Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks‘ 30th anniversary week is finally here, with explosive episodes, the return of late-night spin-off Hollyoaks Later, and a special crossover with fellow soap Brookside all lined up.
The plot follows Donny Clarke – played by Louis Emerick who previously played Mick Johnson in Brookside – heading to the famous Close in order to get information on a criminal gang, with Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson among those reprising their roles.
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With all the excitement surrounding the crossover, and the two shows officially confirmed to be part of the same universe, could there be more Brookside crossovers in the future?
“Never say never,” Hollyoaks boss Hannah Cheers said. “Most importantly, I am so proud we have opened the door to that universe and now it exists and is inscribed in Hollyoaks history.
“Hopefully we can continue to reference it and I’d love to see characters crossing back in as much as we can, we don’t want to forget it.”
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Cheers also said that she “hope[s] the audience that comes to this because of Brookside carries on watching Hollyoaks“, explaining that the two shows share a lot of DNA.
“The irreverence and cheekiness, both shows were not afraid to be disruptive and mess with the mould, shake things up and be a bit naughty,” she continued. “It’s about pushing it as far as we can and not worry how people might respond.
“Are they still going to like it anyway, and get the fizzy feeling? If it makes them uncomfortable, does that matter?
“That’s what Phil [Redmond] did with Brookside and we still aim for that with Hollyoaks. That is what is so important about this celebration, two shows made in Liverpool that earned their place in the cultural landscape.”
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Interestingly, ITV’s soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale announced their own crossover shortly after Hollyoaks did, something that Cheers touched on.
“I thought it was interesting we were thinking on the same lines of respecting the soap viewer in this way,” she said, adding: “Soap viewers often watch more than one soap, so to respect those fans who invest in a number of different universes, bringing them together is a really exciting prospect.”
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Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
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