See Ya Sam!

IT’S often the case that life imitates art, and this is particularly true of Channel 4′s teen soap Hollyoaks at the moment.

We recently saw Summer Shaw impress Andrew Lloyd Webber on the show with her singing skills, and consequently winning the part of Maria in his production The Sound Of Music, and in real life, Summer Strallen, who played the ambitious student, will also be taking over the West End role from Connie Fisher.

Darren Jeffries, who plays Summer’s boyfriend OB in the Chester- based serial, is also living out his character’s exit storyline.

Sam ‘OB’ O’Brien has been wrestling with the dilemma of whether to follow Summer down to London, and this week finally decides to make a new start down south.

Now Darren, who has been a Hollyoaks regular for the past decade, is following in OB’s footsteps by moving down to the Big Smoke in the next couple of months.

“I’ve always loved London as a city, and I thought, seeing as I’ve made such a drastic change in my life anyway by leaving Hollyoaks, I might as well go the whole hog and have a nice change of scenery as well,” the 25-year-old laughs.

OB’s farewell storyline might sound quite tame for Hollyoaks, whichhas seen other characters go at the hands of serial killers, or burnt alive inarson attacks, but Darren is more than happy with it.

“Me and the producer, Bryan Kirk wood, chatted about storylines and I explained to him that I didn’t really want OB to go out in a big gas explosion or car crash,” he says.

“I think what people like about OB is that he’s quite real, believable and down to earth, so it will be nice to see him go out in that way too. It’s a very realistic and natural ending for the character, and also very emotional. I think it will be a very satisfying ending for the viewers.”

Darren says that leaving Hollyoaks has been on his mind for some time now, and he doesn’t regret his decision, despite the fact being in a soap is one of the most secure jobs in the industry.

“It would have been very easy to stay in Hollyoaks for another 10 years for that reason, but it’s not everything, is it? At the end of the day, you don’t get on in life without taking a few risks and there’s more to life than money.

“It was a difficult decision but it’s one that I made three years ago. That made it a lot easier top repare, both mentally and physically,”he continues with a laugh.

“I’ve been in the show for 10 years, and as much as I love it and I’ve made some amazing friends, I think a decade is a long time in any type of job. I was getting the pangs to move onand seek out new challenges – that’s why I got into acting in the first place.”

For now, Darren is doing the rounds at auditions like many other jobbing actors. It’s a new experience for him, as he won the role of OB at his first audition when he was just 15, but he says he’s relishing the experience. Ten years ago when he heard the news he was going to be in Hollyoaks, he says he felt like the luckiest teenager in the world.

“It was the best job to have as a young actor, and I still think it’s a fantastic opportunity for any young actor tohave,”he says. “If somebody had askedme todo it for free I would havedone!”

Darren and Matt Littler, who plays Max Cunningham, started at the same time and quickly became best friends. At first they filmed for one or twodays a monthbecause theywere still at school, but as soon as their examswere over and done with, their shooting schedules became much busier.

It meant that Darren had to move from his native Warrington to be nearer the set at the tender age of 18.

“Youhave to be inLiverpool 12 hours a day, and for that to be the case you have to relocate,”he explains. “Because a lot of the actors are so young and it’s quite a big step for them, they sharehouses and flats.

“I lived with Alex Carter (who played Lee Hunter), Martino Lazzeri (Alex Bell) and Marcus Patrick (Ben Davies).We had a ball,” he remembers. “It was a bit of a dive – the rest of the cast used to come round expecting a snazzy bachelor bad but itwas more like a dirty student flat! But we loved it and itwas home.”

Four young television actors living and going out together – you would imagine they used to attract quite a lot of attention from the opposite sex. Darren admits it is one advantage of fame, although says getting recognised is very surreal.

“I was popular with the ladies any way,”he jokes. “I didn’t need Hollyoaks – tha twas just an added bonus!

“Seriously though, we always chat about how strange it is, but imagine being a more successful actor or a footballer – that’s got to be weird.”

Of course, Hollyoaks is famous for its beautiful babes, and mostmale viewers would give anything to be an actor on the show, getting to kiss suchgorgeous girls.

Darren says that in reality, those romantic scenes are actually a bit run of the mill and boring, but has he ever been tempted to really go for it when he fancies his co-star?

“That would be telling, “he chuckles. “I can’t give away trade secrets! I’m sure some Hollyoaks actors have been known to do it in the past, but I was a golden boy, I never did stuff like that!”

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