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Last week, I attended a Hollyoaks press event in London, where members of the media were lucky enough to mingle with the cast and enjoy a sneak preview of what's to come for Channel 4's flagship soap.
With glasses of bubbly and other refreshments readily available, everyone received a warm welcome from the drama's team - before the event began in earnest when series producer Paul Marquess gave a speech reflecting on the period of rejuvenation that he's been heading up at Hollyoaks since his arrival in January. From Paul's speech, it's clear that everyone involved in the programme is excited and extremely proud of the changes that have been rolled out in recent months - from the new titles, glamorous new signings and compelling new plotlines which have received a largely positive response from fans. It wasn't all talk, though, as we were then treated to three clip reels which provided a glimpse of forthcoming storylines on Hollyoaks and its late-night spinoff Hollyoaks Later, which returns on October 25. Spoiler: |
HO Later schedule and a returnee spoiler on previous page;).
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sounds amazing :) i wanna no who the character trapped in the flames is
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DS interview with Kieron Richardson:).
http://i1.cdnds.net/10/40/M/hollyoaks_2933_03_300bs.jpg What's the reaction been like from Hollyoaks fans since you did the interview on This Morning? "The fans have been quite shocked about me coming out as gay, when I think it's quite obvious! They've been more shocked about that than they have been about Ste. I think it's nice that the fans have just accepted Ste being gay straight away, because I was worried that it wouldn't be believable because of him being a real straight character in the past and a bit of a scally. But I think the nice thing is that Danny Miller has portrayed a scally-type character who's gay in Emmerdale, so I think people have accepted it a lot more. Now I'm just really excited about the storyline." When did you first hear that this was in store for Ste? "I'd literally just finished Dancing On Ice, and [producer] Paul Marquess had just started at Hollyoaks. The day after that, he asked me to come into a meeting - and at that time, a lot of people were being written out, so I was thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm going!' But he said, 'I've been watching the clips from the past couple of months and I really like what you've done', and then he told me that he'd decided to turn Ste gay. At first, it was just the initial shock and I was thinking, 'Can I do it? Is it going to be believable?'" What happened next? "I was thinking a lot about the storyline - and when you know that your character's turning gay, you can kind of play to that stereotype and camp it up a bit, but I thought that in order to be true to the character, I had to fight against that. I wanted to play it completely Ste, completely straight, with no changes except that he likes men now. I also think what's nice about the storyline is that it isn't the same as any other soap sexuality storyline, because Ste doesn't question his sexuality and it's not about a struggle - it's about domestic abuse in a gay relationship, and that hasn't been done on a soap before." Have you had to do a lot of research for the storyline? "Well, the good thing about doing the This Morning interview was that I got 17,000 emails that day from people saying, 'Well done - I'm gay and you've helped me to come out to my parents'. But there was one email that stuck out from a guy who told me that he'd been in a gay relationship and experiencing domestic abuse, so he'd gone to the police and it went to court. He was the first guy in a gay relationship to get his partner sent to prison. I'm hoping to hear more about his story to help us achieve an accurate portrayal of this very real issue." It sounds like this is going to be a big storyline for the months ahead. "Well, when Paul first told me about the storyline and I was doing it, I'd obviously heard about the Jasmine and Jason plot, which is a massive thing, along with all of the other stuff that's going on in Hollyoaks. So I thought that ours would be a C-storyline, but it's actually turning out to be an A-storyline, which is nice! When I was picking up my scripts and reading it, I thought it was quite good, but when it comes off paper and gets onto screen, the scenes seem completely different - especially because of the things that Emmett brings to his character. He puts his own little things in, and that's pushing me as an actor because I want to try new things to make my performance match his, because he's so good. The stuff that's coming up is really strong." Would you describe Ste as gay or bisexual? "This is the funny thing - he's bisexual at this point, because he's obviously in a relationship with Rae but seeing Brendan at the same time. But I think the whole reason why Ste doesn't question his sexuality is because he's been so bad in relationships. Nobody's really loved him like Amy has, so he's happy to go along with whoever shows him interest, whether it's a man or a woman." Have you enjoyed working with Emmett? "Yes, I have. When I first found out that Brendan was going to be Ste's boyfriend, I was asking, 'Who have you cast?' When I was told it was Emmett, I Googled him and saw his showreel. I remember sitting there watching it with Bronagh, who plays Cheryl, and she said, 'He's good, isn't he?!' I was really worried then about how I was going to be able to match up to his performance! But he's given me tips and if I want to do something that's a bit out there or a bit different, he'll always go with it and react to whatever I do, and I'll react to whatever he does. We don't always stick to the script - if we want to play with it a bit, we get away with it. Emmett brings something different to the show, and we haven't had a bad boy for a while. I think that Emmett's now one of the strongest bad boys in any of the soaps." And now you've got Darren Day coming in to play another bad boy! "That's another nice thing, because you don't really imagine him as a bad boy. I know he has a reputation, but you don't really imagine him as being evil. On set and in real life, he's not what you'd expect him to be like - he's quiet, polite and really shy. But when he's playing his character, he's like a completely different person!" What's it been like at work in general since Paul Marquess joined? "Paul is my fourth producer. Bryan Kirkwood was a favourite of mine, because he brought me into the show full-time. When I got the job with David Hanson, he had me in for