Hollyoaks is a British soap opera that first aired on 23 October 1995. The following characters made or will make their debut in 2025. Zachary and Leighton, the oldest sons of Stacey Solomon, appeared in cameos in January. Tommy, played by Brandon Fellows, will make his first appearance on 11 March. Additionally, several other characters appear throughout the year.
Parcel Patrons worker and Leighton
The Parcel Patrons worker and Leighton briefly appeared on 23 January.[1] They were played by Zachary and Leighton, the oldest children of Stacey Solomon.[1] The pair were not credited in the episode, but they appeared in some photos with some regular Hollyoaks cast members on the official Hollyoaks Instagram account.[1] Solomon later revealed that when she and Zach – who she described as being "obsessed" with the soap – met the executive producer of Hollyoaks at the National Television Awards, who invited Zach to see the set at a later date.[2] Zach and his brother later visited the set and were offered to be extras in the scene, which they accepted despite not having an interest in becoming actors.[2] Solomon added that whilst they were "nervous" to be extras, her sons "loved every second of it and the people at Hollyoaks were just so lovely and so kind and so nice to us and they just had the best day ever".[3][2] In the episode, the Parcel Patrons worker gets a telling her off from Pearl Anderson (Dawn Hope) after he delivers a fruit package late to her convenience store, Price Slice; she then also tells off Leighton for delivering her paper late, calling him "Late Leighton" and threatening that she will be speaking to his mother.[4] Following the guest appearance, viewers questioned on social media whether the cameos were portrayed by Solomon's sons and whether they would appear again.[4]
Tommy Odenkirk
Tommy Odenkirk, played by Brandon Fellows, will make his first appearance on 11 March 2025.[5] He is introduced as the therapist of Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter), who was raped the previous year.[5] It was hinted that Tommy would have other patients in the village and that he "might not be who he says he is" and may be hiding a secret.[5] Fellows was excited to join the soap, calling Tommy a "A friendly and unique therapist with a dark side and a complicated family history. I'm looking forward to the fans seeing this character’s secrets unravel..."[5] Following the character's announcement, Stephen Patterson from Metro wrote "Consider us very intrigued!" regarding Tommy's secret.[6]
On 17 March 2025, it was revealed that Tommy has been lying about his identity to get closer to Leela's husband, Joel Dexter (Rory Douglas-Speed).[7] Fellows, who plays Tommy, spoke about his character's double life: "Tommy's pretending to be somebody else. He does his therapy – and he shouldn't be doing that – but also he has another job and he works in a chicken shop on the side. He doesn't have many friends, he's very lonely and he has this completely different alter ego. It's been so much fun to play these two personas at the same time, it's been amazing."[7] As part of a flashback episode that is due to explore the events that occurred before the Hollyoaks time jump, scenes will explain Tommy's obsession with Joel. Fellows explained: "This will be explored in the flashback episode about the missing year, we venture back in time because of Tommy and this storyline. All will be revealed about why this obsession started, and it's really interesting. I will say, Tommy's obsession with Joel is completely platonic. He doesn't lust for him; he sees him as a brother, and this will all make sense after the missing year episode."[7]
Other characters
| Character | Portrayer(s) | Episode date(s) | Details | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DS Bolton | Sophie Mensah | 7 January | A police officer who interviews Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) after she reports Abe Fielding (Tyler Conti) for raping her. | [8] |
| Prosecutor | 13–15 January | Sophie Fletcher | The legal team at JJ Osborne's (Ryan Mulvey) trial following his sexual abuse against Frankie Osborne (Isabelle Smith). The legal team cross-examines JJ and Frankie and other people relevant to the trial. After JJ's confession, the judge sentences him for his crimes. | [9] |
| JJ's Defence Barrister | Hopi Grace | [9] | ||
| Judge | Kerry Peers | [9] | ||
| Sonographer | Kate Threlfall | 22 January | A sonographer who performs the scan of Vicky Grant (Anya Lawrence). She tells Vicky and her boyfriend Robbie Roscoe (Charlie Wernham) that the baby is healthy and has a strong heartbeat. | [10] |
| Fernando (cat) | — | 17–18 February | A stray cat that Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) looks after and becomes close with. After he goes missing, Ste suspects that Jeremy Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) murdered him. | [11] |
References
- ^ a b c Anderton, Joe (22 January 2025). "Hollyoaks fans spot surprise Stacey Solomon link this week". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ a b c Smart, Andrew (24 January 2025). "Stacey Solomon breaks silence after sons land Hollyoaks roles". Your Local Guardian. Newsquest. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Smart, Andrew (23 January 2025). "Stacey Solomon breaks silence after sons land Hollyoaks roles". Ledbury Reporter. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ a b Campbell, Tina (23 January 2025). "Stacey Solomon's sons Zachary and Leighton land roles in soap Hollyoaks". The Standard. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d Zammitt, Erin (4 March 2025). "Hollyoaks announces new character for shocking Leela story". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 4 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Patterson, Stephen (3 March 2025). "Hollyoaks confirms new therapist with 'dark side' – as he makes move on show favourite". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ a b c Zammitt, Erin (17 March 2025). "Hollyoaks star confirms Tommy's real identity in disturbing twist". Digital Spy.
- ^ Executive Producer: Hannah Cheers; Writer: James Coleman; Director: Sarah Kendell (7 January 2025). Hollyoaks.
- ^ a b c Executive Producer: Hannah Cheers; Writer: Heather Robson; Director: David Crowley (13 January 2025). Hollyoaks.
- ^ Executive Producer: Hannah Cheers; Writer: Alanna Hallum; Director: Sean Glynn (22 January 2025). Hollyoaks.
- ^ Sayce, Rebecca (20 February 2025). "Hollyoaks threatens to expose Jez's deadly secret in new twist". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 4 March 2025.