Hollyoaks welcomes three new stars to the show ahead of the 30th anniversary celebrations.
Last week, Metro exclusively confirmed that Leo Cole will be taking over the role of Ro Hutchinson, previously played by Ava Webster, and the changes continue for the Hutchinsons, with two further stars joining the clan.
Brook Debio and Chloe Atkinson will be taking over the roles of Ant and Dee Dee, previously played by William Thompson and Lacey Findlow, with their first scenes set to hit screens next week.
William and Lacey confirmed their exits on Instagram last week.
Brook, meanwhile, is well known to soap fans after his star turn playing young Kit Green (a character famously played by former Hollyoaks star Jacob Roberts) in a special flashback episode of Coronation Street.
‘It’s been so exciting joining the cast of Hollyoaks as Ant Hutchinson – it’s a real privilege to be part of a well-established and welcoming family,’ he said of joining the Channel 4 serial.
‘Filming has been a blast – especially with some of the intense scenes we’ve been shooting. I’m really grateful to have been trusted with such an important storyline…’
Talking about playing Dee Dee, Chloe said: ‘I am so excited and grateful to be joining the cast of Hollyoaks as Dee Dee Hutchinson. My time here so far has been truly amazing, and I cannot wait to continue the journey.
‘The rest of the cast has welcomed me with open arms.
‘I couldn’t finish this message without mentioning Lacey Findlow and how lucky I feel to show you a different side to the character she brought to life and played so incredibly well.’
Leo, meanwhile, told Metro that being cast in Hollyoaks ‘means a lot’.
In preparation for the role of Ro, he watched through all of Ava’s episodes and was wowed by Hollyoaks’ care and representation of the trans community.
‘I think it’s really important for the show to take this angle on it and it’s quite hard as a trans person to go online, look on your phone and scroll through and see all these negative things because a lot of the time, a lot of the stuff on the media is negative about trans people because it gets more clicks.
‘Whereas in real life, we’re just people, so it’s really nice that Hollyoaks has opened the doors to the reality of that and been able to be like “actually, no, we’re gonna portray the character as the every day person that people are.‘
Brook, Leo and Chloe will make their Hollyoaks debut on October 20 as part of the show’s 30th anniversary, with Hutchinson patriarch and matriarch Tony and Diane (Nick Pickard and Alex Fletcher) set to walk down the aisle.
In typical Hollyoaks fashion, fans can expect high drama and chaos aplenty as things go awry – making for some deliciously dramatic scenes along the way.
Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 6am on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.
If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.
Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.