Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera Brookside. From 2005 to 2023, episodes have aired on sister channel E4 a day prior to their broadcast on Channel 4. In 2023, it was announced that Hollyoaks had been removed from Channel 4's schedule, but would remain on E4 and Channel 4 (on demand service) and it would be added to YouTube. At its inception, the soap was targeted towards an adolescent and young adult audience but it has since broadened its appeal to all age groups. Hollyoaks has covered various taboo subjects rarely seen on British television, for which it has received numerous awards. It has won the award for Best British Soap twice, in 2014 and 2019; its first win broke the 15-year tie between rival soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. Beginning with a cast of 15 characters, it now has upwards of 50 regular cast members. The longest-serving actor is Nick Pickard, who has portrayed Tony Hutchinson since the first episode. Characters In its first episode, Hollyoaks began with a cast of fifteen, seven of whom were teenagers that received the main focus of the soap. These teenagers were Kurt Benson (Jeremy Edwards), Jambo Bolton (Will Mellor), Natasha Andersen (Shebah Ronay), Louise Taylor (Brett O'Brien), Maddie Parker (Yasmin Bannerman), Dawn Cunningham (Lisa Williamson), and Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard); all of these but Pickard departed the series prior to 2000. Pickard stated that he was only signed for 26 episodes and exclaimed his joy at having appeared on the show since its inception. In more recent years, the cast has increased to typically 50 cast members, with the increase of castings being accredited to being a fast-paced soap.