Hollyoaks was the ’90s “sexy soap” filled with good-looking, tanned twenty-somethings. The Channel 4 hit quickly won fans as it balanced comedy moments with hard-hitting storylines tackling issues such as drugs, sexual abuse and cancer.
Marketed at younger viewers, the show’s original cast numbered 15 and expanded to 50 as it became a success. Hollyoaks won Best British Soap on two occasions at the British Soap Awards, its first win in 2014 ending a 15 year run shared by EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Several stars from the show, which was set in the suburb of North West city Chester, used it as a stepping board to acting success, while others were destined to become successful in other professions…
Laid back Jack-the-Lad Jambo was one of the most popular original characters in the soap, which actor Will joined when he was 19. The star appeared in the show for three years before moving to Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps in 2001.
Now 49, Will remains a successful actor, starring in Broadchurch and Line of Duty. In 2021 he joined Coronation Street as drugs gangster Harvey Gaskell, spending nearly two years in the role and he even enjoyed a stint on Strictly Come Dancing, finishing 11th in 2022.
“I am so grateful to Hollyoaks,” said Will, who is married to dancer Michelle McSween with two children, Jayden and Renee, earlier this year. “I’ll always be in debt to that show. It was the show that changed my life.”
Nick has played Tony Hutchinson since Hollyoaks began with his character experiencing testicular cancer and being stabbed and held hostage by serial killer Breda McQueen during that time. In 2017, the actor won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement.
Nick, 49, originally only signed up for 26 episodes on the soap but told Digital Spy he hopes it goes on for ‘as long as it can’. “I love the show and love the people more than anything – they’re like my family,” he said.
In 2023, the star joined the cast of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! calling the opportunity to enter the jungle an ‘opportunity of a lifetime’. He was the fourth campmate to be voted out, with the reality contest won by Made In Chelsea’s Sam Thompson.
Nick enjoyed a year long relationship with his former Hollyoaks co-star Joanna Taylor, who played Geri Hudson, back in 2001. He is now in a long term relationship with girlfriend Sarah Corrin with a grown up daughter, Ellie.
Like Will, Jeremy played his character Kurt Benson for three years, which saw the wannabe rock star enjoy a turbulent love life and a long running feud with villain Rob Hawthorne. Heartbroken viewers believed Kurt had been killed in a jet ski accident abroad but Kurt had actually been on the run and in 2020 he returned to the village on his motorbike, leaving his pal Tony reeling in shock.
Actor Jeremy said the pandemic had made his show comeback after 21 years difficult. “I was supposed to be there for six months to a year but COVID impacted that massively,” he said. “There was so many restrictions with filming that I couldn’t go near anyone and I only had one storyline.”
After his original stint on the show, Jeremy played student nurse Danny Shaughnessy in Holby City and appeared on reality shows including The X Factor: Celebrity and Celebrity Big Brother. The actor was engaged to S Club 7 singer Rachel Stevens but married Lydia Metz in 2009, going onto have children Scarlett and Theodore.
Acting jobs drying up in lockdown saw the 53-year-old parting ways with his agent and he is now working as a drama teacher, saying he ‘never enjoyed being famous’. “There are so many reasons why you can be out of work and I thought, this is so unpredictable and I have a family,” he told the Sun. “I thought I’ve got thirty years of experience here, what am I doing?”
Dawn was the first member of the long-running Cunningham family to appear on Hollyoaks and was at the centre of many hard-hitting storylines, including an unwanted teenage pregnancy after sleeping with her best friend Ruth’s dad Jack. Actress Lisa appeared on the show for two years and went onto star in Dream Team and Siren’s Bay.
But the performer turned largely to voice acting on commercial adverts and she became a published author too. Her debut novel The Art of Being Normal was a bestseller which won the 2017 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for best older fiction.
Described as the Hollyoaks poster girl, Natasha Anderson was the first character to die in the show when her drink was spiked with an ecstasy tablet. The storyline came a year after the real life death of Leah Betts, who died after taking an ecstasy tablet on her 18th birthday.
Shebah, 53, went onto appear in 1998 film Things We Do for Love before moving to a career in modelling, presenting, and journalism. She is married to artist Jonathan Yeo, with two children, acting as muse for several of her husband’s artworks.
Restaurant owner Maddie Parker was a background character for two years before an intense storyline involving her stalker ex propelled her to the forefront. Since leaving the show after two years, Yasmin starred in Merseybeat and Torchwood.
The 53-year-old actress played Jessica in the original series of Cold Feet, with her character having an affair with married posh financier David. She also starred in films Maybe Baby and Killing Me Softly.
Free-loving Louise Taylor was Dawn and Natasha’s best friend, claiming to see the latter’s ghost after her passing. The short lived character left Hollyoaks after just eight months when she fell in love with hippy traveller Tree. Brett went onto star in Wire in the Blood, William and Mary and Law And Order: UK.
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