Vincent Elegba is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by John Omole. The character made his first screen appearance on 16 April 2013. Vincent is an illegal immigrant from Nigeria. He left the country to seek refuge fearing persecution because he is gay. The storyline has been described as an original by those involved. The show worked closely with LGBT charity Stonewall to portray the issue. His main scene partners have been Phoebe McQueen (Mandip Gill) and George Smith (Steven Roberts). His friendship with Phoebe explored unrequited love as she pursued a relationship while Vincent fell in love with George. His subsequent detaining by immigration officials found him placed on remand and becoming the victim of homophobic violence. The character has proved unpopular with critic Anthony D. Langford from TheBacklot.com who has often deemed his relationship with George as implausible. The character departed the show on 18 February 2014 but returned for 2 episodes on 17 September 2014, nearly seven months later.