The humour is one of the reasons why I love this show. There's so many funny characters.

I thought Kris singing at the wedding was funny. I was like, "He sings??" LOL

And Rhys hitting on The Saturdays (Frankie Sandford is so hot!) and getting rejected by all of them was funny too.

What a week! I can't believe Calvin helped Creepy-Mark beat the hell out of Warren. Mandy confessed to Louise about the affair. Then Louise later tells Mandy that Warren killed Shawn.

Holly and Cindy are so great. They're such schemers. "Hungry and Homeless" What happened to Darren? Cindy's already over him after he went to jail(?). We haven't seen Jack/Darren since mid-Oct.

Poor Tony. Still storyline makes me feel uneasy. Theresa need to confess soon.

so I finally played catch up with a months worth of episodes, and Later. Later was soooooooooo good! The location shoots were great - awesome production quality. Esp that shot of Niall on the cliff - both times.

The Ireland and wedding stuff was great, the Liverpool stuff was fun, the Nancy/Zoe/Sarah stuff bored me.

I loved the chubby blonde ex of Mal's, too bad we're done with her.

What a week! I can't believe Calvin helped Creepy-Mark beat the hell out of Warren. Mandy confessed to Louise about the affair. Then Louise later tells Mandy that Warren killed Shawn.

Holly and Cindy are so great. They're such schemers. "Hungry and Homeless" What happened to Darren? Cindy's already over him after he went to jail(?). We haven't seen Jack/Darren since mid-Oct.

Poor Tony. Still storyline makes me feel uneasy. Theresa need to confess soon.

What a shocking week it was! I cannot believe I felt sad for Mandy after she started to cry at the end of an episode. Louise is a wacko. lol

Poor Tony - Oh well, that is what he get for messing with Slagresa.

I love Holly and Cindy. Both of them are hilarious.

I loved the chubby blonde ex of Mal's, too bad we're done with her.

I love her too! I wish she was on Hollyoaks.

I didnt like the sudden lesbian thing between Zoe and Sarah. This seems to be the fad now with all primetime shows, characters established as straight forever randomly becoming lesbians for no reason other than to be shocking. Its not like the show's hurting for gay characters like the US shows are, they have Kris and Ravi, and just lost Keiron/Craig and John Paul but they were all front burner.

Edited December 9, 200817 yr by Drew

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a138665/...n-kirkwood.html

Producer's Perspective 2008: Bryan Kirkwood

Thursday, December 18 2008, 06:00 GMT

By Kris Green, Soaps Editor

Producer's Perspective 2008: Bryan Kirkwood

This year, Hollyoaks bid an emotional farewell to a number of its much-loved iconic characters including Max Cunningham (Matt Littler), Sam 'OB' O'Brien (Darren Jeffries) and, of course, John Paul McQueen (James Sutton). So, we paid a visit to producer Bryan Kirkwood to reflect on his final year as the producer of Hollyoaks and find out what's to come in 2009.

What's been the storyline you've enjoyed the most?

"It has to be the McQueen/Niall story, which ended up linking to the Newt/Osborne storyline. It dominated the year and culminated in the very successful church stunt in October, which was a really fantastic climax to a story. Barry Sloane was just amazing and proved that he is just as good as any other actor on TV. I honestly believe that. I hope he takes what he did on Hollyoaks as a launch pad for a long and successful career."

What's been your most memorable scene?

"Without question, it has to be Tom asking Steph if she'll be his mum just after Max died. It sums up what Hollyoaks is all about - lots of heart, relationships, friendships, love and loss. I thought that Carley Stenson was outstanding during that storyline and broke my heart during that scene. Ellis also took his performance to new levels."

Which storyline has been the most emotional for you?

"Max's death and the aftermath gets me every time. I'm shamelessly and sentimentally attached to it. It was a big risk killing off a character like Max. We knew Matt Littler was leaving and we staggered his exit to be six months apart from Darren Jeffries's to lessen the impact of such big characters leaving. I remember when the storyline conference when the writers pitched Max dying in OB's arms on his wedding day. The huge shocked reaction far outweighed anything I'd ever seen in my eight years of story conferences at both Coronation Street and Hollyoaks. It told me that we had to do it and then got the biggest reaction from the audience in over three years of storylines. It's some of the best material we've produced."

What's been your proudest moment this year?

"That has to be Emma Rigby winning the BEAT Special Award (from the easting disorder association), which was a brilliant recognition of a storyline that's in the dim and distant past now, but still matters in the eyes of the viewers. Emma was overawed by people at the awards ceremony that said she and the storyline had saved their lives. It's hearing stories like that that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It makes you realise that for a little tea time show, we can really punch above our weight sometimes. Also, the British Soap Awards this year saw Hollyoaks break through the glass ceiling - it was a sign that the show had finally grown up."

