Hollyoaks: Discussion Thread

[dannigold]

From Channel 4

Meet The Producer...

As some of you guys may know, Hollyoaks recently got a new producer. The man given the keys to the Chester village was Paul Marquess, who, for the fact fans amongst you, has a CV that includes work on Coronation Street, Brookside and The Bill. He also invented Footballers’ Wives!

Anyways, we thought it was about time we caught up with Paul, so catch-up with him we did! Here’s what he had to say:

“Sorry that I’ve not had the chance to speak to you all sooner. As you can imagine, it’s been a very busy time here at Hollyoaks - not just for me, but for everyone on the show.

I’m really excited to be working on Hollyoaks – I’m a proper soap fan, so to take over Channel 4’s flagship teen drama is not only a huge challenge, but also a massive honour. It’s a show that’s diverse, brave, fast paced and not afraid to take risks. I’m really looking forward to putting my stamp on it.

There are lots of exciting things coming up with a lot of dramatic, funny and heartbreaking storylines in the pipeline… Sadly we will be losing some characters as storylines progress and actors’ contracts come to an end. But we’ve created lots of fantastic new characters that we’re currently casting for. We’re particularly excited about the new family that will join the show in the summer – and guarantee they’ll bring glitz, glamour and great stories to the Hollyoaks village!”

Edited March 11, 2010 by dannigold

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'm looking forward to this new family he's talking about, Hopefully, they're properly developed and interesting.

I hope he can manage to give this show a shot of energy, which I'm sure he was hired to do. I'm looking forward to the beginning of his regime at Hollyoaks, the show is just so lifeless at the moment.

Edited March 12, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

More firings on the way! No big loss there.

He has some wonderful actors if he knows how to use them. I wish he'd mentioned some but I guess it's better he didn't.

I think he created some decent new families in Brookside, so he might here too. I kind of wish he'd write out a few McQueens.

[Chris B]

I look forward to seeing what kind of family he creates, but I wanna know who he plans on keeping. So many he's dumping, but who's sticking around? I am now curious to see if he changes the look and feel of the show. I at least want the McQueen family to stick around. Mercedes, Jacqui, Myra and Michaela are all great characters. Theresa can go and it's a shame this isn't the US because I'd recast John Paul.

[DRW50]

The problem with JP is I'm not sure what they can do with him. The character ceased to exist after about six months. He just became the mopey gay guy. The best part of JP was his relationship with his family and they gave up on that long before he left. Remember when he was close to Jacqui? Bryan Kirkwood sure didn't.

I think Mercedes needs a rest. Too many affairs and self-destruction.

Carmel I think needs a very long rest.

[Chris B]

I forgot Carmel entirely! I think she's fab, but Calvin has sucked the life out of her. The McQueen's are who made me fall in love with Hollyoaks so I will be devastated if the family is torn apart. They're the only real family left.

[DRW50]

To me they stopped being a real family in late 2007 when they became Niall's pawns and everything became about damn babies and their love lives. They no longer had any of the lovely, complicated family scenes that made them special, that Jacqui/JP, Jacqui/Myra, JP/Tina et al once had. When they did speak it was only to further the plot.

I haven't seen a lot of the 2009 episodes, did their relationships improve?

Guardian article about the big cull.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/mar/10/hollyoaks-cull-2010

I get the feeling that the person who wrote this has never actually seen the show. Hollyoaks has had many culls in the past, and this time around, most of the people who have been fired so far are nonessential. So all this about "Will this still be the same Hollyoaks" -- what does that mean? The show as it is now is very different than it was in early 2009, different than it was in 2008, 2008 was very different from 2007, which was very different from 2006. The show has been all over the place for several years. It's just easy to overlook that because of the reputation of being about hot bodies and bad acting, or if you just watch long enough to see the wacky montages that open the episodes.

I think they just wanted an excuse to write about shows going through big changes.

Edited March 12, 2010 by CarlD2

[Andrew]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a204983/sheree-murphy-joins-hollyoaks-cast.html?imdb

Maybe a bit late, to me Sheree Murphy has one of the most annoying voices that has seldom been heard on soaps.

Edited March 12, 2010 by Andrew

[Bright Eyes]

I think someone here said this was a Lucy Allen casting decision.

[Toups]

Looking forward to all these changes. The show is sooooo boring right now.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Sonny Flood (Josh) on his axing from the show:

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/news/a208298/flood-ill-be-sad-to-leave-hollyoaks.html

[DRW50]

I wonder if he can get a haircut now.

[Rakesh]

Hire Zoe Lucker and Laila Rouass and I'm watching everyday.

[LondonScribe]

Information by not-so-tenuous link time:

The acting class my sister is attached to has just sent 3 of its pupils to Liverpool to (in the words of my sister) "audition for a new family. The only reason I didn't go is because I'm not 16 or over"

Plus, the 3 pupils are all black.

So, as I expected, it looks like this new family Paul Marquess is casting for is a direct replacement for the Valentines.

But, I don't think for a second that this will be the only new family. If the focus and dynamic is altered (as I expect Marquess to do) then I believe there will be at least one more family/unit.

[DRW50]

Thanks, that's a great tip! I'm glad he's committed to diversity. The Valentines should have been a better family than they were -- the writing was not great, but the incredibly poor acting from Calvin and Sasha (and awful Sonny when he was around) was the killer.

This could be interesting.