'Hollyoaks': James Atherton confirms Will Savage exit

Hollyoaks star James Atherton has left the soap, Digital Spy can exclusively reveal.

The actor, who plays killer Will Savage, confirmed the news to us on the red carpet at the Inside Soap Awards 2013.

Atherton has already filmed his final Hollyoaks scenes and his exit storyline will air in the week commencing Monday, November 4.

The dramatic week for the Savages kicks off when they learn that Will's late mother Anna left him an eight-bedroomed house in her will. Viewers know that Will killed Anna in a shock storyline last month.

When Will discovers that his family and other residents of the village are slowly growing suspicious over his true nature, he lures them to his newly-acquired house and holds them all hostage.

Dirk, Dodger, Patrick, Maxine, Sienna and Martha will all feature in the dramatic scenes.

http://i1.cdnds.net/13/25/618x470/so...ks-savages.jpg

As the action comes to a head, Dodger chases Will up onto the roof and a huge fight between them leads to the two brothers falling from the rooftop and onto the ground below.

Show bosses are keeping tight-lipped over whether Will could die in the incident or if he will be arrested for his crimes.

Atherton joined Hollyoaks in early 2011 but has enjoyed his biggest storylines this year as his previously-geeky character turned to the dark side.

'Hollyoaks': Domestic violence storyline for Maxine, Patrick

Hollyoaks will explore the issue of domestic violence in a new storyline as Patrick Blake starts hitting his girlfriend Maxine Minniver.

Next week's episodes see school headteacher Patrick (Jeremy Sheffield) lash out at Maxine for the first time after discovering that she had a one-night stand with his son Mark 'Dodger' Savage when they were recently separated.

http://i2.cdnds.net/13/24/618x796/so...e-minniver.jpg

Viewers of the Channel 4 soap have already seen a slow build-up to the shocking moment, as Patrick has often been shown as possessive and controlling in his relationship with Maxine.

Nikki Sanderson, who plays Maxine, told Digital Spy: "I feel very honoured to be part of this storyline, because it's such a serious issue. Obviously there are many people out there who are going through the exact same thing at the moment.

"There are also probably people who are in the beginning stages of it, but don't recognise the signs that it will turn into a domestic violence relationship.

"I'm really honoured that myself and Maxine have been chosen to do this. I hope that me and Jeremy can really do the storyline justice and make it as realistic as possible."

http://i2.cdnds.net/13/12/618x578/so...rick-blake.jpg

Sanderson has been preparing for the storyline by thoroughly researching the issue, and is hoping that the upcoming scenes will raise awareness among viewers.

She continued: "I'm hoping it will be quite insightful for the audience and people might learn a lot more about domestic violence relationships.

"We've been very subtly brewing this story over the past six months. Up until now, Patrick has lost Maxine her home because he bought the flat that she rented. She's also lost all of her friends, because Patrick has alienated them all.

"She has no financial independence, because Patrick made her quit her job and become a housewife. He's also been encouraging her to change her appearance and how she dresses, so it's been very, very subtle. It's not just an overnight thing. In order to make the story real, it had to take time to build up."