Have there been any other storylines from any other soap that you've envied?

"Yeah - in Coronation Street in the autumn, almost every moment on screen tied in to the same storyline. The main arc of the storyline was Liam, Maria, Carla and Tony. That fed into Rosie Webster disappearing, which fed into Janice and Leanne's lottery scam. That fed into Dan Mason, the bookie leaving the show. I thought it was really clever storytelling."

Which character's been your favourite addition to the cast?

"Jake Hendriks, who played Kieron, was a really important player this year and he played a brilliant and complex part. It took a long while for the audience to accept him because he came in off the back of the John Paul and Craig storyline. His achievements shouldn't be underestimated. Also Marc Silcock, who played Eli. It's a very tricky part to play the physical manifestation of someone's schizophrenia. Marc couldn't interact with anyone else on set because he didn't exist in the eyes of anyone other than Newt. You couldn't take your eyes off Marc when he was on screen. You completely believed in Newt's alter ego. Theresa McQueen's a little firecracker too. I can't wait to see what happens to her when I've gone. She's the one to watch."

If you were to do the year all over again, is there anything you'd have done differently?

"I definitely think we underplayed the romance element of 2008. You live and learn from your mistakes in this type of job. We overplayed our hand with crime and revenge storylines and underplayed the simple, straightforward love stories. That's something that'll write itself when we go into 2009."

Were there any storylines that didn't quite make it to screen and you'd have loved to have played out?

"No, not really. Occasionally some storylines don't quite work they way we want them to, but you have to trust your judgement."

Are there any departures that you regret this year?

"For as much as I loved their exit stories, Max and OB were big losses. You can't replace such original characters who have a special place in the audience's hearts. James Sutton was another big loss for all that he achieved during his two years here and I miss Roxanne [Mckee], too. It's easy to dismiss Roxy as just another Hollyoaks babe, but for someone who came in off the back off an open audition, she properly took control of her situation and turned herself into a fine actress and her departure left us wondering what to do next with Jamie Lomas. So we've taken Warren in a completely new direction by introducing his learning disabled foster brother Spencer, who viewers will see for the first time over Christmas."

What can we expect from the first part of 2009?

"Next year gets off with a bang as we blow Sarah and Zoe's late-night liaison out of the water. There was always a danger with that story that we'd re-tread the same ground that we did with John Paul and Craig. So we decided to play it completely differently. We started with a sexual encounter, which surprised everyone including the characters, and then we'll work in a completely different direction.

"This one's a story about Sarah. Long has both Loui and Sarah faced the criticism that she's there to react to everyone's situations, so 2009 will be the year where we see what she's capable of. She's an outstanding actress and it's about time that she had a storyline that puts her into focus. A girl who's always borne the brunt of other men's' decision-making and treatment of her is now a lost and slightly embittered girl who doesn't know her own mind. 2009 will see Sarah making her own decisions and taking control. I can't wait to see it.

"As I said, romance plays a big part in 2009, too. The key romance will be Justin and Hannah. We'll see them dancing around each other for quite some time. It's going to be an important relationship which sees them both running to escape their pasts. I've seen the first couple of scenes with them and you can see that their eyes are alive as they embark on this storyline. It's about time that both of them returned to the centre of the show.

"Also on the cards, Warren loses his grip and the walls begin to close in on in courtesy of Calvin; Theresa finds herself a pawn in Ste's game to win back Amy, while Amy faces a choice between good and evil - and evil's not necessarily who you'd expect it to be; Darren's released from prison and pledges to win the pub back (again!); there's a newbie in town who Steph falls head over heels for; and Ravi's secret is finally exposed."

2009 seems like the show will still be pretty damn great. I am so happy Sarah has a front-burner story to call her own.

So happy they're ending Justin/Leila,

there's nothing there. But since Emma is leaving, could Chris be leaving with her? That would suck, lol Sad to see no mention of Nancy

Spoiler tags, Amello. I'm spoiler free. Since I read what you posted......

I'm glad they're ending Justin/Leila too.

I'm glad Theresa fessed up and admitted the truth. She's a little trouble maker but there's also a little a bit of innocence about her, which is probably why I like her.

Next week should be good with the Louise/Warren storyline.

OMG! AMAZING Christmas Week Promo for Hollyoaks!

What are the McQueens watching?

What are the McQueens watching?

It looks like they've somehow got hold of a surveillance video that shows Mandy and Warren screwing.

Is that Anita with the tape and sitting with Michela and Theresa?

Also, just watched Wednesday's and poor Sarah. She is ALWAYS being screwed over, LITERALLY and figuratively

Is that Anita with the tape and sitting with Michela and Theresa?

Yes.

That should be an interesting turn for her. Someone else to follow LOL

have the McQueens made any mention of Mercedes wedding?