Hollyoaks rival for BBC

The BBC are planning to launch a new drama series they hope will rival Hollyoaks, the Channel Four ‘teen soap’.

A new drama series, set in Manchester, will be the BBC’s answer to Hollyoaks. The series will be set in a hair and beauty academy in Manchester and will be written by young writers, as part of the BBC’S Switch strand. Lead writer on the series will be Daisy Coulam who has worked on Casualty, EastEnders and Lark Rise to Candleford.

The series is currently in development and could take some time to reach screens, possibly several years. While BBC Three’s controller, Danny Cohen, has dismissed claims the series is the BBC’s answer to Hollyoaks and Skins insiders claim discussions have taken place on how to capture the Hollyoaks audience. Hollyoaks and Skins pull in big audiences for C4/E4 and the BBC have long been looking for a successful returning teen drama of its own.

The working title for the new drama is Mirror, Mirror and Phil Collinson, former producer on Doctor Who, is lined up as an executive producer. Sources within the BBC say it’s hoped the drama could go into production as early as next year.