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.

James' characterisation includes traits associated with villainy – blackmail, manipulation and scheming are usual tactics the character deploys.

He manipulates Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams) for personal gain and begins an affair with his boyfriend John Paul McQueen (James Sutton).

Finnegan has defended his character's bad behaviour and writers pledged to explore his backstory to offer viewers an explanation behind his villainy.

James is the oldest of the Nightingale brood, but unlike his siblings his devilish charm and dedicated pursuit of power mean he is much more likely to sue a family-owned pub than run one.

Finnegan added "he's cut-throat and happy to manipulate people, but I think it comes from a real place in his life when you discover the backstory.

A Hollyoaks publicist said that James would cause "terrible trouble locally" upon arriving in the show and specifically target established character Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring).

Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and Harry Thompson (Parry Glasspool) will be confused as to why he spends time with Cindy as they rightly believe that James is gay.

She told Laura Morgan of All About Soap that James overhears Cindy talking to Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) about committing bigamy and he offers her legal assistance.

"[6] Sophie Dainty from Digital Spy reported that James would begin to target Mac Nightingale (David Easter) in a new scheme.

She tries to gain leverage over Mac, but James' sister Ellie Nightingale (Sophie Porley) discovers false divorce documents and threatens Cindy with legal action.

[11] Jared Garfield (who plays sibling Nathan Nightingale) told Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly that James and Marnie came in and had "really shaken things up".

[12] Garfield later told an Inside Soap reporter that James and Marnie helped to explain the family history of the Nightingale.

With the help of Marnie, James plans to con Tony (Nick Pickard) and Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher) out of their restaurant, "The Hutch".

Marnie sets off a fire alarm to disrupt the restaurant during peak trading and James steals Tony's laptop to scrutinise the business accounts.

[14] When Diane's nephew Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams) causes The Hutch to lose money on a catering job, James and Marnie decide to use his error to their advantage.

[18] As the plans involving Scott fail, James then decides to manipulate local gay couple Harry and Ste who have become homeless and financially broke.

Finnegan told Ellis that his character is drawn to Harry more than Ste, he then employs his philosophy of getting exactly what he wants and begins to manipulate him.

Anthony told Sarah Ellis (Inside Soap) that her character genuinely believes she has done Diane and Tony a favour in buying them out.

[26] Hollyoaks writers also developed a friendship with fellow "dastardly" character Joanne Cardsley (Rachel Leskovac) during the storyline.

James explains his intentions to snare John Paul from Scott and she reveals her plan to steal Mercedes McQueen's (Jennifer Metcalfe) fiancé Joe Roscoe (Ayden Callaghan).

She told Sarah Ellis (Inside Soap) that Finnegan is a "phenomenal actor" who provokes better performances from her when they share scenes.

[29] The story debuted on-screen during September 2016, when James is accused of vandalising Mac and Neeta Kaur's (Amrit Maghera) wedding venue.

Peter Wanless from the organisation said that he hoped the "powerful and emotional storyline" featuring James would give people the confidence to seek support.

[34] Finnegan was nominated for Best Soap Actor (Male) at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; he came in second place with 12.1% of the total vote.

[35] Additionally, James being framed for murder was nominated under the "Most Bizarre Soap Storyline" category; it came in fifth place with 11.5% of the total vote.

"[37] Another columnist from the magazine said "we already know that dodgy lawyer James Nightingale is a wrong'un" and correctly guessed that he would try and bribe Harry for sex.

[38] Sarah Ellis from Inside Soap said that James and Marnie "seemed to revel in causing destruction wherever they went, and it was clear they didn't care who they stomped on to get what they wanted.

[43] Rhys Matthews writing for Attitude branded him a "shady village newcomer" and opined that James indecent proposal story was "very dark".

[45] Lindsay writing for Metro labelled him "shady James" who had been "hanging around Starry like a bad smell" and proprietor of "underhand developments".