Hollyoaks fans all have the same complaint as the new era kicks off – but there’s good news

Hollyoaks has been ushering in the changes as part of its bold step into a new era but, as the first, shorter episode of the new digital led format lands, there’s one thing missing that fans are very unhappy with.

Earlier this year, Channel 4 announced that the five weekly visits to Hollyoaks were being chopped to three 20-minute editions which would debut online in a massive change to their strategy.

As part of this process, huge cost-cutting measures were slapped on the show, which led to job losses for up to a third of the workforce, including around 20 cast members.

In what must have been a logistical nightmare, storylines have also had to be wildly changed, shortened, sped up and even scrapped to fit around the losses of characters and airtime and, to accommodate this, boss Hannah Cheers announced that there would be a storyline time-jump of a whole year, which would follow a stunt-packed week of episodes.

After months of drip-fed cast exits, mixed and divisive storylines and ongoing critical and fan acclaim for hard-hitting story arcs like Frankie Osborne’s (Isabelle Smith) sibling sex abuse ordeal at the hands of her brother JJ (Ryan Mulvey), the episode changes are now upon us.

This week, the Blue story will reach its crescendo, with Warren Fox (Jamie lomas) facing a battle to the death with dubious gangster Dave Williams (Dominic Power).

The episodes will also see Cleo McQueen (Nadine Mulkerrin) flee the grips of abusive partner Abe (Ryan Conti), while Frankie will publicly stand up to JJ, forcing a challenge on Suzanne to finally open her eyes to the truth.

Meanwhile, bombs have been planted and a crash will trigger a deadly chain of events, with not every character surviving the time-jump that will follow next week.

It’s been a rocky road for fans and, whether they end up liking the changes or not, it will take some time to adapt to.

But one thing they are all collectively worried about? The now iconic opening titles which feature a montage of the cast have been replaced with a moody logo over a Chester setting.

But, hold your horses right there! If you’re a fan of the staple opening titles format, then has good news for you.

We can confirm that it won’t be long before new titles make their debut and, while understandably shorter due to less cast and run-time, they will feel more like the Hollyoaks you know and love.

Speaking about the big changes ahead, Hannah Cheers told me: ‘What I love about our September stunt week is that it’s packed full of different story threads. There are some huge heart-breaking revelations and some superb white-knuckle stunt action. You really don’t know which way to look…

‘It’s a domino effect of story; a series of events coming together but it also works as a stand-alone week to dive into. The following week, we see the much-anticipated time jump – which is another big treat after you have just caught your breath.

‘It celebrates everything we believe Hollyoaks encapsulates – joy, warmth, jaw-dropping reveals and family, love and friendship.

‘In the first episode, a year on from the stunt, our Hollyoaks hero Tony will throw open the doors of The Dog in the Pond and take the audience with him on a journey around the village as we see how everyone’s lives have changed.

‘It’s soap first. Once we had settled on this story device, we were so excited by the opportunity to leap into new unexplored chapters of everyone’s lives and celebrate Hollyoaks’ ability to pull the rug from under you.’

Hannah also promised that while many questions would be answered, other mysteries from the year that we ‘missed’ will remain and be drip fed over time, assuring me that the time away would not be forgotten about or merely skipped past.

Having watched some of the new material post time-skip, I have to say there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

And I’m not just talking about the new titles!

Hollyoaks airs a new episode online every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 7am and the episodes air on E4 at 7pm. Episodes can also be viewed on YouTube.