Hollyoaks’ James Sutton reveals why he joined OnlyFans – and if he will return to acting

The actor made a huge career move (Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

Hollyoaks legend James Sutton said his final goodbye to the most dramatic village in the North West in February, before taking his career in a surprising new direction – OnlyFans.

The actor played John Paul McQueen, on-and-off, for 20 years, first arriving back in 2006. The story that undoubtedly put his character on the map was his coming-out love story with his best mate, Craig Dean (Guy Burnet).

After a break from the show, he returned to Hollyoaks for a second stint, which saw John Paul’s dream job as a teacher turn into a nightmare when he was bullied, tormented and violently raped by Finn O’Connor (Keith Rice).

The harrowing story eventually saw John Paul get justice and his attacker was sent to prison for his appalling crimes, bringing the classic character’s second stint in Dee Valley to a close.

John Paul’s final chapter in Hollyoaks saw him embroiled in a domestic abuse plot with new boyfriend, George Kiss (Callum Kerr), ending with his murder at the hands of JP’s mum, Sally St. Claire (Annie Wallace).

This sent JP spiralling down into alcoholism, falling into toxic relationships with self-loathing conversion therapist, Carter Shepherd (David Ames) and Patrick Blake’s serial killing twin Jez Blake (Jeremy Sheffield).

He left the show for good in early 2026 in a special ‘What If?’ episode featuring a reunion of return McQueens both alive and dead.

With his time in Soapland coming to a close, James Sutton was left to answer the question that daunts every actor – what next?

James has played John Paul McQueen on Hollyoaks since 2006 (Picture: Lime Pictures)

OnlyFans is a social media platform typically associated with adult content. But James is shattering expectations of the public perception of OF by using it to promote mental health, life goals and body positivity.

‘The journey I’ve been on the past five years to ten years, in terms of my physical health and my mental health and overcoming addiction, really poor choices and ultimately not being reliable to myself.’ James told Metro. ‘These are the foundations of the things I write and talk about. So going on OF is a really good opportunity for me.’

‘The interactions I have had so far have been super positive. People are really resonating with what I am doing and what I am saying, putting out a variety of different content on the platform, some value stuff, performative stuff, some gym videos, some fitness, some straight to camera stuff.  Real life stuff, and some.. you know…. Some pictures of me in my pants!’

‘Because I’m 43 years of age. And it shouldn’t just be my cats that get to appreciate all my hard work. I can share that with the world! So there’s something for everyone. I’m having a really good time. Give the boys and girls what they want!’

James haas joined OnlyFans (Picture: thejamesutton / Instagram)

Only Fans was a huge transition for the actor, who is used to the rigorous process of filming and the tight deadlines of learning lines for last minute reshoots. Now he’s firmly in the driving seat, controlling the content and learning how to navigate the complex anomaly that is the algorithm and keep his fans engaged. James talked us through the ups and down of the transition from actor to influencer.

‘Having autonomy over everything I am doing is quite a nerve-wracking thing, so the challenges I’ve face have been quite an internal thing, quite a personal thing. I’ve always outsourced my value and I’ve always outsourced my work to other people.’

‘Working on Hollyoaks, someone else writes the scripts, somebody else writes the story, you don’t have complete autonomy. You are a conduit for storytelling and that’s amazing. But what I’ve transitioned into now, I have complete control over, and that can make you feel quite vulnerable and quite exposed. Which is really empowering. For the first time in my adult life, to have complete control over what I am doing, it’s a hell of a thing.’

‘There are occasions where I am writing or filming or creating some form of content and you do have that back and forth in your mind. I am watching I am re-reading things I have written. I’m rewatching things and thinking ‘is this s***?’ ‘Is this valuable? ‘Is this going to resonate with people?’ That’s the biggest challenge.’

The actor shares his lived experiences on social media (Picture: James Sutton/Instagram)

While the actor is no stranger to being in the public eye, having a literal window into your life 24/7 is a different proposition entirely. James is quite rightly proud of the amazing transformation he’s undergone thanks to all his hard word at the gym. He talks about that difficult balance between online and real life, not allowing his social media to become all-encompassing.

‘There has to be a balance. I’m booking photoshoots which I am really enjoying,’ he told us. ‘Working with professional photographers to get really good content because I’m really proud of the way I look.

