing Donna-Marie.
The discovery that Harry had been murdered in October 2019 threw James into a depression, causing him to turn on everyone. After Mercedes McQueen was recorded threatening to kill Harry a short time before his death, James helped Grace Black in her attempt to shoot Mercedes dead. After Grace's half-brother Jesse Donovan died from alcohol poisoning after learning of their role in the shooting, Jesse's brother - James's ex-boyfriend Liam - found out and took a group of villagers hostage. The siege ended when Liam died after falling down a flight of stairs.
In 2021, James began a relationship with Ste. However, Marnie's death in the Salon de Thé de Marnie Explosion left James devastated and he fell into a gambling addiction, causing troubles with their relationship. James ended up getting involved with crime boss Norma Crow, ending up homeless after going on the run from her. After returning to the village and to working for Norma, Donna-Marie attempted to help James get his life back on track by getting him re-hired at Dee Valley Law.
By 2023, James would go on to marry Ste Hay but would sadly lose Juliet to cancer but having Ste for support, James managed his grief better.
By March 2024, James aided his son, Romeo to escape after a rightful prison stint for killing Rayne Royce. During this time James also aided Ste in the cover up over the death of Ella Richardson until the pair were eventually caught out. James was later betrayed by Ste who slept with Rex Gallagher however by September 2024, James had a brain tumour scare but was cleared and would ultimately forgive Ste but tragically, James was still sadly killed in a cross-fire war between notorious gangsters Warren Fox and Dave Williams.
Biography[]
1986-2016: Life Before Hollyoaks[]
James was born to Mac and Marnie Nightingale in 1986, the first child of the pair. His brother Nathan was born in 1993, sister Ellie in 1995 and brother Alfie in 2001. Whilst in school, James discovered that he had an attraction to men, which Mac discovered in 2001 or 2002. Mac then began physically and mentally abusing James. On his sixteenth birthday, Mac forced James to sleep with prostitute Donna-Marie Quinn. Unbeknownst to James, this resulted in the conception of Romeo Quinn, with Marnie paying her to keep quiet.
Keeping the abuse quiet from his family, James still worked to please Mac. After becoming a lawyer, James accepted a job at Forbes Carney Solicitors. Mac began being blackmailed by Donna-Marie over their one-night-stand that lead to the birth of Juliet Quinn, so James - unaware of why Mac was having financial difficulties - began embezzling money from the company to help him. James framed Kashif Maalik, who killed himself whilst in prison.
2016-2017: Arrival and Relationships[]
James arrived in Hollyoaks in January 2016 after being hired as Cindy Cunningham's divorce solicitor. Cindy was seeking a divorce from Mac, and James and Marnie used the opportunity to seek revenge on Mac. Cindy entered up retracting her decision for divorce, but asked for James's help in representing her daughter Holly Cunningham following her arrest. James agreed on the condition that Cindy re-instated her claims against Mac and introduced her to Marnie. Mac paid James and Marnie money to leave the village, but they returned a few weeks later and set their eyes upon The Hutch. Owners Tony and Diane Hutchinson refused to sell the business to the pair, so James went on a series of dates with Scott Drinkwell to get him to bankrupt the business.
Managing to ruin the company after having Myra McQueen file a report for an injury whilst on the premises, Marnie managed to buy the restaurant and re-brand it to Nightingale's. James met Harry Thompson in The Loft and was left smitten by him, housing him and his homeless boyfriend Ste Hay in a shack. James then began manipulating Harry into sleeping with him - including by giving him money - but lost interest after meeting John Paul McQueen. After sleeping with James, John Paul decided that he wanted to be with Scott. Afterwards, James began working for Warren Fox, who had been imprisoned for the murder of Louise Summers since 2011, managing to get him released on legal technicalities.
After helping John Paul by getting charges against his mother Sally St. Claire and cousin Cleo McQueen dropped, James made clear that he expected something in return. James's ex-boyfriend, Carter, arranged for himself and his wife to meet with James and John Paul (posing as James's boyfriend) for lunch at Nightingale's. Scott found out and broke up with John Paul, who decided to spend the night with James instead of saving his relationship. After John Paul was left blinded after being hit by Nancy Osborne's van, James told John Paul that he wanted to care for him, but Marnie manipulated James into breaking up with him. However, they reconciled after John Paul witnessed Mac beat up James.
