Former Hollyoaks star Fabrizio Santino has claimed that the soap’s cast are feeling “vulnerable” amid the recent cutbacks. Back in 2024, the Channel 4 series axed numerous jobs as it moved down to three episodes a week from the usual five.
A few cast members were also cut as part of the cull, including Cindy Cunningham actor Stephanie Waring, and now Fabrizio – who played Ziggy Roscoe between 2013 and 2015 – has shared that some current stars still have fears about their futures.
“I just know it must be hard for them to get beaten by all the streaming platforms, soaps are getting axed,” he told the Secure The Insecure Podcast With Johnny Seifert. “When I did Doctors, I was offered a bigger contract, but sadly got axed.
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“I think they’re feeling quite vulnerable, especially when I speak to my ex-co-stars,” the star continued. “They do feel vulnerable, because they’ve got families, they’ve got kids, bills to pay and so on and so forth.”
Fabrizio further argued that “the longer you do a soap, the harder it is” to crossover, revealing that is why he left over a decade ago.
Admitting his decision “upset a lot of people”, he further shared that people “understood” but were also “hurt” that he departed.
Digital Spy has reached out to Hollyoaks for comment.
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It comes after now-former Hollyoaks star James Sutton, who recently departed as John Paul McQueen, reflected on the “awful time” around the cuts, especially after so many crew members had been there for years.
“I do feel like a lot of the heart of the show had kind of been ripped out, to be honest,” he told Daily Mail. “It was more about the crew that left, who were all local. Actors come and go, it’s part of the job. But the crew, some of them had been there since the Brookside days, so it was heartbreaking.”
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.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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