Hollyoaks favourite Ro Hutchinson has been recast with the character’s new actor taking to Instagram to share their excitement.
Ro, the son of Tony and Diane Hutchinson, first appeared in the Channel 4 soap in 2013, with Ava Webster taking over the role in 2023.
Webster has been at the forefront of some of Ro’s biggest storylines, including coming out as trans in 2024, but it has been confirmed that the actor will step down from the role with a new star taking over.
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Transgender actor Leo Cole will take over the role from Webster, sharing the news on Instagram with a series of pictures on set, including one next to the iconic Hollyoaks village sign.
Cole wrote in the caption: “Big news… I’m on Hollyoaks!
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“A massive thank you to my incredible agency @bsatalent, my amazing agent @hayleysoraya , @peterhuntcasting , Gill Charnock, and everyone at @hollyoaksofficial for this incredible opportunity.
“I’m so excited to continue Ro’s journey in the show, and I am so lucky to have this opportunity.
“Of course, the biggest thanks to my Mum for always believing in me and supporting me every step of the way.”
Fans flocked to the comment section to congratulate him on the role, including agent and soap royalty Hayley Tamaddon, best known for starring as Del Dingle in Emmerdale and Andrea Beckett in Coronation Street.
She wrote: “Couldn’t be prouder. We came a long way didn’t we. 😚🫶🏽.”
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Speaking to Metro, Cole recalled his first scene on set alongside Alex Fletcher, who plays Diane in the show.
“I’d met her previously on the introduction day, and she was so welcoming and so understanding, and so were the directors – everybody on set was so lovely,” he said.
“Because it’s my first job, I’m only 17, so everybody had that knowledge of; ‘he might not be knowing of what certain things are, so let’s just give him a little bit of extra time and help him settle in.’
“My take with Alex doing that first scene was amazing, she’s such a brilliant actress, so to play against her, I was like ‘oh my days’, I couldn’t stop smiling, she was amazing.”
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
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