Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill. The programme is set in a fictional suburb of Chester called Hollyoaks and is centred around a local higher education college called Hollyoaks Community College, with the characters generally being in their late teens or early twenties. Since 1995, the cast has expanded from just seven major characters to approximately 50 cast members.
Hollyoaks is the only British soap to make use of incidental music, usually a variation of the show's theme music. It is used either as a transition between scenes or as part of a dream-like sequence. These have included bands such as Ocean Colour Scene with the song "Hundred Mile High City", The Pigeon Detectives, U2, Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, Paramore, and the Maroon 5 song "She Will Be Loved" was repeatedly played in early 2005.
Over the course of the show's history, Hollyoaks has dealt with a number of storylines based upon serious issues. Given the large and established proportion of young viewers, some feel that the soap is an ideal platform to show a variety of issues affecting young people. A telephone helpline number is often displayed after episodes that feature a particular emphasis on a story that may have affected viewers.
Issues raised in storylines include-
racism, religion, bisexuality, homosexuality, homophobia, sexual confusion, alcoholism, domestic violence, anorexia/bulimia, , general bullying, self harm, , teenage pregnancy, and miscarriage.
This September it was announced that Hollyoaks, teaming up with Channel 4 Education's Battlefront, would explore an underage sex storyline involving 12 year-old characters Finn O'Connor and Amber Sharpe, which would lead to Amber's pregnancy. Explaining the storyline, Paul Marquess said: "Hollyoaks has long been credited for tackling difficult issues that affect young people in a sensitive and intelligent way. I am very proud that we are once again bringing to the forefront a subject for our young audience that many parents, politicians and schools struggle to address. The storyline very clearly communicates to the audience that Amber and Finn were not emotionally or physically ready to engage in any sexual activity. And make no mistake, there will be no fairytale ending for Amber; she is faced with the most difficult situation she could ever imagine.links to my play
- the show tackles realsitic issues and problems that happen today, especially those that effect young people as my play does.
- It also promtotes awareness of certain issues, as my play aims to do about teen pregnancy.
- Hollyoaks shows realistic teen relationships and how they interact.
http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/cast/girls/ambersharpe.html
