There has never been a more crucial time for Hollyoaks as it heads into the boldest new era for any UK soap – a slice down to 60 minutes of content a week in a digital led model that could make or break the show and, even more far-reachingly, inevitably give food for thought to the genre as a whole.
The Channel 4 staple has had some turbulent years, with many storylines panned and viewers switching off – so it felt very welcome to me, as an ardent fan, to deliver a celebratory and excited review as it turned a corner in an explosive way at the start of the year.
A new producer in place in the form of Hannah Cheers, who has long been central to the show, delivered a much-needed boot up Hollyoaks’ jacksie, beginning her tenure with an explosive stunt sequence and introducing massively talked about issue-led plotlines, which really captured interest and garnered acclaim.
The vibe for the cast and the viewers was palpable, so it came as an unwelcome shock for all when the channel swept in with some brutal cuts and a change of airing that understandably made everyone nervous for its future – would it even survive past its 30th anniversary?
Losing a wave of cast members – around 20 – was the most visible impact that viewers could see and, each time another name is confirmed to be going, it re-awakens the reality and worries. Everyone has their fans, so people will understandably be disappointed no matter who goes.
It’s not easy for any show’s publicity to be dominated by axings in such a drip-feed fashion but, given the situation, it’s pretty impossible to avoid.
It’s of great interest to viewers to know if their favourites will still be here in September, when the big changes unfold and the storylines skip forward a year, with it confirmed that some characters won’t even get an on-screen exit.
It’s not that the show – or the press – are being deliberately awkward in not announcing or reporting who is leaving all at once. If those watching knew the whole lot, then much of what is on screen for months would be rendered defunct, with little mystery or jeopardy.
And this is just one facet of the difficulties this is to manage. I could never envy a team having to deal with all of this as well as making very urgent, last minute but far-reaching changes – scrapping storylines, re-writing others and doing effectively an entire re-launch in such little time.
Few producers can say they have come in to the helm of one of TV’s leading shows and then had to deal with such enormous repercussions within a few months. The fact the show has kept ticking and retained a lot of love from viewers is testament to the work that must have gone in.
For fans, though, the most important thing is simple – is it an enjoyable watch? Will they still have a show to love come September or will the cracks rip open as a result? If not, they will switch off.
Enter my current concerns. I have never hid my despair at soap gangster storylines – they are infuriatingly dull to watch and just don’t fit in.
Small fry alpha males butting heads, puffing their chests and waving guns in small English villages is bland.
They follow a very similar formula with one of two consequences – a gangster will be a short term character who ends in a bloody death or they will remain as a villain who continually gets away with one outlandish crime after another.
The mystery over the identity of Blue is a very difficult one to care about. Yet another enemy targeting Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) feels awfully rinse and repeat and, in the first place, it was uninspiring to get on board with who was under the helmet.
Warren has murdered, attacked and abused his way around Hollyoaks for years, dispatching his many enemies and ruining countless lives, but it’s clear that the show wants us to have his back and root for him, which is an absurd impossibility for me.
With two multiple killers facing off against one another, why should the audience care who comes out on top? It’s not the Sopranos. Soap is about community, not endless villains – let’s not forget that Grace and Freddie have returned right into another gangster-esque plotline.
With Jamie leaving again, it was inevitable that the show would want to build up to an exit, fans of the character deserve that pay-off. And he was never going to bow out with a whimper.
However, he is far from the only character leaving the show and many are questioning why their own faves aren’t getting this level of treatment. Warren has been hit by drama after drama since January and, for those who are less keen on the shootings and kidnaps – not to mention women being blasted point blank with a shotgun in their own home – there feels like little else is there to invest in, as there just isn’t the space.
As for the identity of Blue being exposed as hapless small time crook Dave, constantly down on his luck? And Sienna discovering that abuser Patrick isn’t her dad but his equally evil twin brother – played by the same actor?
The retcons are unnecessary and played for shock value, with no feasible benefits to the characters past and present whose arcs up to now have been upended for no real reason.
I understand wanting to bring the fantastic Jeremy Sheffield back as another evil villain and giving soap titan Dominic Power a chance to flex all he’s got in a meatier role but this feels at the expense of the show’s history and stretches reality too far even for madcap Hollyoaks.
I just can’t buy into the possibility that Dave has secretly been a bloodthirsty, feared gangster for years, sold as one of the worst the locale has ever known.
We know Dave; he was brought in with this storyline not possibly in mind and so these changes just don’t fit.
Even if flashbacks try to fill in the gaps with reasoning, there just isn’t a way to marry down-on-his-luck rogue Dave with a violent assassin.
And even if it did all make sense, at the end of it all what are we left with? Another gangster who will either die quickly at the hands of Warren, rendering it all for nothing, or replace him as one of the village killers who constantly evades justice.
On top of that, the storyline seems to be costing us Cindy and Ethan, two of the show’s best characters not just currently but of all time who are being written out. That’s a real sting and I am dubious of the exchange.
So, is it fair to say I am not enjoying Hollyoaks on the whole? No, I still adore the show and I hope with a deep ache that come September it will refresh itself and be done with the gangster and serial killer focus – 60 minutes a week is not a long time and so the show needs to treat it as a refresh, trying something new while also focusing on what it does best.
Such as the current sibling sex abuse storyline involving Frankie and JJ Osborne, played by the unreal young actors Isabelle Smith and Ryan Mulvey.
I have praised Hollyoaks on many occasions for being the show bold enough to walk where no other UK soaps dare, tackling controversial and need-to-be-told social issue storylines with great depth and bravery.
This is one such example, and it’s what is keeping me invested in the show right now.
The story has been given plenty of space to breathe and develop. A very hard but compelling watch, it has been supported not just by engaging writing and acting but by deep research and support from charities.
It has hit home for many viewers, with a fan sharing their own experience of sibling sex abuse with Metro.co.uk’s audience in a brave and wonderfully written piece.
If it doesn’t win waves of awards and plaudits, there is something very wrong – it’s the best soap storyline on TV by a country mile right now.
Which makes it more frustrating to see it offset by all the gun, gore and gang stuff, which is constantly pulling the focus away for long and intense periods of time, almost feeling like an entirely different show.
Frankie and JJ’s story is just one example of many over the years that prove that Hollyoaks deserves its space in UK – and now world – viewings. It’s a groundbreaker and hopefully, if recent cautiously optimistic viewing and streaming figures seem to say, will be for years to come.
It’s more capable than many shows to lead the way and they have the perfect team at the helm to make that happen – but, right now more than ever as we enter the most crucial period of its life, Hollyoaks needs to take a step back, ditch the shock twist retcons and pistol-waving, and give us more of what we love it for.
All eyes will be on what it has in store for us when we flash forward by a year – and I hope with all of the love that I have for the show that it dispels my fears.
