Major Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas is reportedly leaving the soap after nearly two decades.
Jamie, who plays fan-favorite Warren Fox, is set to exit the soap later this year. This news comes as Hollyoaks announced that episodes would be cut from five days a week to three in a major schedule shake-up.
Channel 4 confirmed that from September 2024, the long-running soap will move from five new episodes a week to three due to evolving viewing habits.
Channel 4 data showed that younger audiences, which is Hollyoaks' key demographic, are more likely to watch an average of three episodes per week due to the amount of content available on other platforms. However, the move will result in over 130 job cuts.
A source reportedly told The Sun: “Jamie has been at the center of some of the soap’s biggest storylines and has been back in Hollyoaks now for nearly eight years which is a long time. It’s been a long stint which he has loved but with all the changes going on, he felt the time was right to move on.
“He told bosses last week and they are already working on his exit storyline. The door will be left open and it is hoped he’ll be back again as Warren Fox one day.”
This isn't the first time Jamie has bowed out of the soap, having taken a few breaks since he first appeared on the soap back in 2006. Most recently he returned to the role in 2016 and has been playing Warren ever since.
The character is currently involved in a huge storyline that has never been done before in a UK soap after the mechanic discovered that his lover Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) is pregnant with twins.
The pair were having an affair while she was with fiancé Felix Westwood (Richard Blackwood) and she fell pregnant. In a soap first, it was revealed that Warren was the father to one of the twins, meanwhile the other was fathered by Felix.
Warren is also set to be on the warpath when Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) finally confesses it was him who was responsible for killing Warren’s daughter Ella Richardson (Erin Palmer) in the fatal car crash earlier this year.
Hollyoaks airs Monday - Friday on E4 at 7pm.
