Hollyoaks is a British soap opera that first aired on 23 October 1995. The following characters made or will make their debut in 2025. Zachary and Leighton, the oldest sons of Stacey Solomon, appeared in cameos in January. Tommy, played by Brandon Fellows, made his first appearance on 11 March. Fraser “Froggy” Black Sr, played by John Middleton, will make his first appearance the first week of August 2025. Gemma, played by Tisha Merry, will make her first appearance in October 2025. Additionally, several other characters appear throughout the year.
The Parcel Patrons worker and Leighton briefly appeared on 23 January. [1] They were played by Zachary and Leighton, the oldest children of Stacey Solomon. [1] The pair were not credited in the episode, but they appeared in some photos with some regular Hollyoaks cast members on the official Hollyoaks Instagram account. [1] Solomon later revealed that when she and Zach – who she described as being "obsessed" with the soap – met the executive producer of Hollyoaks at the National Television Awards, who invited Zach to see the set at a later date. [2] Zach and his brother later visited the set and were offered to be extras in the scene, which they accepted despite not having an interest in becoming actors. [2] Solomon added that whilst they were "nervous" to be extras, her sons "loved every second of it and the people at Hollyoaks were just so lovely and so kind and so nice to us and they just had the best day ever". [3] [2] In the episode, the Parcel Patrons worker gets a telling her off from Pearl Anderson (Dawn Hope) after he delivers a fruit package late to her convenience store, Price Slice; she then also tells off Leighton for delivering her paper late, calling him "Late Leighton" and threatening that she will be speaking to his mother. [4] Following the guest appearance, viewers questioned on social media whether the cameos were portrayed by Solomon's sons and whether they would appear again. [4]
| Tommy Odenkirk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollyoaks character | |||||
| Portrayed by | Brandon Fellows | ||||
| First appearance | Episode 6537 11 March 2025 | ||||
| Last appearance | Episode 6568 21 May 2025 | ||||
| Classification | Former; recurring | ||||
| Introduced by | Hannah Cheers | ||||
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Tommy Odenkirk, played by Brandon Fellows, will make his first appearance on 11 March 2025. [5] He is introduced as the therapist of Leela Dexter (Kirsty-Leigh Porter), who was raped the previous year. [5] It was hinted that Tommy would have other patients in the village and that he "might not be who he says he is" and may be hiding a secret. [5] Fellows was excited to join the soap, calling Tommy a "friendly and unique therapist with a dark side and a complicated family history. I'm looking forward to the fans seeing this character’s secrets unravel..." [5] Following the character's announcement, Stephen Patterson from Metro wrote "Consider us very intrigued!" regarding Tommy's secret. [6]
On 17 March 2025, it was revealed that Tommy has been lying about his identity to get closer to Leela's husband, Joel Dexter (Rory Douglas-Speed). [7] Fellows, who plays Tommy, spoke about his character's double life: "Tommy's pretending to be somebody else. He does his therapy – and he shouldn't be doing that – but also he has another job and he works in a chicken shop on the side. He doesn't have many friends, he's very lonely and he has this completely different alter ego. It's been so much fun to play these two personas at the same time, it's been amazing." [7] As part of a flashback episode that is due to explore the events that occurred before the Hollyoaks time jump, scenes will explain Tommy's obsession with Joel. Fellows explained: "This will be explored in the flashback episode about the missing year, we venture back in time because of Tommy and this storyline. All will be revealed about why this obsession started, and it's really interesting. I will say, Tommy's obsession with Joel is completely platonic. He doesn't lust for him; he sees him as a brother, and this will all make sense after the missing year episode." [7]
Nina Bentley, portrayed by former Casualty star Mattie Packer, made her first voice appearance on 5 May 2025. [8] She is a friend of Ro Hutchinson (Ava Webster), who he met on an LGBTQ+ forum where he sought solace after being subjected to transphobic abuse from Arlo Fielding (Dan Hough). [8] Packer's casting was announced on the same day she made her first voice appearance and made her first on-screen appearance on 12 May 2025 in a special episode focusing on Ro's mental health, where Ro, along with his mother, Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher) attends a support group. [8] Her role was revaled to be a guest role. [8] During the episode that Nina appeared, Hollyoaks changed the background to include the transgender flag colours in the ad break. [8]
Matt Domino, portrayed by Oliver Wickham, first appeared on 12 May 2025. [8] His casting was announced on 5 May 2025 and his character would be a guest. [8] Matt attends the support group that Ro Hutchinson (Ava Webster) is also attending with his mother, Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher). [8] He first appears in an episode focusing on Ro's mental health after being subjected to transphobic abuse from Arlo Fielding (Dan Hough). [8] During this episode, Hollyoaks changed the background to include the transgender flag colours in the ad break. [8]
