James Nightingale is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gregory Finnegan. The character made his first on-screen appearance on 12 January 2016. Finnegan's casting was announced in December 2015, and James was billed as a mysterious character and lawyer. His introduction to the show featured him attempting to convince Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) to take legal action against Mac Nightingale (David Easter), in a bid to secure his assets. Having kept the character's identity concealed, writers implemented a story twist in which James is revealed to be Mac's son. Lysette Anthony was cast to play his mother Marnie Nightingale, a character which James features alongside most. Their on-screen partnership developed them into a trouble making and villainous duo. Writers played on their manipulative manner to the extent that James manages to con the entire Hutchinson family, out of their restaurant "The Hutch". James' characterisation includes traits associated with villainy – blackmail, manipulation and scheming are usual tactics the character deploys. Finnegan has explained that James has a philosophy in which he has to always get what he wants. James is openly gay and his stories have intertwined with other characters identified as gay on the show. He manipulates Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams) for personal gain and begins an affair with his boyfriend John Paul McQueen (James Sutton). He also feuds with Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and blackmails his boyfriend Harry Thompson (Parry Glasspool) into sleeping with him. It was revealed that his father, Mac used to regularly beat him when he was a child. James then later decides to help Mac's former fiancée, Neeta Kaur (Amrit Maghera), bankrupt Mac after Mac withdrew all of her money. Finnegan has defended his character's bad behaviour and writers pledged to explore his backstory to offer viewers an explanation behind his villainy. Critics of the genre have offered much debate on the character's questionable behaviour. He has been branded "machiavellian" and "sleazy" and left numerous critics in agreement that he is a "schemer". For his portrayal of James, Finnegan won the award for Best Actor at the 2019 British Soap Awards.