Hollyoaks is a British television soap opera first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appear in 2024, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the soap's executive producers, Hannah Cheers and Angela Abello.
Kitty Draper, played by Iz Hesketh, made her first appearance on 15 January 2024. Kitty is involved in a four-vehicle collision and after realising that her travelling companion has died, steals her identity. Many details of Kitty have been kept under wraps, but executive producer Hannah Cheers teased a lot of "shock and intrigue" about the character. "We realised that we had the opportunity here to show the front-end of an impostor story," she told media. "Normally in an impostor story, you learn the secret after you've met the character. But to actually see the moment where somebody makes that momentary decision to take the identity of somebody else is huge."[1]
Speaking about her character on social media, Iz said: ""Looks like the cats out of the bag… I'm so proud to announce that I'm the new girl on the block in the @hollyoaksofficial Village! My character is one that British TV has needed for a long time. She's fiery, independent and has a huge heart. I'm so excited to show that trans people are just like everyone else. We have flaws, we fall in love and sometimes we make bad decision for good reasons…Brace yourselves, a new arrival is about to come into Hollyoaks with a bang."[1]
| Abe Fielding | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrayed by | Tyler Conti | ||||||||
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Abe Fielding, played by Tyler Conti, made his first appearance on 18 January 2024. The character and casting was announced on 15 January 2024.[2] Abe is the ex-boyfriend of returning character Cleo McQueen (Nadine Mulkerrin), who left him due to his controlling behaviour.[3] Abe arrives in the village looking for Cleo after she is involved in a multi-vehicle collision, unaware that she is searching for her ex-fiance Joel Dexter (Rory Douglas-Speed). A press release for the character described Abe as: "Very loving, friendly, and approachable, but under the surface there’s more than meets the eye," and teased an "unexpected" family connection.[2]
Speaking about his character, Tyler commented: "Abe is a charming working-class young lad with a manipulative streak a mile-wide. The ingredients of a deeply troubled past and a complicated family life have brewed his dangerous temper, especially when things don’t go his way. I can't wait for Abe to explode into the Hollyoaks village, you can expect danger, manipulation, and one heck of a messy family that comes with it."[2]
Declan Hawthorne, played by Alan Turkington, will make his first appearance on 28 February 2024. The character and casting was announced on 6 February 2024. Declan is a practioner of conversion therapy alongside Carter Shepherd (David Ames), and assists Carter in attempting to influence the sexuality of Lucas Hay (Oscar Curtis).[4]
Speaking about joining the soap, Declan said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the Hollyoaks family, who have made me feel so welcome – even as a very unwelcome character! We've already filmed some incredibly intense scenes, including those in Declan's first episode. He's a toxically religious man who fervently believes in the therapy he is advocating. He feels that these men have lost their way, when really it's he who has 'strayed from the righteous path'. I feel very privileged as an actor to be able to highlight the evils of conversion therapy with this storyline and I can't wait to see how tensions play out with Carter, Lucas, and maybe some others in the village."[4]
| Character | Episode(s) | Original broadcast date(s) | Actor | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan | 6281–6282 | 2–3 January | Mark Beswick[5] | A cellmate of Prince McQueen (Malique Thompson-Dwyer) who attempts to threaten him into assisting with his drug-selling business inside prison. Prince refuses until Nathan begins threatening his family, but Nathan decides Prince took too long to answer and intimidates him. |
| Candy | 6284 | 9 January | Claudia Adshead[6] | A prostitute hired by Lucas Hay (Oscar Curtis), however, she leaves when Dillon Ray (Nathaniel Dass) reveals that he's underage. |
| Driver | 6288 | 15 January | Alyssia Jarvis[7] | A driver who along with Kitty Draper (Iz Hesketh) is involved in a multi-car collision. The driver dies in the crash, prompting Kitty to steal her identity. |
| DS Peel | 6290 | 17 January | Samantha Siddall[8] | A police officer who interviews Felix Westwood (Richard Blackwood) following a multi-car collision in which an unnamed driver and Ella Richardson (Erin Palmer) died. |
| Kane | Ben Castle-Gibb[8] | A drug dealer who disposed of the car that Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) accidentally killed Ella Richardson (Erin Palmer) with. |