Hollyoaks stars break silence on show's move from Channel 4

 "We're really excited."

The long-running soap announced a major change earlier this month as the traditional 6.30pm broadcast slot on Channel 4 was scrapped after 28 years.

Channel 4 bosses made the change as the majority (64%) of Hollyoaks' audience were either watching the 7pm slot on E4, or tuning in via Channel 4's free streaming service.

As of this week, new episodes now premiere on Channel 4 streaming at 7.30pm each weekday – this is one episode ahead of the 7pm E4 screening.

Show chiefs are also hoping to hook in a new audience when full episodes start streaming on YouTube. These will be uploaded one week after the Channel 4 streaming and E4 releases.

 Kieron Richardson – who plays Ste Hay – commented: "I'm a massive watcher of the show anyway and I don't really watch the 6.30pm show. Just with how people watch TV these days, I think it was pretty obvious that we were going to go that way.

"I also like being in the show that's always the first for doing things! I like that we're the first ones that have done it."

Anna Passey, who plays Sienna Blake, agreed: "The external response was quite different to what I expected based on what the vibe in our building was.

"I do understand the headlines of 'axed from Channel 4' and the 6.30pm slot, but I honestly think that's a nostalgic point of view. I get that because we've all watched it at 6.30pm for so long and that's where we feel it sits, but the reality of it is that people aren't consuming our show in that way anymore.

"It's probably just an adjustment of perspective on it, but the vibe in the building is that we're really excited for it."

Hollyoaks took the first steps towards its stream-first strategy in March 2022 by regularly releasing its episodes online ahead of the TV broadcasts.

As fans have adjusted to the change over time, pre-transmission views are up 53% this year compared to 2022 and 556 million minutes of the show were streamed in the first half of this year.

Ellis Hollins, who plays Tom Cunningham, also told us: "We're positive about it. We like that we're the pioneers to do it in terms of soaps. We're addressing a different crowd, which is something that is hopefully going to start growing more for us and will work for the show in a better way.

"We've got nothing but optimism for the future of Hollyoaks."

BBC One's EastEnders is also currently releasing episodes early online, with new editions dropping on iPlayer at 6am between Mondays and Thursdays. The Walford drama is now regularly posting year-on-year rises in its ratings.