In an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com<\/a>, executive producer Lucy Allan reveals 2023 is set to be even bigger for the Channel 4 soap. Buckle up for our biggest new year storyline preview yet as we dish up 12 sensational spoilers coming your way!<\/p> Fan favourites James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan) and Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) are apart right now, but not for long!<\/p>\n \u201cThey are an unlikely pairing but work so well, and are a huge couple for us this year. There is hope for reconciliation and possibly the sound of distant bells looming\u2026 Look out for something joyful around Valentine\u2019s Day which cements that relationship. Lots of things will challenge them, not least James coping with Juliet\u2019s cancer, having already lost his mother. James will make some poor decisions that Ste rails against but ultimately they will come together.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) needs a liver transplant or he\u2019ll die and Norma (Glynis Barber) is a match \u2013 except she doesn\u2019t know it because Grace Black (Tamara Wall) has lied that she isn\u2019t! What does this mean for Foxy\u2019s future?<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the truth comes out and Norma knows she is able to save Warren, to do that she\u2019d have to admit she loves her son \u2013 but can she? Warren and Norma are murdering gangsters but their greatest challenge may be admitting they care about each other. Throw in a new love interest for Warren, someone outside of his criminal world who wants nothing to do with it, and Norma\u2019s reaction to that and you have a big impact on their dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) has moved on with Ethan Williams (Matthew-James Bailey), but does she still hold a torch for Warren?<\/p>\n \u201cThey are interlinked forever through their twins and will always be in each other\u2019s orbit, which makes for great drama. I\u2019m excited about Sienna and Ethan as a couple, it\u2019s fun and troubled. Sienna is her own worst enemy but we\u2019ll see Ethan is also guilty of that when he devises an ill-thought-through plan that drives a year-long story for them, with a new character in the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n A-listers Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) and Felix Westwood (Richard Blackwood) are setting the screen alight with their sizzling chemistry, but their new romance will be fraught with complications.<\/p>\n \u201cFelix dobbed killer Bobby into the police, and choosing between her son and her lover won\u2019t be easy for Mercedes. It\u2019s been a slow build to this relationship to make it more credible, and Felix will struggle this year when that bright, happy veneer he wears is heavily challenged. Will him and Mercedes pull together or fall apart when the truth of that situation comes out?\u201d<\/p>\n The Westwood flat will have a new tenant, with a familiar face\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cA new character moves in \u2013 well, I say new, but you might have seen them in the show before! We\u2019re excited about creating a strong female group in that household and the idea of Felix having to hold his own as a man among them!\u201d<\/p>\n Hollyoaks High\u2019s teenage gang, including Leah Barnes (Ela-May Demircan) and DeMarcus Westwood (Tomi Ade), will be at the centre of a storyline that kicks off on location during a school trip.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a big crisis for that group of characters when they go camping in February, the consequences of which will be very far-reaching. We are loving the teens, especially with the addition of Honour\u2019s niece Shing Lin Leong (Izzie Yip) who arrived recently and has landed really well.\u201d<\/p>\n Prison, being groomed into drug dealing, underage sex, violence \u2013 it\u2019s been a tough few years for Charlie Dean (Charlie Behan), and the teen will buckle under the strain with a big issue-led storyline.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to interrogate teenage mental health, a genuine crisis in this country, through Charlie. Nancy leaves temporarily to accommodate Jess Fox\u2019s maternity leave \u2013 how does Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) cope without the person who holds that family together? It\u2019s fair to say he doesn\u2019t always make the right decisions, and Charlie will struggle in school, in relationships and will feel Nancy\u2019s absence. Darren has been through his own mental health journey \u2013 can he support Charlie, who is denying his own problems in that area?\u201d<\/p>\n Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw) was recently given a devastating cancer diagnosis and has a tough battle ahead in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cJuliet rails against the injustice of her situation and hates being told what she can and can\u2019t do, although in this case that could be the key to saving her life. The instinct for Peri Lomax (Ruby O\u2019Donnell) to become her carer is challenging for Juliet who doesn\u2019t want to be seen as a victim. Juliet and Peri are a real love story that has had a huge audience reaction, so we also want to enjoy that in the midst of a tough plot.\u201d<\/p>\n Owen Warner\u2019s star is on the rise after being runner-up on I\u2019m a Celebrity\u2026 Get Me Out of Here!, so it\u2019s no surprise there are big plans for his Hollyoaks alter ego.<\/p>\n \u201cWe already had a big plot for Romeo Nightingale before Owen went into the jungle \u2013 it\u2019s fortuitous everything went so well! Romeo has a huge love story with newcomer Rayne Royce (played by Neighbours star Jemma Donovan, daughter of Jason), who is an influencer. He\u2019ll face the challenges of a relationship played out in the public domain, while coping with the realities of sister Juliet\u2019s cancer. Romeo falls in love hard, and there are huge consequences for him off the back of this romance.