Hollyoaks executive producer Hannah Cheers has confirmed the soap will undergo a one-year time jump in its autumn stunt week.
The shake-up to the E4 soap's format is being made to adjust to job cuts that will result from Hollyoaks being reduced from five episodes per week down to just three from this September.
In an official statement, Hannah Cheers confirmed this 'lost year' storyline will involve saying "goodbye to some much-loved Hollyoaks villagers — and some earlier than we would have expected to".
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“When we started talking about the move to three episodes a week, we realised we needed a mechanism through which to transition our stories and characters and we kept coming back to this one," the producer said. "It’s bold, daring and is a first for a UK soap; it sums Hollyoaks up perfectly.
Related: Why Hollyoaks is still a vital, necessary show despite Channel 4's cuts
“The new three-episode pattern offers us a different model of storytelling, which means we’ll see characters on screen for much longer. Our viewers are really smart; in order to serve them well, we need to kick off this new structure in a meaningful way.
"Fast-forwarding the show permanently by a year presents us with unlimited story possibilities. We are now a streaming-first soap and can lean into less-restricting and conventional structures."
Addressing the loss of some cast members, Hannah said that "reducing the team in size is a tough consequence of this transition".
"It’s not kind to our characters or our audience to have a drawn-out stream of goodbyes on screen, and a heightened stunt didn’t feel like the right approach," the producer explained. "We also want the flexibility to see favourite characters again and we got really excited about how this would work.
“We believe this creative approach will celebrate the uniqueness of Hollyoaks and will serve and honour our amazing characters – throwing us forward into exciting new territory as we pave the way to our 30th anniversary in 2025.”
When the news first broke about Hollyoaks' schedule reduction, the soap shut down filming temporarily to give the cast time to process the news.
Multiple unions have issued statements on Channel 4's scheduling change, with the head of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu) branding the decision "a huge loss for the whole sector".
Hollyoaks cast member Annie Wallace, who plays Sally St. Claire, has asked fans not to speculate on which characters will be cut from the show.
"These are people's lives... and we see you," she reminded viewers.
Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
