Duration 1997–2002, 2015 Last appearance 23 October 2015 Portrayed by James Redmond | First appearance 4 July 1997 Classification Former; regular | |
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Introduced by Phil Redmond Brian Kirkwood (2013, 2015) Spin-off
appearances Hollyoaks: Movin' On (2001)
Hollyoaks Later (2013) Stepson Tony Hutchinson (2001–2002) Similar Mark Jury, Cameron Clark, Ali Taylor, Theo Sankofa, Emma Chambers | ||
Rory "Finn" Finnigan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by James Redmond. He first appeared in 1997 before leaving in 2002, after playing the character for 5 years. He left to return to his previous life before his time in Hollyoaks village. Finn returned for the sixth series of Hollyoaks Later. Hollyoaks celebrated twenty years on air in October 2015, with Redmond reprising his role for the celebrations.
Contents
Casting
In 2009 the Daily Star reported current Hollyoaks producer Lucy Allan was planning to lure Redmond back into his role. On 12 June 2013, it was announced that Redmond had reprised his role for the sixth series of Hollyoaks Later. On 6 October 2015 it was announced that Redmond will be returning to the show for its 20th Anniversary.
Characterisation
Rory has been described as a "cheeky chancer" and a " heart-throb".
Storylines
Rory Finnigan, better known as Finn, was lovable and cheeky. Finn arrived in Hollyoaks when Tony Hutchinson discovered a supposed vagrant sleeping in Jambo's old shed. Little did Tony realise that this philosophical, free-spirited charmer would become one of his closest friends. Immediately, Tony went on a mission to have Finn evicted from the shed, beginning a comical rivalry that would continue throughout Finn’s time in the village. Finn’s father was in prison and his mother was dead, so he tended to drift from place to place. He had no idea how long he would remain in Hollyoaks, yet he planned to stick around and see what opportunities came his way. Whilst persevering in his war with Tony, Finn soon hooked up with Lewis Richardson and together they ran a market in the Yard, with Finn specialising in selling antiques. Along the way, Finn embarked on quite a few money-making ventures, the most infamous being the time he decided to use his double-decker bus as a tour bus around Chester, procuring the services of Carol Groves as the unsuspecting tour guide.
Finn's enigmatic status attracted considerable interest from women in Hollyoaks including Jude Cunningham, Kate Patrick, Carol Groves and Geri Hudson, even more so when he revealed that he was, in fact, Lord Kildiggin and heir to a castle in Ireland. True to his nature, Finn declined the inheritance of his castle and although he retained his title, he preferred the life of an anonymous drifter. Carol and Finn embarked on a passionate and sometimes tumultuous relationship, climaxing in a marathon 48-hour session on Finn's bus, yet his free-spirited nature and roving eye brought the relationship to a premature close. Finn and Lewis found another money-making idea when they began to organise Nineties revival nights at a local club, giving them the idea of building their own night-club. After using Finn’s title to secure a bank loan, the pair finally got the go ahead to build The Loft. Problems in Finn’s relationship with Tony resurfaced when an unsuspecting Finn embarked on an affair with a woman called Victoria (Fiona Mollison). Even Finn was shocked to discover that she was Tony’s mother. Unsurprisingly, Tony was actively against the union, but the two carried on regardless. Soon, Victoria became Victoria Finnigan and along with the marriage came Finn’s new role as Tony’s stepfather. Finn and Victoria’s marriage lasted for six months, collapsing after Victoria discovered that Finn had been unfaithful. The end of the marriage marked the beginning of Finn’s life crisis when he began to question what it was he wanted from life.
Whilst business at The Loft continued to thrive, Finn became increasingly bored with life and, after learning that Lewis had got himself in debt and had to put the future of the club in jeopardy, he persuaded Tony to buy out Lewis. Finn returned the favour by buying into Tony’s new restaurant 'Il Gnosh' and they both became embroiled in a new set of adventures in Hollyoaks: Movin' On. Finn’s life crisis continued, however, and Lewis's shocking death only underscored his belief that life was indeed too short. Whilst Finn returned to Hollyoaks, it was not long before he moved on. He left the running of The Loft to Tony, saying that he wanted to return to the life he used to have, the life of uncertainty. And so Finn boarded a barge with a mystery woman (cameo appearance by TV presenter Cat Deeley) and sailed off into the sunset.
Finn returned in 2013 for series six of Hollyoaks: Later in which he, Tony, Harry Thompson (Parry Glasspool) and Dom Reilly (John Pickard) go to Spain to attend Dom's wedding and embark on crazy adventures and run foul of a gangster known as The White Man (Danny Dyer). Kurt Benson (Jeremy Edwards) also appeared as visions in Tony's mind
In October 2015, Rory returns to Hollyoaks for the wedding of Tony and Diane O'Connor, and in November he couldn't attend his godson Harry Thompson's 18th birthday.
Reception
MSN described him as having "a face like a seal".