James discovered that John Paul was having an affair with Ste and exacted revenge by buying him a car and taking John Paul to a cliff. He told John Paul that he had run over Ste and was hiding his body in the boot before pushing the car off the cliff. Their relationship destroyed, John Paul decided to leave the village for a job in Singapore afterwards. After John Paul and Ste's affair was revealed at Amy Barnes and Ryan Knight's wedding ceremony, James made a move on Harry.
2017-2018: Revenge Plot and Relationship with Harry[]
Learning of Mac's affair with Lisa Loveday and his role in Nathan's death, Marnie and James began making Mac thinking that he was going insane. Switching his tablets and spiking his drinks, Mac confused Tom Cunningham for Nathan, leaving The Dog in the Pond's customers startled. Mac ended up suffering a mini-stroke but James continued his revenge plans and attempted to get Mac to sign power of attorney to him.
Following the murder of Amy, James - believing that Harry was her killer - planned to get Ste sent down for the crime. After Lucas Hay's statement threatened to prove Ste's innocence, James tampered with evidence which Ryan - a detective - discovered. After learning that James suspected Harry of being Amy's killer, Ste agreed to go to prison, but James changed his mind and decided to pin the crime on D.S. Armstrong. Whilst Ste was found not guilty and Harry eliminated from enquiries, James failed to get the charges to stick against Armstrong.
After Mac caused an explosion at Hollyoaks High School and killed Neeta Kaur, James and Marnie attempted to make Ellie and Alfie see what Mac was actually like. The pair refused to believe James when he told them about Mac's abuse, but Ellie walked in on Mac attacking James and pushed him through the window of the pub flat. Mac ended up suffering from locked-in syndrome and was placed in a long-term care facility in Worcestershire. At Christmas, James found Harry after he was assaulted by a client whilst working as a prostitute, inviting him to move in and offering to source clients for him.
Sami Maalik arrived in the village in 2017, blaming James for Kashif's death. After learning of the suspicions that Harry had killed Amy, he informed the police, leading James, Ste and Tony to help him abscond. However, Tony's car was involved in an accident and Harry ended up arrested. Sami then began meddling in Harry's case, getting Tony to fire James and hire him as Harry's lawyer. However, Harry informed James, causing him to work out Sami's plan. James ended up meeting Kyle Kelly, unaware that Kyle was being paid by Sami.
2018: Sami's Revenge[]
Kyle began making a video diary, claiming that James was abusing him. Realising that he needed hard evidence, Kyle attempted to taunt James so James would attack him, but James refused. Kyle ended up drugging James, giving himself a black eye with make-up and trashed the flat. A devastated James - believing he had raised a fist to Kyle - visited his father. Kyle began feeling guilty, but James worried about his behaviour and asked Kyle to move out.
Sami prepared to finally fake Kyle's death, but Kyle collapsed due to multiple sclerosis and James rushed to the hospital to be with him. Kyle realised that he was falling for James and decided to back out of the deal. However, Kyle discovered that James had been contacting Harry and during a confrontation, James fell through a glass table. Kyle and Sami decided to carry out the revenge plan, with D.S. Cassidy arresting James for murder after Kyle's walking stick with blood was found hidden in the chimney.
After recalling Kashif, James realised that Sami was behind the revenge plan and attacked him. Ellie discovered that she was pregnant by Sami and James pleaded with her to have an abortion, so she called D.S. Cassidy to report James for assault. Eventually Harry spotted Kyle on a party bus and brought him back to the village to prove that he was alive. James was released from prison and slept with Harry after Harry had an argument with Ste. They began an affair and Harry decided to leave Ste for James, but James convinced him to choose Ste.
