Hollyoaks: Discussion Thread

[LondonScribe]

Sean did meet an untimely demise on a New Years Eve (I forget which year) at the hands of a little thug called Liam. In turn, Tanya left Liam as he died of an asthma attack.

Blowing up the Harts on the boat was the work of former Coronation Street producer Brian Park, who oversaw the first revamp of the show back in late 1998/early 1999. The original premise of the show was the focus on the Harts. Brian Park saw this as an obstacle to the show's sucess so removed the Harts and relocated the show to west London.

Edited February 1, 2010 by UK LAW

[Y&RWorldTurner]

UK LAW <3, please post more, dear!

[Chris B]

I just screened the flash forward episode and it was terrible. I can't believe they've locked themselves in until May with such an uninspired episode. I feel like more should've happened, it was underwhelming. I do think I could've enjoyed something like the church bombing by Niall and then going back and seeing him insinuate his way into the McQueen's lives. The stakes here just don't seem big. Calvin got shot. So what?

[DRW50]

Goodbye to the Ashworths. Rhys is staying for now but they don't suggest he will be around a long time.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/news/a200599/new-hollyoaks-producer-axes-three.html

I will miss Jim Millea, he's a very underrated actor.

[Bright Eyes]

What a terrible move, IMO. I loved all the Ashworths. I guess this means Josh and Amy won't be reunited.

[DRW50]

I wonder how much longer Amy will be around. Everyone in her life is gone, except Ste, and they might turn him bad again.

I do think there were a lot of people who could have been fired before the Ashworths. I almost wonder if Marquess has been told not to get rid of most of the teens. I hope not, there are a lot of dead weight teens on the show now.

I also hope they surprise people and don't give the Dog in the Pond back to the Osbornes. After the endless weeping, screaming, and misery of their storylines in that place in 2008, I have absolutely no desire to ever see them there again.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I didn't think the Ashworths added anything to the show in a while. I'm not sad to see them go. Hannah was always my favourite, and Emma Rigny was already set to leave anyway.

I hated that the Ashworths took ownership of The Dog, they were such am poor fit for that place, IMO.

But I think this is definitely the beginning of Hollyoaks being reshaped and more firings will be on the way.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Chris B]

That's a good choice if you wanted to axe an entire family, but I am surprised they'd get rid of Josh. He's young and still had so much to give. I thought he was working well in the halls. It'll be interesting to see what happens there. Since those characters don't have many family connections they could all go. I'd predict now that the Valentine's are all gone. Amy is gone and so is Ste. I wonder if Tony and Dom will survive. I don't think Loretta will.

[Sylph]

I don't know if it's a recent thing, but Paul Marquess' nickname is The Axeman.

[LondonScribe]

It's not a recent thing.

I wasn't a watcher of Brookside, but did watch Family Affairs and still do watch The Bill.

Both shows were rendered unrecognisable by Mr Marquess. To his credit, The Bill gained a new audience and became fashionable (in a different way). To this day, it struggles to shake the 'soap' tag (despite the best efforts of current Executive Producer Johnathan Young).

Family Affairs improved massively but had other problems (poor advertising, being on Channel 5, channel 5 being more interested in Australian soap, etc).

And Hollyoaks clearly needs an overhaul. This is only the beginning...

[Sylph]

I like these no-bullsh!t, no-nonsense people.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Sylph

[DRW50]

There's no reason to get rid of Tony or Ste, if you ask me. Ste is a very complex character played by a good actor, and he can go anywhere. Tony is the last original cast member left and while the character has been drifting and depressing for a few years now, he can still be salvaged and put into more of a mentor role.

I think the worst of the Valentines are Sasha and Calvin. I would axe Sasha and keep Lauren and Leo, and bring back Valerie.

If it were me I would get rid of Anita, Ravi, Elliot (Garnon Davies is a wonderful actor but there is nowhere left for this character), Archie, Sasha, Loretta, Spencer, India, Carmel, and a few more teens. After that it would be time to see if there is story for Dom, Gilly, Jake, or Nancy. I assume Kris is leaving next year.

I would write heavily for Malachy, Darren, Cindy, Steph, and give Myra a big story again.

[dannigold]

New 'Oaks boss shakes up production

Hollyoaks showrunner Paul Marquess has replaced three of the soap's leading producers in a bid to streamline the programme's creative process, Digital Spy can exclusively reveal.

Marquess, who joined the show last month following Lucy Allan's short stint at the top, took the decision to restructure the top-tier hierarchy at the soap in a bid to create a more effective production team.

Henry Swindell, Caroline Roby and Rachel Hall have all been released from their contracts with show makers Lime Pictures in Liverpool as the position of 'producer' has now been made redundant. Instead, a more streamlined approach has been adopted.

Former head of Hollyoaks' production and ex-Coronation Street producer Trina Fraser returns to the soap as line producer, while once-EastEnders and The Bill story editor Claire Fryer assumes the role of Hollyoaks' series editor.

Speaking exclusively to DS, Marquess said: "I'm delighted that Claire has joined the team as series editor and that Trina has returned to Hollyoaks as my line producer. The editorial changes to the team mark the beginning of the show's reinvigoration and I'm confident that the three of us will form a focused team that can drive Hollyoaks to new heights."

A Hollyoaks source this morning said: "There really is a buzz about the place now. We've a fresh direction and Paul's certainly the man for the job. He's a breath of fresh air and we've every confidence in him."

The changes to the teen soap's production lineup have taken immediate effect and episodes under the new team will begin airing from the middle of the year.

[LondonScribe]

I'm going out on a limb here, but do you think Paul Marquess has been given all but TOTAL autonomy over the show's vision in a way Lucy Allan wasn't?

[Sylph]

Can you blame them if it is so?

Who the h*ll is Lucy Allan?

At least Marquess proved himself a number of times...