With the footballer abuse storyline, the shocking death of Harry Thompson, the far right extremism saga, Maxine Minnivers shocking lie and the downfall of evil rapist Laurie Shelby, its been one hell of a year for Hollyoaks – but show boss Bryan Kirkwood has promised that there will be no let up as the year comes to a close before the show then gears up for its anniversary next year.
With a huge stunt, some special episodes, a new issue led storyline, a scinitllating love affair with a difference, a devastating exit, a shooting and some high profile returns and arrivals, viewers are in for one heck of a ride.
Metro.co.uk sat down with the acclaimed producer to get the gossip.
Hollyoaks fast forwards!
In one of soaps most ambitious experiments of all time, Hollyoaks will air a New Year episode an entire year into the future before then backtracking to tell the run up to the climax of a hard hitting story through 2020.
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Bryan told us: We have an hour long Christmas and an hour long New Year as usual. In our New Year episode, its extra special. Its very ambitious and quite terrifying – were doing flash forward to a New Years Eve party a whole 12 months further. We have a great group of mums led by Nancy, Misbah, Mandy, Marnie and Leela. We have a brilliant teen gang in the mould of Tom, Imran, Peri and Yazz and we have the younger teens coming up – Charlie, Ela and Leah. There are also the Lomaxes and Osbornes.
They are all doing their New Year resolutions and they flash forward to putting characters in screaming, agonising jeopardy 12 months hence. It book ends our next big important storyline which is about County Lines drug dealers and how they invade a community and a school like Hollyoaks High. Lovely kids like Charlie and Ela become embroiled in really horrible, real life and current situations.
The end of Breda – in Hollyoaks Later
There isnt a single Hollyoaks fan out there who doesnt want Breda caught and brought to justice – but while they have a lickle longer to wait, its going to be worth it as the storyline reaches an explosive ending in a late night special next year.
Bryan told us: We are delighted to bring back Hollyoaks Later in January for one very special episode. There is no better time to bring the Breda story to a close than a 10pm spectacular. The story has been a brilliant ride for us all and particularly Moya, who has been so invested in this character.
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Weve taken the audience on a similar ride – they loved her and now hate her! There are a few more twists but we will bring it right back round to this being about family, about her son and daughter and it will end in spectacular fashion.
Stunt shocker
October wouldnt be October in Hollyoaks without disaster striking – and this year, its the long term village stalwarts who could be most at risk as their world caves in, literally. But will everyone make it out alive?
Bryan teased: October is huge for us – theres two really exceptional weeks. We have the traditional stunt week where the sky falls in on the Hollyoaks residents. This year we do have a character refer to the fact that October is really unlucky around these parts! We had to finally nod to the audience – just moe or take a holiday in October, folks! So yes, we have our legacy artisits – Darren, Mandy, Luke, Cindy and Nancy all across October with the reveal of DJs paternity.
We have the newest love story in town in the shape of Mitchell and Scott/Anita and we have the exit of a much loved character. As always, its the pinnacle and the pay off of stories the audience have been waiting to see but equally, its the starting point of stories that are going to dominate next year the way that Tegans death was the launch pad for this year – that worked really well. If ever there was a character legacy, I think Tegan has given us so much in terms of motivating the Ste story this year.
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We come at it from a more subtle angle. There are lines of dialogue this year which are buried – literally! These will be the little kick starters for big stories next year. You might not notice them at first but look out for them!
Will Mitchell and Scott be together?
The years most engaging and surprising love story is set to heat up – but whose heart will end up shattered into pieces as Mitchell fights his feelings for both Scott and Anita while being in a loving relationship with oblivious Cleo.
Telling us that his favourite affair storylines are ones without a villain, Bryan enthused: Its a journey for Mitchell that he is on – I can not praise Imran Adams enough, what a superstar. Its like he opens himself up and you see inside him – he is so raw, I can not believe our luck with that actor and to play alongside people so loved like Ross Adams and Nadine Mulkerrin and equal them is amazing. No-one is a villain.
What is both beautiful and tragic about this story is that both Scott and Mitchell are compromising themselves for love and thats whats so engaging. That story is going to run and run; its one of my favourites. The feedback from our digital team is that our audience love it because they havent seen it before.
Double return
Its no secret that there are some familiar faces being lined up for explosive comebacks – in the form of James Sutton as John Paul McQueen and Jamie Lomas as Warren Fox. But what is in store for the iconic characters?
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Bryan shared: Finn isnt here long term – hes here to tell a story about whether rapists can be redeemed in the community where he committed the crime. That coincides with James Suttons return as John Paul. He has two returns. The first is a very satisfying chapter in the Finn story then he is back full term in January. Whats brilliant is that he crashes straight into another story and works something out that nobody else, including the Hollyoaks police, worked out before him!
Jamie Lomas is turning up too. We had to work hard to figure out why Warren would bring Sophie and Sebastian back to Hollyoaks. We think we have come up with the answer and what we want to get from Jamie is what he does beautifully – hes such a brilliant alpha male and a plausible villain but he has a big beating heart and thats what motivates him all the time and thats why we love him.
Who shot Mercedes?
Mercedes has made a number of mistakes recently from being involved with drugs to her affair with Liam and the cover up of the hit and run which almost killed Grace. And someone will soon want revenge on her…
Bryan said: What is exciting this year is that the stunt week follows directly into an equally brilliant week, with who shot Mercedes McQueen? It really is a big one and all of those terrible decisions that Mercedes has been making all year lead people to seek revenge – there are more than a few suspects, put it that way!
Its a whodunnit but it wont play out to an exhausting level – it will play out for a couple of months, keeping the audience guessing. Some of our most popular characters are in that line-up. What Im really chuffed about is the consequences of the shooting keep on coming and it takes us into next year so its more than about revealing the culprit.
Tonys family expands
The casting of Joe McGann in the role of Tonys dad Edward, wholl be a new supervillain for the show, has already been confirmed. Next year, Edward will be followed by his daughter aka Tonys half sister.
A source teased: Edward is one of the biggest villains the show has seen – and viewers will discover that the apple doesnt fall far from the tree when his daughter joins him in the village. The new character will immediately ruffle feathers and create another exciting, fresh dynamic for Tony in the shows 25th anniversary year.
With a villainous edge of her own, fans will have to stay tuned to see the trouble that Tonys sister causes for him, his family and the other residents of the village.
Maxine exposed
The end is nigh for Maxines web of lies and Damon will discover the shocking truth that she has been lyRead More – Source