2018-2019: Family Troubles[]
James had a change of heart and after encountering Romeo, convinced him to help him ruin Ste and Harry's wedding in exchange for James not reporting Romeo to the police for breaking into his flat. Harry told James to stop the wedding by 1:00pm if he wanted Harry to choose him over Ste, but Romeo ended up revealing his identity to James, causing him to miss the deadline. James took Romeo's revelation badly and threw him out, whilst Ste learned of Harry and James's affair through a telephone call. James ended up changing his mind about Romeo and decided to try get to know him better, which Romeo appreciated. However, Mac and Donna-Marie meddled and told Romeo that James had known about him all along.
Harry returned to the village in January 2019, reuniting with James after leaving Ste. However, complications arose when Romeo was kicked out of 65 Christleton Terrace by Mac and James invited him to move in, refusing to let Harry move in. After conning Cindy out of 65 Christleton Terrace, James worked with her to get justice so Mac blackmailed serial killer Breda McQueen into killing James. However, Breda merely spiked James's coffee before poisoning a dish of lasagne for Mac. Romeo ended up finding his body and was accused of killing him. Breda's attempts to frame James resulted in more evidence appearing against Romeo, so James helped Romeo go on the run. However, after the death of Romeo's girlfriend Lily McQueen, Romeo was arrested. In a desperate final attempt, James managed to trick Donna-Marie into making a confession, which saw her imprisonment and Romeo's release.
The dramas continued when James bought Harry a car, which was stolen by Mercedes McQueen and Liam Donovan who injured Grace Black in a hit-and-run, which Harry was accused of. James was left horrified when it transpired that Harry had impregnated Sadie Cressington after staying with her following his split with Ste in October 2018. However, he had a change of heart and told Harry not to turn on Sadie and his unborn child. James ended up becoming jealous over them and struggled to trust Harry after speaking to Liam, deciding to drug Harry so he wouldn't leave to meet Sadie alone. After the birth of Isaac, James decided to drug Harry again so he would miss his court hearing. Now a wanted man, Harry decided to flee the village but James nor Tony received any contact from him.
In October 2019, James was asked to identify a body that had been found in the woods, which he discovered was Harry. He entered a downward spiral after being accused of killing Harry; nearly jumping from The Archway, engaging in a series of one-night-stands, and turning against Romeo. At Harry's funeral, Grace played a recording on Harry's phone of Mercedes threatening to kill him, leading James to believe that she had killed Harry. Following Mercedes to The Loft, James found Grace inside preparing to shoot her, helping steady her aim. Mercedes was left in a coma for several weeks but survived.
2019-2021: Romances[]
James's attitude towards Liam suddenly turned when they agreed to form a protection racket together, resulting in the pair beginning a romantic relationship. James was left feeling guilty when he discovered that serial killer Breda McQueen had killed Harry, and Jesse Donovan had drunk himself to death upon learning of James and Grace's involvement in Mercedes's shooting. Liam also learned of Jesse's discovery and turned on him. Liam held a 'dinner party' in The Dog in the Pond, taking several of his targets hostage and revealing to Mercedes that Liam and Grace shot her. After Grace pushing Liam down a flight of stairs to his death, Mercedes decided to tell the police that Liam shot her and she pushed him in self-defence.
After re-encountering John Paul, old feelings re-surfaced and James tried to convince him to leave George Kiss for him. John Paul refused and the pair decided to remain friends, but George was left jealous and made John Paul choose between them, locking them in a police cell. John Paul chose George and James ended up growing closer to Ste after helping him find his foster nephew Sid Sumner. They then began dating, but James struggled to get along with his children Leah and Lucas.
Donna-Marie returned to the village in June 2021, leaving James mostly unimpressed by her. Marnie was won over by Donna-Marie's genuine attempts to beat her drug addiction and begin serving as a proper parent to Romeo and Juliet, but James resumed his cynical view of her. However, he caved on occasion, such as helping her purchase Romeo a birthday present inJuly.
