Channel 4 has addressed Hollyoaks’s recent success, following the news that the soap, which recently celebrated its landmark 30th anniversary week, hit several audience milestones.
Among them, the Hollyoaks/Brookside crossover episode, which aired last month (22 October), has become the show’s best-performing episode on streaming ever excluding Christmas episodes, after reaching 522k views, and it’s also the best-performing episode for consolidated individuals viewing (645k) since October 2021.
During the crossover event, fans watched Donny Clark heading to Brookside Close as the truth about the identity of actor Louis Emerick’s character was revealed.
Alongside Donny’s storyline, the episode followed Jez Blake and Clare Devine’s plane crash, which saw Peri Lomax tragically crushed by debris after saving Tom Cunningham. Adding to the body count, serial killer Jez met his demise after being dragged into the plane’s propeller, while Grace Black died from her gunshot injuries.
Speaking about Hollyoaks’s triumphant run, Channel 4’s drama commissioning executive Louise Donald said that the soap has a bright future ahead.
“We were thrilled by the reaction to the Hollyoaks birthday episodes which saw a devastating plane crash, character deaths and even made soap history with the Hollyoaks/Brookside crossover special,” she began.
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“Hollyoaks has been at the heart of C4’s drama for 30 years and we have no doubt it will continue to deliver explosive, bold and fearless storylines in the years to come.”
Following the drama’s 30th anniversary episodes, fans will be looking ahead to Christmas, with Hollyoaks teasing multiple shocking storylines. Speaking exclusively to Inside Soap in October, Hollyoaks boss Hannah Cheers confirmed that Ste’s storyline will come to a head with a “big climax” in December.
Referencing a particularly harrowing storyline, which has seen Ste physically abused by his teenage son Lucas, Cheers explained: “The Lucas and Ste child-to-parent abuse story has a big peak at Christmas. There’s a big climax there.”
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In the meantime, actor Jorgie Porter has announced that she will return to the soap before Christmas, after spending the last year on maternity leave. “We’ve filmed Christmas, which is one of those McQueen family days, where it all ends up a bit chaotic!” Porter told Inside Soap.
“I’m sure that not everyone’s Christmas goes to plan, but I can definitely say ours is not a planned event. They’re all in a disastrous place in their own little heads…”
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
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