Channel 4 has spoken out to insist Hollyoaks is not facing the axe, following reports to the contrary.
A story published in The Sun claimed the soap is set to be cancelled by channel bosses amid falling ratings, despite its recent Best Soap win at the British Soap Awards.
The paper claimed Hollyoaks has lost half its audience since the start of 2019, with some episodes pulling in less than 400,000 viewers.
They quoted a source as saying a “last-ditch” attempt is being made to save the show with an extra injection of cash and bold new storylines.
However, a Channel 4 spokesperson has clarified the channel’s commitment to the soap, also clarifying speculation about its ratings.
They told HuffPost: “To avoid any doubt, Hollyoaks is hugely valued and not under threat.
“We’re of course very happy and incredibly proud of the well-deserved Best Soap award win. It has a huge reach for 16-34 audiences, in fact our share of this demo on E4 – the first look episode – is up. Which means Hollyoaks is the only UK soap to be up year on year.”
Hollyoaks began on Channel 4 in 1995, and has gone on to become one of the “big four” soaps in the UK.
During its time on the air, it has regularly broken new ground and featured a number of much-discussed storylines, including male rape, far right extremism and gay domestic violence in the last few years alone.