Fans of Hollyoaks have voiced their upset after the Channel 4 soap was officially removed from TV schedules.
It was confirmed in February that the long-running serial drama would reduce its weekly episodes from five to three.
With the changes having officially come into effect, Thursday (September 12) marks the first weeknight in years without a daily visit to the fictional village – and the changes are going to take some getting used to!
‘The first Thursday evening with no #Hollyoaks on E4 at 7pm,’ exclaimed X/Twitter user Ali, accompanying their message with a sad emoji. ‘what is everyone going to watch instead?’
A fellow social media user echoed such a sentiment, writing: ‘No #Hollyoaks tonight feels weird. normally watch it every night whilst I eat,’while user oaksfrankie stated: ‘first thursday without a hollyoaks ep I AM GOING INSANE #hollyoaks’
Matt was in agreement. ‘Had to remind myself #Hollyoaks isn’t on E4 now,’ they said. ‘This is gonna take some getting used to’.
Amanda added: ‘Not me turning over to watch #Hollyoaks 3 days a week is the dumbest decision.’
X/Twitter user Tasha Louise shared a classic clip of Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox) to highlight how they were feeling at 7pm about the lack of Hollyoaks. In the video, Nancy can be seen saying: ‘This is dull and we need drama!’.
Relatable.
Hollyoaks officially introduced its three-episode-a-week pattern this past week, with a brutal stunt week seeing a number of villager’s lives faving death.
It’s been a tough week for fans of Hollyoaks as, in addition to adjusting to less episodes, viewers learned that James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan) – one of the show’s most loved characters – was tragically killed off, with star Greg confirming that the character was axed by bosses.
The decision was met with outrage from fans – understandably so – with James having been excited for the prospect of living life to the fullest before his car exploded.
A number of high-profile cast members were axed amid the cull which was forced upon bosses as part of the reduction in episodes.
Cindy Cunningham and Tom Cunningham – two of the most recognisable Hollyoaks characters in history – were also axed and written out amid the contentious Blue storyline.
There’s still more upset to come as Charlie Dean (Charlie Behan) and Ethan Williams (Matthew James Bailey) – again, two characters adored by fans – are also set to exit.
Next week, the show will take a time-jump one year into the future as a way of marking the new era – and let’s just say that fans will have questions aplenty about where their favourite characters are at when we next see them.
Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 7am on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.
