Black To Front (formerly Black Takeover Day) was an event occurring on 10th September 2021, which saw a day of Channel 4 showcasing black talent. The day saw the debut of a black-led comedy series, as well as an unscripted series alongside episodes of games shows and reality shows such as Celebrity Gogglebox and Countdown with line-ups of black talent.
The event was devised to mark a year since the international protests and debates sparked by the killing of George Floyd and to lead into Black History Month 2021.
For Black To Front, Episode 5675/5675A of Hollyoaks was an hour long episode written by Thabo Mhlatshwa and directed by Patrick Robinson. The episode - anchored around the Deveraux family celebrating the birthday of Walter Deveraux - featured an all black cast, with five new regular characters debuting in the episode, as well as a mostly-black crew.
Episode cast
The cast featured in the Black to Front episode:
- Pearl Anderson (Dawn Hope)
- Sharon Bailey (Jamelia)
- Olivia Bradshaw (Emily Burnett)
- Nate Denby (Chris Charles)
- Martine Deveraux (Kelle Bryan)
- Walter Deveraux (Trevor A. Toussaint)
- Celeste Faroe (Andrea Ali)
- Toby Faroe (Bobby Gordon)
- Brooke Hathaway (Talia Vanessa Grant)
- Ripley Lennox (Ki Griffin)
- Goldie McQueen (Chelsee Healey)
- Prince McQueen (Malique Thompson-Dwyer)
- DJ Target (Himself)
- DeMarcus Westwood (Tomi Ade)
- Felix Westwood (Richard Blackwood)