Hollyoaks boss Bryan Kirkwood has spoken to Digital Spy about Mitchell Deveraux's big new storyline.
The show has confirmed that it will be exploring Mitchell's sexuality in the coming months, as he realises that he has feelings for Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams).
Thursday's E4 first look episode (August 2) saw the plot begin on screen, as Mitchell became attracted to Scott while watching his latest drag performance as Anita Tinkle.
While Mitchell is initially only interested in Anita, the slow-burn storyline will ultimately lead to him starting a relationship with Scott.
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Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Kirkwood explained: "The Mitchell story came about when we introduced the character of Farrah Maalik after she had already come out as a lesbian.
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"Although that made sense at the time, once Farrah was in the show, I regretted not telling her coming out story. It reminded me that it had been a long time since Hollyoaks had done that and played it as a love story over the respectable amount of time.
"Going back over the years – from John Paul and Craig, to Brendan and Ste – those stories have been among our most popular ones.
"We felt it was time to revisit that territory, and as always, we set ourselves the challenge of how we could do it differently this time."
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He added: "This has been the plan for Mitchell from the start. We absolutely love Imran Adams, who plays him – we think he's a proper rising star.
"With Scott dressing as Anita, there's a fresh twist with the story and we hope the audience are going to love it."
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7pm on E4.
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