Im a Hollyoaks Addict! (Hollyoaks)

Member Name: kiss_me2070

Product:	Hollyoaks
Date:	23/02/09 (213 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story-line and Brilliant characters

Disadvantages: You may hate this soap!

***ABOUT HOLLYOAKS***
Hollyoaks is shown on channel 4 on weekdays and the Omnibus which shows the whole week's episodes are shown on a Sunday. The show/soap is set in Chester and is focused around a large higher education college. In this soap most of the characters are in their teens and early twenties. Hollyoaks was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised Brookside and Grange Hill.

This programme has launched careers for actors and other famous people such as Will Mellor, Gary Lucy, Ali Bastian, James Redmond and more. In this soap you will meet a large range of funny, amusing and more serious characters that have hidden secrets and don't want t reveal their past lives.

***BROADCAST INFORMATION***
Hollyoaks is shown on Channel 4 on weekdays at 6:30pm and E4 on weekdays at 7pm. You can also catch up on Channel 4+ at 7:30pm.
The Omnibus is shown on E4 on Saturdays at 2:30pm, S4C on Sundays at 8:55am, Channel 4 on Sundays at 10am and TV3 on Sunday at 10:30am.
It's always best to check these times though as I find the Omnibus series can vary with their time slots!

***LATE NIGHT HOLLYOAKS***
Occasionally Hollyoaks may have some special late night series which run in the evening due to there being more violent or more sexual scenes. These are often special storylines and only run when there are big storylines coming up like explosions, murder investigation or other big storylines where actors die.

***STORYLINES***
Over the years Hollyoaks has had a number of storylines based on different issues and problems. Some of these story lines have included Murder, HIV, Epilepsy, Drugs, Teenage Pregnancy, Fostering, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Crime, Kidnapping, Shoplifting and lots more. If a certain story line is used which may affect viewers they always display a telephone help-line which some viewers may find helpful if they have experiences or been affected by the storyline shown in the programme.

My favourite story-line was when the McQueen family got taken hostage in a local church and the McQueen sister's found out who their evil brother was. The church was rigged with explosives by their brother whom was abandoned as a child and it ended in an explosive episode with a popular character and McQueen sister passing away, whilst the evil brother went missing and later turned up at a holiday home where his ex girlfriend was staying so she could get away from him!

***CHARACTERS***
There are so many different character in this soap it would take up lot of room to go into detail about each character but I have picked a few of my favourite characters from the soap and have gone into a bit more detail about them below.

* Carmel McQueen - Played by Gemma Merna is a fun-loving blonde character who works in the local beauty salon and also works as a Community Support Officer. Her character is known to be a bit thick and sometimes make's silly comments and she can also come across as very young at heart. She is from the McQueen family and has 3 other sister's whom are all very different to her as they are always getting into trouble with the police and committing crimes or scenes in the village.

* Leila Roy - Played by Lena Kaur is an outgoing girl who thinks she can sense and see different people's Aura's. Leila is very spiritual and is forever talking about Tarot Cards and other things. Leila previously lied to her parents that she was studying to become a Lawyer at the Hollyoaks College but instead has turned out to be a fantastic artist.

* Nancy Hayton - Played by Jessica Fox is well known for her bright hair colours and going out with her sister's husband who ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Since then Nancy has emerged and is now dating a new man (Ravi), whom she is cheating on. Little does she know he is cheating on her too!

* Calvin Valentine - Played by Ricky Whittle is the local PC and has looked after his family since his mother's death. Calvin is married to Carmel and little does she know that her husband has been doing dodgy jobs for the local bully/hard-man of the village.

* Elliot Bevan - Played by Garnon Davies, is a science Geek and doesn't get the chance to date many ladies as he's well into Star Wars and his science projects. How-ever Elliot has managed to charm a few of the local stunning ladies which have shocked some people in the village.

* Kris Fisher - Played by Gerard McCarthy is a very feisty character whom likes to dress in woman's clothes. You will see him appear in the soap wearing dresses, boots and other outfits which he has put together. Kris runs a local radio station and loves to give his honest opinion.

***MOST RECENT STORY-LINES***
I don't want to talk about the episodes which have been shown this week as this may spoil it for some people, but I have included some information about the latest story-lines which have happened over the past few weeks.

* Nancy has fallen for Kris and although she is with Ravi, she decides to sleep with Kris more than once. Little does Nancy know that Kris is also sleeping with her boyfriend Ravi! Kris is having a whale of a time, and having fun with both of them but will they eventually find out about each other and what will happen when they do?

* Calvin (the local PC) turns into a criminal and steals a car for Warren in return for a big cash-pay-out so Calvin can treat Carmel. Later when Carmel suggests to Calvin they should go away on holiday in no time at all Calvin is running back to Warren begging for more big cash jobs, as he needs the money and enjoys the thrill of it!

* The McQueen family are desperate to make some cash and are receiving red letters and final demand letters all the time. With a mad idea for all the sisters to go to town with their ready-made pregnancy bumps they go to town and stash clothes and other stolen goods in their bumps in order to make some money! Will they get rumbled by the Police or will Carmel find out what is going on first?

***OVERALL OPINION***
I never used to watch Hollyoaks when it first appeared on the TV, but started watching it when I started dating my ex boyfriend. Ever since then for the past 4/5 years I have watched it and am now hooked on it. It has some great characters, some whom make you laugh and others who make you cry. With fantastic story-line out-lining everyday problems I think this is a great soap.

I always watch the Omnibus on a Sunday as I like to watch all the episodes at once, so I can get a good under-standing of what is going on in the soap. I think the omnibus is a better way to watch it and that way you won't forget what has happened, whilst waiting for the next episode the next day!

(Review also on ciao)

Summary: Following the lives of teenagers and other adult in the heart of Chester!