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The Online Encyclopedia For All Things Hollyoaks

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About Hollyoaks

Phil Redmond w. Cast — Phil Redmond (centre) with the 1995 *Hollyoaks* cast.

Hollyoaks is a long running television series, following the residents of the village Hollyoaks, Chester. The show debuted on 23rd October 1995, only airing one episode per week and consisting of a cast of fourteen members, with the target audience being teenagers and young adults. Creator Phil Redmond (also the creator of other popular soap operas Brookside and Grange Hill) created Hollyoaks following Grange Hill viewer suggestions in the 1980s - during the time Redmond was unable to pursue due to Brookside's recent inception. Nowadays, the show airs five episodes per week, and consists of a cast of over fifty, with the show now targeting all age groups. If you can't wait for the next episode, Channel 4 airs the next episode of Hollyoaks on E4, following the episode broadcast on C4.

Hollyoaks has tackled many subjects over it's long history, such as mental illness, eating disorders, domestic violence and addiction. The show is well known for it's "soap firsts", such as being the first soap opera to air a male rape storyline in 2000, the first soap to have an on-screen death from an eating disorder in 2008, the first same-sex domestic violence storyline, the first soap to have a legal same-sex wedding in 2014 and the first gay character in a soap opera to be HIV positive in 2015. in Hollyoaks also have had many large stunts, ranging from car pile-ups to massive explosions. In 2007, a carbon monoxide poisoning storyline was aired, and one viewer realised that her symptoms were due to a potentially lethal carbon monoxide leak in her home, allowing her to get her treated in time. Hollyoaks is also the UK's most deadliest soap opera. According to a 2014 report, the murder rate in Hollyoaks was 1616 times the average of the real-life Cheshire murder rate, and 6.5 times the San Pedro Sula murder rate.

Hollyoaks has also produced 5 late night special episodes, and 5 spin-off series (Hollyoaks: Movin' On (2001), Hollyoaks: After Hours (2004), Hollyoaks: Let Loose (2005), Hollyoaks: In The City (2006) & Hollyoaks Later (2008-2013)). The show has also released 7 books, an annual calendar between 2001 and 2014, and fragrances in 2008.

The show has aired over 6,000 episodes and over 500 main characters. Actors in these roles range from comedian James Corden to Game of Thrones actress, Nathalie Emmanuel. Some celebrities have appeared as themselves, such as Bonnie Tyler and The Vamps - even Vernon Kay appeared as an extra in the first episode! Jack Reynolds appeared as himself in a June 2019 episode at age 107, making him the oldest person to ever appear in a soap opera.