Hollyoaks tipped for “blockbuster” year as Channel 4 addresses the show’s future

Hollyoaks spoilers[1] follow. Hollyoaks will have a “blockbuster” 2024 as fan favourites return and huge new storylines begin, Channel 4 has revealed. The long-running soap kicks off a new era next week, as an hour-long special features a deadly road accident[2] involving four different vehicles.

Mercedes McQueen, Warren Fox, Felix Westwood, Ste Hay, Leah Barnes and show returnee Theresa McQueen are just some of the characters who’ll be taking centre stage in the disaster. Hollyoaks began crediting[3] its new acting executive producers Hannah Cheers and Angelo Abelo[4] in November, which marked the start of the new team’s ideas coming through on screen.

Lime Pictures Related: Hollyoaks airs exit for regular character in streaming episode[5]

The stunt episode itself[6] is being seen as the moment that everything comes together, as some ongoing stories reach their climax and dramatic new ones begin. Ben Wadey, Commissioning Exec for Channel 4 Drama, told Digital Spy and other press this week: “The stunt episode is amazing. I can’t wait for everyone to watch it and for us to see the audience reaction.

“It does that thing in soap that’s so hard to do – exploding a number of stories and then confidently setting up a load of new plots to throw us forward. “The results of this stunt episode continue paying off for months and months and months – across 2024 and beyond. It’s a very confident start to the year for the show.”

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Related: Real-life Hollyoaks couple share message with fans after Rayne Royce killer reveal[7] He continued: “There’s been a phenomenal amount of work from this team. It’s going to be a properly blockbuster year.

“There are going to be genuinely shocking moments that will make you scream, and there are mysteries that are going to keep you guessing. We’ll also see the return of some fan favourites – the announcements for some of those will be eked out across the year, which I’m really excited about. Story continues

“I’m excited that we’re back to telling stories that other soaps wouldn’t dare tell. There are stories we’ll be announcing in the coming months where you’ll go: ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe that Hollyoaks are doing that’. “I’m really excited that we’re in that space and we’re taking really brave decisions – and you’ll hear more about that as the year goes on.

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Related: Hollyoaks’ Felix and Ste to struggle with guilt in road crash aftermath[8] “It’s a show that’s made at the moment by a team who love Hollyoaks, understand the show and understand its audience. The audience are going to be in for a real treat this year.”

Channel 4 has made major changes to Hollyoaks’ transmission pattern in the past couple of years, adopting a new streaming-first model which sees episodes released first online[9]. Last autumn, the traditional 6.30pm slot for Hollyoaks was removed from Channel 4’s schedule[10]. The show now airs weekdays at 7pm on E4, with the next episode dropping afterwards on Channel 4 Streaming at 7.30pm.

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Related: Hollyoaks casts Iz Hesketh as mysterious new character in crash storyline[11] Wadey added: “Channel 4 has really been prioritising the digital-first strategy and Hollyoaks is leading the charge with that. We’re already seeing good success with that.

“We also have a new third window, with full episodes now on YouTube, which is responding to how young viewers are watching the programme. “As part of the success of that, we saw in the first half of last year, 556 million minutes of the show were streamed. Hollyoaks was up 27% on streaming last year, year-on-year.

“Over the Christmas period, Hollyoaks was consistently one of the most-watched shows on Channel 4 Streaming – showing how much appetite there is for the show and how much the streaming-first model is working for us.” Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.[12]

Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.[13]