Hollyoaks stars share brutal verdict on the soap's future amid claims huge budget cuts left the cast 'worried they couldn't pay their bills'
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It could have been one of many shows due to fall victim to the streaming boom.
But the cast of the E4 soap Hollyoaks have hit back at fears the show's future is in doubt following claims the cast have been worried by brutal budget cuts.
In recent years the show was hit by a huge 'cast cull' and its number of weekly episodes cut to just three, leading to fears it could face the axe.
Last week ex-star Fabrizio Santino, who played Ziggy Roscoe on the soap, added fuel to the claims by saying he'd spoken to other members of the cast who were worried about their financial future due to the cut-backs.
But while attending the Royal Television Society Programme Awards on Tuesday, cast members Kieron Richardson, Ijaz Rana, Harvey Virdi and newcomer Charlotte Riley insisted viewing figures have been on up since their move to E4.
They added that the reduced episode count has given fans more appetite for the drama, teasing that it's done nothing to dampen plans for a huge stunt this autumn.
The cast of the E4 soap Hollyoaks have hit back at fears the show's future is in doubt (L-R Charlotte Riley, Ijaz Rana, Harvey Virdi and Kieron Richarson)
Speaking to Daily Mail on the red carpet, Kieron said: 'To be honest, it's been amazing.
'The thing that I get at, like, obviously when you go out and about shopping everyone's like, ''what do I do on a Thursday and Friday now?''
'The viewing figures have gone up and it's given a greater appetite for the show because when you feel like something's taken away from you, you're like, ''I want it back.''
'So I feel like going down to three episodes, that Wednesday one is always like the biggest hook to rein you in for the Monday episode.
'So far, so good, it's done really well.'
Fabrizio Santino had previously claimed that some members of the Hollyoaks cast had contacted him to share their fears for the show' prospects.
He told Johnny Seifert's Secure the Insecure podcast: 'I know it must be hard for them to get beaten by all the streaming platforms and the fact soaps are getting axed...
'They've got families, they've got kids and bills to pay and so on and so forth.
'They know how difficult it is to cross over to film. The fact they go to work now and think, 'oh, I've only got one scene this week, I might be earning this and we might go from three episodes to two episodes'.
'It must be difficult times for them.'
In recent years the show was hit by a huge 'cast cull' and its number of weekly episodes cut to just three, leading to fears it could face the axe
Hollyoaks producers made a huge 'cast cull' in 2024 after Channel 4 cut the number of weekly episodes, resulting in a string of big names being dropped from the show.
Stars including Stephanie Waring, Jamie Lomas, Owen Warner, Jamelia, Gregory Finnegan and Annie Wallace said goodbye to the soap.
A source said at the time: 'Losing 20 cast members in one fell swoop is eye-watering and devastating news for soapland. In the past, Hollyoaks has seen shock stunts claim up to five lives in a single episode.
'But the days of soaps having a big cast clear-out with a devastating stunt are long gone, especially on Hollyoaks where the budget has been dramatically cut.
'The necessary death toll would make almost any stunt idea totally unbelievable.'
Channel 4 bosses announced a round of job cuts along with the decision to reduce Hollyoaks' number of weekly episodes from five to just three in September 2024, with the loss of 135 jobs.
Lime Pictures, who make the soap for Channel 4, opened the consultation period and asked those who want to go to stick their hands up.
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: 'Channel 4 is a wholly commercially funded and self-reliant broadcaster known for producing iconoclastic programmes and generating enormous value for the UK creative economy.
'Like every organisation, we are having to deal with an extremely uncertain economy in the short term and the need to accelerate our transformation to become a wholly digital public service broadcaster in the long term.
'As a result, we need to continue to divest from our linear channels business and simplify our operations to become a leaner organisation.'
