Much-loved soap Hollyoaks is as synonymous with the 90s as Britpop, Loaded magazine and a Tamagotchi. Who recalls the show’s classic introductory sequence? You know the one - lots of film strips of the characters scrolling over a map background to the swaggering guitar of the Hollyoaks theme tune – a much more laid back affair than its current incarnation.
This was 1995 and the world was a lot simpler back then. Set in the fictional titular village in a suburb of the very-real Chester, it was – and still is - filmed in Childwall, Liverpool. This easy-to-watch show with initially undemanding storylines was aimed squarely at adolescents and young adults, but later went on to very successfully widen its appeal with racier storylines.
Hollyoaks started with a mere 15 characters, which ballooned into the 50 or so regulars you see today. Never afraid to shy away from taboo topics, the trailblazing show went on to win Best British Soap twice in 2014 and 2019.
