Hollyoaks: Enjoy the Ride

Enjoy The Ride is a storyline from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, broadcast between 12 and 16 November 2012 on Channel 4.

Creation and development

The Daily Star announced the storyline on 21 October 2012. They reported that "lots of lives will be lost in the tragedy – the biggest Hollyoaks has seen". A show source told the Daily Star that it was a "huge stunt" and that "a lot of money has been spent making it look as realistic as possible. A team of stuntmen and women were brought in and bosses hired some of the best special effects people in the business. The bus crash will be a disaster no one will ever forget". Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy announced that an upcoming storyline would feature "another tragic storyline twist" as "wedding day joy turns to horror for a number of the soap's characters". The episodes were said to feature the double wedding of Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) and Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) alongside Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and Doug Carter (PJ Brennan). Jono (Dylan Llewellyn) and Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) also plan to elope to Gretna Green so steal a mini-van. Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke) and Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks) try to stop them eloping by forcing them to stop the mini-van. Driver Maddie Morrison (Scarlett Bowman) is distracted and almost runs over Leah Barnes (Ela-May Demircan), but swerves off the road to avoid her. Maddie drives in to Tony, Cindy, Ste and Doug's wedding venue, crashing the mini-van before it explodes. Kilkelly explained that the event would "change life in the village forever". The storyline was created to "reveal secrets and lies that many had fought hard to keep hidden". It was also revealed that "at least two characters are expected to be killed off in the momentous episodes, but their identities will be kept closely under wraps until transmission".

Pickard said the explosion was "the biggest explosion I've ever seen in my life". He explained that he "watched from a safe distance" but he could still feel the heat due to the size of the explosion. Pickard added that the cast filmed on location at Knowsley Hall which he felt is a "very grand setting for a big Hollyoaks disaster". Waring told All About Soap magazine that Cindy decides to "run away" with Rhys which is witnessed by Tony but then "she looks up and sees the bus coming right for them!"

Promotion

A promotional trailer was released by E4's official Hollyoaks' website before it began airing on television. The trailer did not feature clips from the storyline and was instead featured clips filmed especially for the trailer. It featured characters involved in the storyline standing together in a hall dressed for a wedding. Rhys and Cindy look at each other while standing with their respective partners before holding hands. The back wall of the hall explodes, throwing the characters away from each other. Cindy and Rhys are torn apart as they reach to each other, Ste and Doug float through empty space while holding each other and Maddie drops in to darkness. The advertisement ends as Jacqui sits in the wreckage of the hall, crying. The promotional feature was shot on location in London and a set was built specifically for the shoot. Wires were used to elevate cast members during the filming and a smoke machine was used for effect. Davis explained that to simulate an explosion "a full bag of dust" and "gold stuff" was fired at the cast who had to throw themselves on to crash mats as the explosion happened. Cooper explained that her part in the trailer shows her character as the "realisation of what has happened" sets in. Cooper explained that the trailer closes with Jacqui as an "abstract tear" rolls down her face which was added using a "dropper" after the scene was filmed.

Reception

Digital Spy chose the wedding day crash as their "pic of the day" feature while Radio Times made the episode their "Soap pick of the day". Inside Soap critic Sarah opined that fans "won’t want to miss a moment of the explosive action in Hollyoaks tonight". She added that she "loved it so much" that she wanted to see it again and that viewers should "tune in to C4 tonight to see the spectacular episode in all its glory". Continuing, Sarah commented: "There’s no expense spared as the minibus loses control and ploughs into the wedding venue, crashing straight through and out the other side. But the biggest drama is yet to come! In the aftermath of the crash, we’re treated to everything you could possibly want from a soap. There’s drama as the minibus explodes in a ball of fire. There are moments that will make you gasp with shock as something completely unexpected happens. And then there’s heartbreak as we’re forced to say a premature goodbye to much-loved characters – and I defy you not to cry along with the devastated loved ones they left behind". Sarah said "there are standout performances from some of my all-time favourite Hollyoaks stars, including Claire Cooper, Andrew Moss, Nick Pickard and Stephanie Waring. And whether you love or loathe the sixth-formers, they certainly have their part to play as the drama unfolds over the rest of the week". She concluded that it is "Hollyoaks at its very best. So buckle up and enjoy the ride". Jaci Stephen of the Daily Mail said that there is a "spanner in the works" on the wedding day in the form of the "much-publicised crash, as a bus careers into the venue. I don’t remember ever seeing a bus on the show before, so it seems rough that, when one appears, it’s about as controllable as a Dalek on acid". She added that due to a large number of the cast becoming "indistinguishable from one another, I’m not sure I’ll know who’s been injured/killed. But at least that means I won’t care, either".

Ratings

The first episode aired on E4's first look service and achieved the best Friday first-look ratings for Hollyoaks in over two months with 0.554 million viewers. When the episode aired on Channel 4 it was watched by 1.03 millon viewers. E4's first look of the second episode achieved ratings of 0.567 million while it was watched by 1.06 million during it's Channel 4 broadcast. The third episode of the week's E4 broadcast was watched by 0.684 million viewers while it's Channel 4 broadcast was viewed by 1.05 million. The fourth episode's E4 broadcast which featured the deaths of three characters was viewed by 0.970 million. This was the highest E4 rating for Holyoaks of 2012 and the most-watched multichannel programme of the day.

Sources

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