It’s good news!
Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks star Annie Wallace has confirmed the future of the show’s opening titles, after a backlash from fans.
Today’s episode (September 9) marks the start of the soap’s new schedule, with three new episodes airing each week from now on, cut down from five weekly instalments.
The new schedule also involves each episode being released each morning at 7am on Channel 4 streaming, before airing on E4 that evening.
This means that lots of fans have already watched the latest episode, and many were unhappy when they noticed a major change in the opening minutes.
The opening titles, a creative montage of all the show’s characters, have now disappeared from the show. They have been replaced by a simple sunset shot of Chester, with a slightly slowed-down version of the theme music.
Viewers were unhappy with this change and have taken to social media to give their opinions. A popular theory is that the titles have been cut because of the shortened episode lengths.
But the good news is that these are not the official new titles – as has been confirmed by actor Annie Wallace, who plays Sally St Claire in the show.
Taking to X, she wrote: “Folks, there WILL be new titles soon, but as they contain the cast for the series revamp, it would be giving away story details at this stage, right? Patience. I’ve seen them.”
Wallace then praised the current opening shot, and said: “By the way, isn’t that drone shot down the River Dee in Chester just absolutely gorgeous??”
Digital Spy also watched the new opening titles at a recent press event, and while we can’t give away any details just yet, they are much more in line with what fans are hoping for.
Last week, Hollyoaks confirmed that headteacher Sally will not be returning to the show after the big time jump, and her final scenes will air during this week’s dramatic stunt episodes.
But speaking to Digital Spy, Wallace said she is hopeful that her character would return in future, saying, “I don’t think it’s the last we’ve seen of Sally St Claire, to be honest.”
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
