Soap Opera Star Called out for ‘Rude’ Behavior on Talk Show

A beloved soap opera star is facing some pushback online after fans dubbed his recent appearance on a popular talk show “rude.” Hollyoaks star Gary Lucy sparked backlash following his Monday, May 30 appearance on ITV’s Loose Women, during which he was seen chewing gum throughout his appearance as he spoke to co-hosts Carol McGriffin, Jane Moore, Katie Piper, and Linda Robson about his upcoming exit from the long-running soap.

As Loose Women viewers tuned into the Monday show, many were flabbergasted by Lucy’s behavior, some even taking to social media to criticize what they deemed to be “rude” behavior. One person asked, “How did they let on Gary Lucy with gum in his mouth. Big no-no for a TV interview.” Another viewer requested that the show “please tell Gary Lucy to get rid of that chewing gum,” adding that “it’s very rude and not nice to see it floating around in his mouth when he speaks, let alone chewingit inbetween talking.” A third viewer tweeted, “Distracted by the important topic he’s talking about because I keep spotting the chewing gum he could have ditched before being interviewed!!”

During his appearance, Lucy discussed his upcoming departure from the long-running British soap opera. After appearing on the popular show for the past 22 years, Lucy is set to exit this season when his character, Luke Morgan, dies following a lengthy battle with early onset dementia, or frontotemporal dementia, which he was diagnosed with back in a 2019 episode.

“It was really emotional. I started [Hollyoaks] when I was 17. It was my second job after Dream Team. And the director who worked on my last every episode on Hollyoaks was the second assistant director on Dream Team back in the day. So all these years later it was just really emotional, really amazing,” Lucy said of his upcoming departure from the series.

Lucy first joined Hollyoaks back in 1999, appearing on the show for two years before his departure in 2001. After briefly reprising his role in 2002 for Luke’s parents’ remarriage, he made his official return in 2017 alongside Sarah Jayne Dunn’s Many. It was revealed in April that Lucy time on the soap would be coming to an end for good when several outlets reported the actor filmed his final scenes for an episode presumably set to air on or around July 7.