Jonny Labey has confirmed his departure from Hollyoaks following the death of his character Rex Gallagher, who was shot by an unknown assailant in scenes aired on July 20, 2026. The actor expressed gratitude to fans for their support during his two-year stint on the soap.
Rex's death and aftermath
Rex was killed at the garage after receiving a late-night call-out. Confused, he asked 'What's this?' as he spotted someone lurking in the shadows. The mystery person pulled the trigger despite Rex's scream of 'No!'. Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) discovered Rex's body, and Donny Clark (Louis Emerick) broke the news to Rex's husband Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson). Leela Dexter (Kirsty-Leigh Porter) confirmed the body was Rex's.
Jonny Labey's farewell message
In a video message, Labey said: 'Hello Hollyoaks fans, if you're watching this you're probably six weeks ahead, it's no longer 33 degrees and you've just found out that Rex has unfortunately died.' He recalled memorable moments, including Rex's dancing sequence and the powerful scenes where Grace Black (Tamara Wall) revealed she was Rex's mother. Labey called Kieron Richardson a 'true legend' and thanked fans: 'Thank you for watching. Thank you for loving Rex as much as you have. Thank you for all your comments and all your support. And for all of your rooting for him because he started off as a bit of… he had some questionable things about him! So thank you for seeing this beautifully complex, troubled but all in all loveable character that I'm going to miss so, so, so much!'
Viewing information
Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 6am on Channel 4's streaming platform, or airs on TV at 7pm on E4.