just seven episodes - my character was just supposed to come in, sleep with Amy and that was it. But when Bryan took over, he liked what I did and brought me back for a tiny bit to test me, and then put me on a year's contract. I've stayed ever since, so I've got a lot to thank Bryan for, especially the domestic abuse story with Ste and Amy. But since Paul's taken over, I feel that the work that I've done - which hasn't been on screen yet - is some of my strongest stuff. That's obviously thanks to the material that he's producing. Also, I'm a fan of Hollyoaks myself and when I watch it, I think it's a lot stronger - Paul's got the balance right between comedy and the serious stuff. The balance is perfect at the moment." What else can we look forward to from Hollyoaks in the months ahead? "The week of the fire is a very strong week. But it's so difficult to say what to watch out for, because each week there's something really good that happens. This is another thing that Paul's done - at the end of every episode, there's a real hook - something happens in every single episode. It's a lot of storylines, but we've got a lot of cast! In other shows, you might have one storyline that runs for the week, and the cliffhanger will be at the end of the week so that people tune in the week after. But what's great about Hollyoaks now is that there's a reveal or a cliffhanger in every single episode. People really want to know what happens next and want to tune into the E4 episode - and that's what television is all about, keeping people entertained." You've mentioned in past interviews that you sometimes lack self-confidence - has that changed recently, especially after all the support you've received lately? "Well, I'm quite a shy person and I fell into acting by accident. I'm 24 now and I started acting when I was 19. It was literally because my stepdad was friends with Will Mellor, and Will used to always come round to our house in his fancy car and I'd say, 'I want to be an actor who drives cars like that!' He gave me the number for an acting coach and then, within six months, I was in Hollyoaks. As I'm quite shy, I struggled at first, but last year when I did Dancing On Ice, that helped me a lot with my confidence. More recently, the whole coming out thing is a big deal. Even though I'd come out to my friends and family four years ago, it was going through it again, but this time it was in public and I was wondering whether people would accept it and if they'd not believe the character anymore. But obviously the character is gay now, so it seemed like the right time to do it." Your first interview about your sexuality was on live TV - do you think it might have been less nerve-wracking to do it in print? "It was totally my decision to do it on This Morning. When I did Dancing On Ice, the press knew about my sexuality but didn't run the story. But every day they'd ring and say, 'Go on, sell your story'. I thought it'd be wrong to sell it and make money out of it - I don't feel like I should earn any money from it. Also, if you do it in print, your words can be twisted and I didn't want a sensational headline. It was my decision to work with Paul, work with the press office and say, 'I'll do it, but I want to do it on This Morning with Holly and Phil, because I've got a connection with them already'. It was set up weeks in advance and we knew exactly how it was going to go. It's worked out well so far." Is there anything else you'd like to say about Hollyoaks? "I love the new titles! At first, I was a bit freaked out by the music, because I think the old tune was so harsh and in-your-face, and I was so used to it. This is slower and a lot more mellow, so I was unsure at first but I'm getting used to it now! In terms of the titles and the whole look of them, I think they're some of the strongest titles in all of the soaps. It's something a bit different, and everyone looks fit in them!" |
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Haven't caught up with Hollyoaks this week, last episode was when Taylor's dad turned up at his mates. Wow!! I didn't see that one coming............:D
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Have you saw the info about HO Later?:). |
hollyoaks isnt as good as it was
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Thanks for the info :thumbs: During the early part of this year, I found myself clock watching as each episode seemed to drag along, the whole Calvin murder made me feel like they were treating the viewers as if they were 8 years old. Now though, it's a different matter, with so much going on, I find myself cheated because no sooner as the drama started and you're at the end of that episode. Not that I'm complaining, I love where the show is going right now. |
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I know the Calvin plot was confusing and poorly thought out, although I blame Lucy Allan:rolleyes:, at least the aftermath was by Paul Marquess but I still disagree with Theresa being the killer.. I'm liking the fact now that every episode has a cliffhanger at the end:). |
so i have never seen a hollyoaks later before so lik is that only wats on or is der normal hollyoaks on aswell
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HO Later spoilers;)...
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but i mean like while hollyoaks later is the normal hollyoaks still on at 6 on channel 4
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Just saw that warren will be coming back , it should be good viewing with him and Brendan
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hes dead?
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Mitzeee:love:, she is so hilarious, loved the scenes with Duncan on the E4 show with the driving lessons:laugh2:.
The club dynamic at Chez Chez is getting very interesting too and Darren Day's character Danny Houston looks menacing plus the Ste and Brendan thing which is intriguing... |
Warren returns on the 29th, so soon:shocked:, they were good at keeping it under wraps till now.
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how the hell does he return
hes dead? |
did warren not have a funeral no?
and did louise have a funeral? because i heard people saying that she didnt actually die (i didnt watch it back then i just did research) |
The Ste and Brendan thing is getting a bit weird...
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...72010285-2.jpg |
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I've had to type away without looking at the screen as the spoiler tag doesn't work when you quote. It's weird typing and not looking at the screen.... |
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