‘I’ve never taken good care of myself, which is a strange thing to say for someone who’s been on Hollyoaks – which is predominantly knows as a sexy kind of show. I’ve never felt like a fit in with that and now that I do, the opportunity to book photoshoots and have people edit pictures of me which I can share publicly, it’s really empowering. It’s quite an amazing thing.’

OnlyFans is not James’ only platform. He is a well known advocate for mental health and hosts the podcast Male Mind Matters, featuring candid conversations with men about vulnerability, mental health, and modern masculinity.

‘The male suicide rate is still through the roof.’ James said. ‘Far higher than it should be. No man should be struggling like that and not feel like they have anything in common with anyone else. When you’re struggling, it’s a very lonely thing and I speak from experience.’

The actor is no stranger for mental health struggles. James has spoken openly before about his own anxiety, and the breakdown of his five year marriage. Drawing on his own experiences is both a crucial part of his OnlyFans content, and his podcast.

‘Covid was a killer for me. It was awful.’ he continued. ‘I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, what I went through. My marriage broke down. Making very poor decisions. left right and centre. My panic attacks started coming back all kinds of stuff. The things I’ve put in place now, the system that I have, the small promises that I make to myself every day have allowed me to undergo this transformation and now I have complete reliability in myself.

‘Now if something bad happens or if something stressful happens, I have a set of rules in pace that I adhere to. And it doesn’t really require any motivation. I just do it. That’s the key to sustaining a healthy body and a happy mind. I love sharing those ideas I love sharing this thesis on reliability. We are all unreliable to ourselves.’

The Mental Health Matters podcast is not the only string to James’ bow. He is also a regularly contributor to Protocol, a website dedicated to encouraging adults to ‘reset’ through community and shared experience. It may sound a bit like self-help, but James was keen to shed light on the difference between traditional self help and the work that Protocol does.

‘Self help is very future facing and aspirational and requires motivation from a person. There’s a lot of people out there who have tried self-help. They’ve listened to the podcasts, they’ve shouted affirmations in the mirror and it hasn’t made any difference.’

‘Self help has its place, of course it does, but I feel like there’s a lot of people out there who feel like they’re living the same day over and over again. They feel very trapped and they feel very isolated and scared and they feel like they’re not living up to their full potential. I am trying to offer an alternative to that based on the premise that motivation is transient so instead of relying on motivation, keep very small promises to yourself until you can loudly, proudly say ‘I am someone that I can trust.’

James is also known for having played Ryan Lamb in Emmerdale between 2009 and 2011 (Picture: ITV)

The actor’s very busy, and he’s got an even bigger schedule ahead. Aside from regular keynote speaking up and down the country, he is currently working on a short film, as well as a series for OnlyFans safe-for-work video content streaming service, OFTV.

‘I’m doing an episode of a show that I am not allowed to talk about, but it’s really fun and something really different that I haven’t done before.’

‘Beyond that, I want to take my Protocol work and get it in front of people. I want to get on stage and do some keynote speaking. I am speaking at a wellness festival in June. I’m speaking at a networking event in Liverpool next week. Just the opportunity to share what I’m living and what I’m thinking and what I’m writing about with more people – that’s ultimately my ambition for the next decade.’

So that’s a no on a John Paul return, then?

Will John Paul ever cause chaos in the village again? (Picture: Lime Pictures). The McQueens reunited for a ‘What If?’ episode as part of James’ exit storyline(Picture: Lime Pictures)

The iconic character’s departure was left with the door open for a return, as John Paul departed with son Matthew-Jesus for a new life together in Switzerland. However, with all the McQueens returned for one episode included Sally and cousin Sylvester McQueen (David Tag), this bittersweet farewell really felt like the final goodbye.

But James isn’t ruling anything out when it comes to acting again.

 ‘Never say never. I’m not actively looking for acting work. I’ve had an amazing 20 year career. I’ve been so lucky. I’ve done so much interesting and different work. But having this autonomy over my career is not something I’ve experienced.

‘To not be at the mercy of a casting director or an agent, having that control is something I’m really enjoying. But I’m always going to be an actor, and if something came around that was interesting and inspired me, then I’d certainly be willing to have a conversation.’

‘I’m doing a short film alter on this year with a new director, someone I really respect, and that’s going to be a chance to scratch that itch. But right now, I’m really enjoying what I’m doing.

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