Hollyoaks cancellation rumours are being denied by Channel 4 following recent speculation about the soap's future.
Despite the programme's recent critical success, The Sun reported on Thursday (June 20) that Channel 4 was working on a major overhaul of Hollyoaks in hopes of reversing declining ratings.
While ratings have been down from the beginning of the year, it's important to note that most soaps traditionally see ratings drops during spring and summer. Hollyoaks is also routinely among the highest-rated E4 shows for its first-look episodes, which consistently have higher figures than the Channel 4 airings.
In response to reports that Hollyoaks could be facing the axe, a Channel 4 spokesperson told Digital Spy: "Hollyoaks is hugely valued and not under threat and we're of course very happy and incredibly proud of the well-deserved Best Soap award win. It has a huge reach for 16-34 audiences, in fact our share of this demo on E4 – the first look episode – is up. Which means Hollyoaks is the only UK soap to be up year on year.
"Hollyoaks epitomises our remit for serving young audiences across Channel 4 and E4 and we're incredibly proud it was also recognised as the Best Soap at the British Soap Awards last month."
The soap is currently riding high off a recent wave of critical praise, having won the aforementioned Best British Soap Award at the British Soap Awards. Cast members Gregory Finnegan, Nathan Sussex and Adam Woodward also won individual acting prizes.
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Digital Spy has learned that those highly coveted awards are one reason why Channel 4 remains satisfied with Hollyoaks' overall performance at this time.
There has also been praise from viewers, critics and advocates for the soap's handling of sensitive topics like sexual abuse in football, domestic abuse and sexual assault, as well as the on-going far-right extremism plot.
Fans can also soon expect some familiar faces from the soap's past returning to the screens when Finn O'Connor and Luke Morgan both reappear after extended absences.
Hollyoaks airs Mondays through Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first-look episodes airing on E4 at 7pm.
Read more news, spoilers and gossip on our Hollyoaks homepage
Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest Hollyoaks spoilers, as Finn O'Connor returns and Scott's new romance story gets off to a bad start.
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