2022: Downward Spiral[]
After Marnie's death in the Salon de Thé de Marnie Explosion in January 2022, James entered a downwards spiral. His last words to Marnie being a drunken argument, James began drinking heavily and using a coin flip to determine certain factors in his life, such as taking ketamine with Ollie Morgan or deciding to get revenge on Becky Quentin (who he blamed for the explosion). After learning that Donna-Marie was left a significant amount of money in Marnie's will whilst he received a few belongings, James also turned on her. James ended up stealing the inheritance money, developing a gambling addiction and obsession with investing in cryptocurrency.
James went missing in March 2022, with Romeo and Donna-Marie trying to track him down. James returned not long after the revelation that Marnie's car had been found abandoned with the body of Raphael Loftus in the boot. James revealed that he had continued gambling with Raphael and his boyfriend Jeremy Fanning, despite being mugged by the pair, and ended up sleeping with Raphael. He was accused of Raphael's murder, but James pointed out to D.S. Cohen that drugging people was Jeremy's modus operandi and Jeremy confessed. Afterwards, Ste broke up with James and James evicted Romeo, Juliet and Donna-Marie from Weirside View.
Donna-Marie, however, refused to give up on James and resorted to various tactics to break his gambling addiction. After Romeo was impaled on an ornament during a scuffle with James, Donna-Marie reported him to the police so he would be locked in a cell. Romeo couldn't face seeing James risk prison so he changed his statement and James was released. After conning Tom Cunningham and Shaq Qureshi, James enlisted Jeremy's help in faking his death and cashing out on his life insurance. However, James had a change of heart and came clean to his family, who disowned him.
Turning to crime boss Norma Crow to settle his debts, James ended up putting his family in danger. Norma blackmailed James into working for her, taking him away from Hollyoaks. Learning that Romeo had created a search campaign, James returned to the village in August 2022, having escaped from Norma. Revealing to Romeo that he left Norma after pushing a man to suicide, he began working to reunite people with long-lost family. James then returned to working for Norma, whilst Donna-Marie and Romeo forgave him and began trying to help him get his life back on track.
2022-: Reconcile/Engagement to Ste and Finding out Juliet has Cancer[]
Kill Count[]
Attempted Murders[]
- Mercedes McQueen, 6th November 2019 - Intent on getting revenge for the death of Harry Thompson, James helps Grace Black shoot Mercedes by steadying her aim.
Appendices[]
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Weirside View | 2016 to 4th July 2018 |
| Longmere Prison | 4th July 2018 to 28th August 2018 |
| Weirside View | 28th August 2018 to 17th October 2019 |
| 17 Basswood Road | 17th October 2019 to 18th October 2019 |
| Weirside View | 18th October 2019 to 7th March 2022 |
| Unknown | 7th March 2022 to 31st March 2022 |
| Weirside View | 31st March 2022 to 9th May 2022 |
| Longmere Prison | 9th May 2022 to 19th May 2022 |
| Weirside View | 19th May 2022 to 13th June 2022 |
| Unknown | 13th June 2022 to 5th August 2022 |
| Weirside View | 5th August 2022 to 9th September 2024 |
Employment History[]
| Job | Duration |
|---|---|
| Forbes Carney Solicitors lawyer | Until 2020 |
| Dee Valley Law lawyer | 2020 to May 2022; September 2022 to September 2024 |
Other Information[]
- James is left-handed.
- James loves macchiato and dressing gowns.
- James is lactose intolerant. He therefore only drinks soya milk with his coffees.
- James' favourite film is American Psycho.
Background Information[]
- James was portrayed by David Perkins in flashback scenes airing in episode 4941 (2nd July 2018).
Introduction Sequence[]
- 2016: James stands in a party with several candelabras around.
- 2016-2019: James stands in The Dog with his mother.
- 2019-2022: James is walking in the rain under an umbrella with Marnie in front and Romeo behind him.
- 2022-2024: James argues with Donna-Marie Quinn, who throws a cup of confetti over him.
Quotes[]
| “ | Sore loser. Skinny latte with soy milk please. And lots of chocolate sprinkles. | ” |
— First line, after stealing a little girl's biscuit and then ordering a coffee.
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| “ | Thanks | ” |
— Final line to Donny Clark.
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