Channel Four denies plans to axe Hollyoaks

Channel Four has denied it has any plans to axe its teen soap Hollyoaks but reports reveal the broadcaster is receiving pitches from producers on a possible replacement soap.

For most of its existence Hollyoaks has always been under threat of cancellation – that’s if you read the tabloids. The soap was launched in 1995 and was created by Phil Redmond whose previous hits include Brookside and Grange Hill – both cancelled within the last decade. While Hollyoaks has a loyal and young fan base its ratings have always meant – in the eyes of the press – that the axe has always loomed over it.

The cancellation rumours have once again began to circulate but Channel Four has denied the soap is in any danger. Last year Paul Marquess (former producer of Brookside, The Bill and Family Affairs) was brought in to revamp the series after ratings slumped to below 1 million viewers. In his typical fashion (look back to his stint at The Bill/Family Affairs) he axed a wide range of characters, introduced bolder and more dramatic storylines and introduced new characters. Marquess stayed with the soap just for a year and left earlier this year.

A fourth series of spin-off Hollyoaks Later has been commissioned which seems to suggest the show is safe for now and Channel Four has stressed its “business as usual” for the soap – for now. But Media Guardian has revealed the broadcaster is taking submissions for a possible replacement soap from independent production companies. Jay Hunt, who recently joined from the BBC, is hoping to shake up Channel Four’s schedules and boost ratings.

However, launching new soaps are tricky affairs and in fact the last really successful soap to be launched was Doctors in 2000. While Family Affairs on Channel Five lasted for eight years it under went several revamps before being cancelled in 2005. Other broadcasters have tried to launch new soaps over the past decade or so all have failed; Night And Day, Crossroads, The Royal: Today and Out of the Blue while further back other notable failures of the 1990s include London Bridge, Canary Wharf, Revelations, Family Pride and Eldorado.