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.
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Perhaps the main thing that set Hollyoaks apart from its rivals was its young cast, who inevitably drove the storylines towards issues affecting their generation. So after more than 25 years of memories, have you ever wondered what happened to some of these fresh-faced youngsters?
A few of them from the show's early days may have lost a bit of hair, may look a bit more jowly but you can more or less still see that youthful glint in their eyes. And do you happen to know who the only original cast member still in it is? Read on to find out.
Nick Pickard - Tony Hutchinson
Before we’d even reached the Millennium, Tony Hutchinson’s original Hollyoaks chums had long since waved sayonara to the incident-prone village. Actor Nick Pickard’s loyalty and sheer staying power to still be in the show after 27 years deserves to be applauded.
The 46-year-old has endured all manner of incidents during his time in the series, including crazy stunts, a serial killer and perhaps the most dangerous of all – axe-wielding producers. The much-loved actor was previously nominated for 'Best Comedy Performance' at the British Soap Awards, and went on to scoop the 'Outstanding Achievement' award in 2017.
So, not a great deal has altered for Nick apart from growing up and becoming a dad to daughter Ellie. Though he did appear in Celebrity Masterchef and Pointless Celebrities.
Shebah Ronay (Natasha)
The wilful and sometimes stubborn Natasha met a disastrous end on the soap when she unfortunately had her drink spiked on her 18th birthday party. Amid harrowing scenes, she collapsed and died on the dance floor, with many viewers left in a state of absolute shock at the time.
Perhaps surprisingly, Hollyoaks was actress Shebah's last big acting role, with her instead preferring to focus on journalism, presenting and modelling. She later spent four years as a movie columnist for the News of the World and went on to become the lifestyle editor for Wedding Day magazine. The girl done good.
Lisa Williamson (Dawn)
It seems a while ago now that Dawn Cunningham became the very first of her clan to set foot in the village. Current members of the family in Hollyoaks include brother Tom, sister Cindy, Holly and Alfie Nightingale.
No slouch in the ‘hard-hitting storylines’ stakes, Dawn was involved in a memorable teen pregnancy after an affair with her best friend's father Jack. But perhaps her most distressing time was when she fell in love with Jambo (see below) - only to soon discover that she had leukaemia.
We were glued to our screens on Christmas Day, 1997 when Jambo and Dawn hired a rowing boat and he asked her to marry him, but she tragically died in his arms. Since leaving the soap, Lisa temporarily appeared in a TV drama series called Dream Team and these days spends her time as a voice-over actor for commercial adverts and assorted promos.
Will Mellor (Jambo)
Of course these days, Will Mellor has cropped up in sorts of things on our screens but his major TV breakthrough was playing the easy-going Jambo Bolton. Often left on the sidelines as the "unlucky in love" one, he ended up falling head over heels for Dawn (see above). Understandably devastated at losing her, the character was never quite the same again and left the series in 1998 to start a new chapter in Anglesy in Wales.
Post-Hollyoaks, Will has enjoyed a successful career, cropping up in Line of Duty, Casualty, Broadchurch, Merlin, Waterloo Road and Agatha Christie's Marple. He garnered a big cult following after Hollyoaks when he appeared as Gaz Wilkinson in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps along with Royle Family star Ralf Little. The 45-year-old recently trod the cobbles in Coronation Street as Harvey Gaskell.
Yasmin Bannerman (Maddie)
Perhaps best known for her involvement in a major stalking storyline, brassy Madeline Parker was portrayed by Yasmin Bannerman until 1997. In case you don’t recall, the sensational saga involved Maddie's former beau Michael rocking up following well-founded fears he was following her. At first she was pleased to see him, but after becoming nonplussed over his jealous behaviour, she ended up dumping him.
It was later unveiled that Michael had become mentally ill and dangerously obsessed with her becoming his wife. He ended up kidnapping her and her friend Jude and took them hostage. Maddie then refused to put on a wedding dress, or accept his offer of betrothal so he then drive them all to Scotland. In retaliation, he dragged Jude up onto the roof and Maddie gave in and put on the dress to distract him.
After Jude managed to escape his clutches, Michael fell off the roof to his death. Maddie struggled to cope following his demise and ended up leaving the village to escape the haunting memories. Yasmine went on to appear in Red Dwarf, Cold Feet, Killing Me Softly, Holby City, Doctor Who, Torchwood and Life on Mars.
Jeremy Edwards (Kurt)
Seen as the village heart-throb, Kurt Benson was consumed by his love of motorbikes. He went on to wed Ruth Osborne but a huge number of his storylines involved his long-running spat with Rob Hawthorne, who viciously got Kurt's sister hooked on heroin in a bid for revenge.
Kurt later embarked on an ill-advised affair with Kate Patrick and, despite later attempting to make it work with Ruth, they both decided to end it. He later perished in a jet ski accident in 1999. Since leaving the ‘oaks, actor Jeremy went on to play Danny Shaughnessy in Holby City until 2003. The 51-year-old finished fourth in Celebrity Big Brother and also appeared in Celebrity X Factor in 2019 after teaming up with Strictly’s Brendan Cole.
Brett O'Brien (Louise)
Brett played Louise Taylor in Hollyoaks for a relatively brief spell from 1995 until 1996. Louise understandably struggled to come to terms with the death of her friend Natasha and, after hooking up with traveller Tree, departed the village with him.
Since leaving the soap, Brett has starred in Doctors, Dream Team Wire In The Blood and Law & Order: UK. Her stand-our role since leaving Hollyoaks was portraying Mary Cook in The Bill from 1997 until 2006.
