Hollyoaks fans left convinced major star has fallen victim to cast cull after he disappears off-screen
HOLLYOAKS fans have been desperate to figure out which stars are part of the cast cull – with a ‘missing star’ feared to be the latest exit.
As the show prepares to lose up to 20 of its characters in a giant shake-up, this familiar face has already ‘disappeared’ from our screens.
Richard Blackwood, who has played Felix on Hollyoaks since 2020, has been missing in action for several episodes.
This prompted some fans to ask on X (formerly Twitter): “Is there any news on when Felix is back or if he actually is coming back […] because I could’ve sworn his exit wasn’t supposed to be permanent.”
Before his break from the show, Felix was involved in a car crash involving three other vehicles, leading to the death of Ella Richardson.
At the time, Felix, who was driving, confronted his best mate Warren and fiancée Mercedes McQueen over their affair.
In dramatic scenes, Warren and Felix both agreed to take a paternity test to determine who was the biological father of Mercedes’ twins.
Currently, Richard is on a UK stand-up tour to celebrate his 30 years in the industry, which would largely explain his absence from work.
Over the years, he’s been seen on our screens EastEnders, and as a TV presenter and stand-up comedian.
But during one gig in Liverpool, where Hollyoaks is filmed, he sparked rumours further by referring to the show as “a farewell”.
Sharing a pic from the gig, he wrote in part: “Liverpool has been my home for the last four years and I have some great people there that I genuinely Love and will miss dearly!
“Thank you for making me feel at home in your great city and please know I’ll be back soon! Blessed and always grateful.”
However, a representative for Richard denied at the time he was leaving Hollyoaks and said the actor would be back filming Childwall soon.
The Sun has approached Hollyoaks reps for comment.
Series Cull Latest
The fears come as Hollyoaks is preparing to be slashed from five to just three episodes a week.
It’s believed up to 20 characters will be exiting in order to streamline the cast and crew for the new scheduling, which starts in September.
Since then, fans have been picking up on a string of clues to see if their favourites will make it through the cull over the next couple of months.
Kieron Richardson, who plays Ste Hay on the soap, exclusively told The Sun at the TV Baftas: “From January it was like the start of a new era and it’s really exciting, there’s so much coming up in the future but we can’t say anything.”
“I think it must be hard as a show writer to think of two and a half hours of TV each week it’s like a full film, whereas now if you shorten that down a little bit you’re going to get the best of the best in terms of quality.
“It’ll be all killer and no filler now so whoever stays at the end because we can’t give anything away, whoever lasts, it’s going to be a really exciting time for them.”
So far, at least eight stars have been confirmed to be leaving, with room for more to say their goodbyes over the next four months.
Who's leaving Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is going to lose dozens of characters in the next few months. Here are the stars already confirmed to be leaving - and who's been rumoured.
CONFIRMED
- Jonas Khan (Zain Rizwaan) – Zain suffered a stroke on screen with actor Jonas confirming he’s shot his last scenes.
- Jamelia (Sharon Bailey) – Sharon left for a new life in Dubai
- Lily Best (Lizzie Chen-Williams) – Lizzie died on screen after taking dodgy drugs at her father’s wedding.
- Ross Adams (Scott Drinkwell)
- Stephanie Waring (Cindy Cunningham) – After 28 years on the soap, Stephanie confirmed she would be leaving.
- Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox) – Volunteered to leave the show
- Owen Warner (Romeo Nightingale) – Volunteered to leave the show
- Theo Graham (Hunter McQueen) – Exit was confirmed in mid-April, with final scenes already shot.
RUMOURED
- Emma Rigby (Hannah Ashworth) – Following a string of deleted social media posts hinting she was ‘ready for movies and TV’
- Richard Blackwood (Felix Westwood) – called a Liverpool stand-up gig a ‘homecoming and a farewell’ causing concern
- Sally St Claire (Annie Wallace) – Sparked after on-screen son James Sutton, who plays John-Paul, was seen in a suit you would wear to a funeral, alongside concerning spoilers
- Alex Fletcher (Diane Hutchison) – Removed mention of Hollyoaks from her social media.
- Gregory Finneran (James Nightingale) – shared new headshots online prompting fears he was looking for work
