More from 'Hollyoaks' boxer Ravi Roy

Remember my interview with Hollyoaks series producer Lucy Allan earlier this year? Teasing about what's to come for the Roy family, she said:

"In terms of the family, we've got a lot of sibling rivalry building up and Ravi's going to end up facing a big, life-threatening decision later on in the year that's going to throw a bit of a bomb in that household."

And a bomb it is - Ravi's diagnosed with a brain aneurysm next week and quite soon he'll be faced with an extremely tough decision when his brother Ash (June Khan) pushes him into the world of Fight Club-esque underworld boxing.

With the knowledge that one blow to the head could kill him, will Ravi go through with the fight to impress his brother? Click here to read the main part of the interview. Read on, though, for a few excerpts from my recent chat with Stephen. Here, he discusses his bisexual plot, keeping fit and his new film called Freight...

Do you box in real life?
"I do - I've boxed on and off since I was about 13 years old, so it's quite natural to me. Because of the camera angles, though, there are certain ways that you have to stand and punch. Things you wouldn't necessarily do if you were boxing for real."

Wasn't this meant to be a Warren (Jamie Lomas) storyline?
"Well, when they get a more able actor in to do storylines… I'm only joking! Jamie's one of my really, really good friends. Warren had so many different storylines on the go, so they probably couldn't fit it in with him. It suits Ravi a lot more, though, I think. Warren's more of a dodgy businessman who's quite handy - he's not a fighter."

Is Ravi's love life pushed onto the back burner while this storyline plays out?
"Yeah, his head's in a different place. He's constantly training and not focusing on his love life.

How have they dealt with the bisexual storyline?
"I think they've dealt with it really well. When it's something as big as this, you sit down with the writers and the directors and you discuss everything. I thought that it was about time that a soap portrayed a bisexual or gay character who isn't overtly feminine or camp. You get them in every other soap - you see Coronation Street, EastEnders and even Hollyoaks with John Paul - he was quite camp in the way he was playing the part because that's how the character was meant to be played. But with Ravi, he's just this very masculine lad. He can fight - he's a boy's boy and I think it's great because it's never ever shown in soaps that 'normal' people can be gay and it's not a caricature. He's not stereotypical."

How did you react to the fact you would have to kiss guys on screen?
"To be honest that's never been an issue. I'm an actor and if I can't play roles that put me outside of my comfort zone, then I can't class myself as an actor. Whether it's playing a paedophile, a murderer, a rapist - they're all roles that you should be able to handle in a mature, sensible way as long as it's to drive the story and not just for sensationalism then it's fine. That's never been an issue for me - if it had been, I wouldn't be in the profession."

How do you juggle filming with keeping fit?
"To be honest, it's not a problem for me at all. I like to get out of bed early and get things done - it keeps my mind fresh and keeps me focused."

Did you have to make more of an effort recently?
"Not really, I've always kept super-fit. I had to work a little harder, though, because I was released from filming Hollyoaks to do a film, and in the film I needed to be a lot skinnier, so I lost a stone and a half for that. I had to work a little harder when I returned to Hollyoaks to get that muscle back for this storyline otherwise it wouldn't have looked real!"

How long are you sticking with the show?
"I'm here for the foreseeable future. I'm having a ball - I'm really enjoying it. They've given me the chance to go off to do other projects like this film. It's a lovely place to work and I've had some great material, so I've got the best of both worlds."

What's the film you're in?
"It's called Freight. It's written and directed by a guy called Stuart St. Paul and it stars Billy Murray, Craig Fairbrass and Danny Midwinter. It's a British gangster film and I play a young scrawny lad called Zaf who's engaged to the boss's daughter. A trailer of the film went to Cannes and it's been bought by Icon Films, so it should be coming out at the end of the year."

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