\u201d<\/p>\n Tony\u2019s long-lost son Beau Ramsey (Jon-Paul Bell) is settling into his new job as a teacher, and hoping he can move beyond the scandal from his past that was recently exposed.<\/p>\n \u201cHe made a misguided, ill-advised decision to put something online that probably wasn\u2019t his best idea. Beau has hit the ground running as part of the Hutchinson gang and may also form a close relationship with one of our key characters\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty) unleashed a reign of terror that climaxed as the radicalised misogyny story ended with a siege at the pub that put lives in danger, and revealed the extent of how vulnerable schoolboy Mason Chen-Williams (Frank Kauer) has been groomed by online incel forums.<\/p>\n \u201cMason\u2019s family will realise what\u2019s been happening under their roof. Tony\u2019s lost his sister Verity, his brother Eric is an incel, his wife Diane is seriously injured after the siege \u2013 how does he rebuild after all that? The community will ultimately come together to renounce and rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n Hollyoaks is famous for its spectacular stunts, the most recent being an explosion at the village carnival as the backdrop to the last stand of serial killer Silas Blissett. Are there more set pieces in store?<\/p>\n \u201cLook out for what I\u2019m calling a \u2018mini-stunt\u2019 around Mother\u2019s Day. We\u2019ve got structural change coming to the village involving Warren and Norma. There is a story peak in late summer and you might not get an explosion or a flood, but something quite different that we hope is genuinely arresting and throws the story forward for six months\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: 7 Hollyoaks spoilers for next week: Hunter and Prince fight and Sienna comes clean<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Hollyoaks is available to stream on All 4 and airs every weeknight at 6:30pm on Channel 4 and 7pm on E4. Check out more of our\u00a0Soaps<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Johnathon Hughes Published: Wednesday, 11 January 2023 at 12:00 am The last 12 months in Hollyoaks saw the village rocked by the return \u2013 and demise \u2013 of serial killer Silas Blissett, devastated by deaths of major fan favourites including Verity Hutchinson, and reeling from twists such as Warren Fox discovering gangster boss Norma […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":28460,"template":"","categories":[1,2,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-2023-preview-12-spoilers-ahead-as-producer-teases-big-plots.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-2023-preview-12-spoilers-ahead-as-producer-teases-big-plots-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-2023-preview-12-spoilers-ahead-as-producer-teases-big-plots-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-2023-preview-12-spoilers-ahead-as-producer-teases-big-plots.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-2023-preview-12-spoilers-ahead-as-producer-teases-big-plots.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-2023-preview-12-spoilers-ahead-as-producer-teases-big-plots.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-2023-preview-12-spoilers-ahead-as-producer-teases-big-plots.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Johnathon Hughes Published: Wednesday, 11 January 2023 at 12:00 am The last 12 months in Hollyoaks saw the village rocked by the return \u2013 and demise \u2013 of serial killer Silas Blissett, devastated by deaths of major fan favourites including Verity Hutchinson, and reeling from twists such as Warren Fox discovering gangster boss Norma…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/28459"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Wedding bells for James and Ste?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-ste-james-5fa59f0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n2. Can Norma save dying Warren?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-norma-warren-23ff1be.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n3. Ethan causes trouble for Sienna<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-sienna-ethan-4c698ac.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n4. Mercedes and Felix torn apart<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-felix-mercedes-8328eae.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n5. Who is the mystery returning character?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
6. Camping trip disaster<\/strong><\/h2>\n
7. Charlie spirals when Nancy leaves<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-charlie-efe4c5c.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n8. Juliet\u2019s cancer battle<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-juliet-4a0c3c5.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n9. Romeo\u2019s new romance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/hollyoaks-romeo-789995a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n10. Who has Beau got his eye on?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
11. Evil Eric: the aftermath<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/HO-EP-6022-ERIC-MAXINE-STRICTLY-EMBARGOED-UNTIL-3RD-JAN-LIMEPICTURES-3-e364080.jpg?quality=90&crop=32px%2C2px%2C3937px%2C2622px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n12. Spring stunt<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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