Hollyoaks’ most shocking storylines of all time – from skin bleaching to male rape
The Channel 4 soap is renowned for breaking the boundaries with controversial plot lines
IT may be the youngest soap of the big four, but it's certainly delivered over the past two decades.
Hollyoaks is one of Britain's most-loved TV shows, and there have been some dramatic storylines over the years.
Show producers never shied away from addressing controversial and topical issues.
From male rape to skin bleaching, the Chester-based soap has pushed the boundaries over the years with its headline-grabbing plots.
And this is probably why viewers have remained so loyal to Hollyoaks over the last 22 years.
Here are the most memorable plotlines that have been broadcast since the soap first aired...
Male rape
In 2000, Gary Lucy's character Luke Morgan was attacked and raped by a fellow footballer in the changing room showers.
The shocking scene, which aired on the late night edition of the show, was praised for its respectful portrayal - the first of its kind on a British soap.
The storyline was also explored in 2014 when teacher John Paul McQueen (James Sutton) was sexually assaulted by one of his male students.
Teenage self harm
Gemma Atkinson's character Lisa Hunter was at the centre of a shocking teenage self harming plot - again the first of its kind on a UK soap opera.
Taunted by jealous school bully Steph Dean, Lisa began cutting herself on her arms and legs.
The storyline was later replicated on rival shows EastEnders and Emmerdale.
Ecstasy death
Soaps are often inspired by real life events, and Hollyoaks did just this when it tackled the topical issue of dangerous recreational drugs in 1995.
Following the tragic death of student Leah Betts, who died after taking an ecstasy tablet on her 18th birthday, character Natasha Anderson (Shebah Ronay) suffered a similar fate on the show after her drink was spiked at a club.
Cervical cancer death
Yet again Hollyoaks mirrored reality with its cervical cancer storyline.
Big Brother star Jade Goody tragically died of the condition in 2009, aged just 27.
A year later, Steph Cunningham (Carley Stenson) was diagnosed with cervical cancer on the show.
Like Goody she ignored the symptoms, which led to her having a hysterectomy in her twenties.
Incest
Following in Brookside's footsteps, Hollyoaks tackled this controversial issue with half-siblings Rhys and Beth Clement (Andrew Moss and Sinead Moynihan).
The duo were unaware they were related at first, but even after they found out they continued to see each other until Rhys' disgusted best friend Gilly exposed them.
Skin bleaching
Another shocker came in 2009, when Anita Roy (Saira Choudhry) was racially abused by Gaz Bennett (Joel Goonan), which prompted her to try to bleach her skin to look whiter.
No such storyline had ever been tackled by a British soap before.
Speaking to Newsbeat at the time, Choudhry admitted: "This is really challenging and the deepest thing I've ever read."
Gender identity
Yet again, Hollyoaks led the way when it came to introducing a character with gender identity disorder.
Character Jasmine Costello was presented as a boy - Jason - trapped inside a girl's body.
The part was tackled by actress Victoria Atkin and was reportedly based on the real-life experiences of transgender teens who had felt they were under-represented on television.
Eating disorders
You may be noticing a pattern here, but Hollyoaks was the first British soap to document the heartbreaking consequences of anorexia in a storyline which ran for almost two years, from 2006 to 2008.
It focused on Hannah Ashworth (Emma Rigby), who befriended model Melissa, who had the condition.
Manipulating Melissa convinced Hannah to lose weight with her and the pair became obsessed with dodging food behind the backs of their family and friends.
It ended in tragedy when Melissa died in Hannah's arms of a heart attack, and Hannah was eventually sectioned in an attempt to get her to hospital for treatment.
Emma Rigby won Best Actress at the British Soap Awards for her portrayal of her character's battle with the eating disorder.
Domestic abuse in same sex couples
Rarely is domestic violence against men illustrated on TV, which made Hollyoaks' portrayal of the controversial subject all the more poignant.
The characters involved were Ste Hay (Keiron Richardson) and Brendan Brady (Emmett Scanlan).
Richardson praised the soap's tackling of the issue on This Morning before it even aired, admitting: "The storyline's relevant to some situations in my life and if maybe I can help people that are going through the same thing then it's a bonus."
