Exclusive - Hollyoaks Later returns in 2020 for killer Breda’s final chapter

Revealing the news exclusively to RadioTimes.com, the soap’s executive producer Bryan Kirkwood confirmed plans for the post-watershed spin-off to be revived for the first time since 2013.

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“Channel 4 has asked us to bring back Hollyoaks Later for one special episode in January,” he says. “It will lead directly from the main teatime show and will be a proper episode played later in the evening.

“We are thrilled to have it back, and it sees the final chapter of the Breda story.” Does this mean we have to wait until then for Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) to escape being imprisoned at the pig farm by the bad dad dispatcher, played by Moya Brady?

The late-night edition was an annual event between 2009 and 2013, with five episodes featuring more adult content (mainly involving nudity, occasional violence and bad language) airing across one week every autumn.

While 2020’s revival is for a single episode, Kirkwood hinted there could be more in the pipeline: “This is a taster. We have more at our disposal to experiment with in terms of budget. It’s a massive vote of confidence from the channel to invest in it, and it might come back…”

When did Hollyoaks start doing late-night specials?

Edgy post-watershed spin-offs complementing the main show, with added spicy elements forbidden in the regular 6.30pm slot, have been part of the Hollyoaks universe since 1999, when villainous Rob Hawthorne’s kidnapping of Lucy Benson was the subject of a four-episode special.

A 2000 edition famously featured the rape of Luke Morgan (Gary Lucy), the first time male sexual assault had been tackled in a UK soap.

Several mini-series following the exploits of established characters after dark followed, including Hollyoaks: Movin’ On (2001), Hollyoaks: Let Loose (2005), and Hollyoaks in the City (2006) which featured Kym Marsh in an early pre-Corrie acting role.

The last series of Later in 2013 coincided with Hollyoaks’ 18^thbirthday and focused on original character Tony's battle with cancer. Danny Dyer guest starred the year before joining EastEnders as Mick Carter.

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