Eve, portrayed by Trans actor Emma Frankland, is a volunteer at the LGBTQ+ helpline that Ro Hutchinson (Ava Webster) calls after his friend Kathleen-Angel McQueen (Kiara Mellor) encourages him to seek help after contemplating suicide. [8] Her casting was announced on 5 May 2025 and she made her first appearance on 12 May 2025. [8] Frankland appeared in episodes airing between 12 and 18 May 2025, which is Mental Health Awareness Week as well as being the episodes' scriptwriter. [8] Frankland also appeared in a video interview set to be shared across the Hollyoaks social media accounts, where she will discuss the inspirations and collaborations of the storyline. [8] Frankland told Digital Spy : "Having spoken to Samaritans, Papyrus and LGBT Switchboard, the crossover of what everybody said was so similar. They are volunteers mostly; they're giving up their time to be there because we know the power that a conversation has to change someone's path and to alter the route that they're on." [8] She continued: "I'm really happy we're showing Ro in this truthful recognisable place and we're showing that there is an alternative and there is hope. Having met with real volunteers, I felt strongly that I wanted to play that part, and I think it was exciting having three guest roles in this episode, all of whom were trans." [8]
| Froggy Black | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | John Middleton | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2025–present | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 4 August 2025 | ||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Hannah Cheers | ||||||||||
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Fraser "Froggy" Black Sr, portrayed by John Middleton, is the father of notorious deceased gangster, Fraser Black (Jesse Birdsall), and the grandfather of Clare Devine (Gemma Bissix), Grace Black (Tamara Wall), and Rex Gallagher (Jonny Labey). [9] He is due to appear after being released from Longmere Prison, where he is seen as "Top Dog", where he has befriended Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) and keeping tabs on Rex. [9] Middleton's casting was announced on 13 July 2025. [10] Elizabeth Cotton from Manchester Evening News described Froggy's character to have a "dark past." [11] Amelia Ward from The Mirror described Froggy's character to be a "far cry" from Middleton's previous role as vicar Ashley Thomas in ITV soap opera Emmerdale . [10] His first meeting with Clare is described as "explosive" with a "real battle" set to "ensue". [10]
Middleton spoke about his new casting: "From Vicar to villain is quite a leap but that's why I love this part. Froggy has a very dark history and he could reveal everyone's murky past. He knows where all the bodies are buried; perhaps quite literally…" [9] A source reported to The Mirror: "People usually think of Ashley when they see John but that won’t be happening any more, Fraser is about as far away to the kindly vicar you can get." [10] A Hollyoaks insider told them: "He’s possibly the most evil character Hollyoaks has ever had - and for a village plagued by serial killers, that’s saying something. Fraser will make his entrance very soon, and he’s got more than one connection to the village with his twisted family already there." [10]
| Gemma | |
|---|---|
| Hollyoaks character | |
| Portrayed by | Tisha Merry |
| Classification | Future; regular |
| Introduced by | Hannah Cheers |
| Spin-off appearances | Hollyoaks Later (2025) |
Gemma, played by Tisha Merry, will make her debut appearance during a one-off episode of Hollyoaks Later to coincide with the shows 30th Anniversary Celebrations. [12] Her casting was announced on 28 July 2025 and her character would have links to Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas), who has been confirmed to be returning to Hollyoaks permanently. [12] Merry expressed her excitement about joining the cast: "I’m absolutely over the moon to be joining the cast of Hollyoaks. It’s a fabulous opportunity and an incredible time to join as they celebrate their 30th birthday week." [12] She also discussed her character's personality: "Gemma is flirty, feisty, and the kind of woman you’d want as your best friend… but never your enemy. She’s bold, unpredictable, and trust me when I say, she’ll be entering with a bang. I can’t wait for you all to meet her." [12]
| Character | Portrayer(s) | Episode date(s) | Details | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DS Bolton | Sophie Mensah | 7 January | A police officer who interviews Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) after she reports Abe Fielding (Tyler Conti) for raping her. | [13] |
| Prosecutor | 13–15 January | Sophie Fletcher | The legal team at JJ Osborne's (Ryan Mulvey) trial following his sexual abuse against Frankie Osborne (Isabelle Smith). The legal team cross-examines JJ and Frankie and other people relevant to the trial. After JJ's confession, the judge sentences him for his crimes. | [14] |
| JJ's Defence Barrister | Hopi Grace | [14] | ||
| Judge | Kerry Peers | [14] | ||
| Sonographer | Kate Threlfall | 22 January | A sonographer who performs the scan of Vicky Grant (Anya Lawrence). She tells Vicky and her boyfriend Robbie Roscoe (Charlie Wernham) that the baby is healthy and has a strong heartbeat. | [15] |
| Fernando (cat) | — | 17–18 February | A stray cat that Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) looks after and becomes close with. After he goes missing, Ste suspects that Jeremy Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) murdered him. | [16] |