Hollyoaks star Rory Douglas-Speed has sparked concern amongst fans who fear he might be leaving the show after posting new headshots.
Rory, 32, who is engaged to co-star Nadine Mulkerrin and shares two children with the Cleo McQueen actress, has played Joel Dexter in the Channel 4 soap since 2016.
The part was previously played by Andrew Still between 2011 and 2013.
Joel is currently expecting a baby with Leela Lomax (Kirsty Leigh Porter), and in upcoming scenes the pair plan a secret wedding by inviting their family to a special lunch at The Dog in the Pond. However, it’s not long before his mum Marie Fielding (Rita Simons) throws a spanner in the works!
Classic Hollyoaks.
Earlier this year, it was announced that up to 130 jobs, including 20 cast members, would be cut at the show’s production base in Childwall, Liverpool, following the decision to reduce the weekly output from five to three episodes.
The shorter 20 minute instalments will begin in September following a UK soap first permanent time jump which is planned to sky-rocket the drama one year into the future.
It’s understood that this is to facilitate the large number of exits, with legendary original character Cindy Cunningham, played by Stephanie Waring, confirmed to be one of them.
Meanwhile, unconnected to the changes, Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas), Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams), Jonas Khan (Zain Rizwaan) and Carter Shepherd (David Ames) are also leaving.
In the last month we’ve seen four more characters bow out of the Chester village – Sharon Bailey (Jamelia), Lizzie Chen-Williams (Lily Best), her brother Mason (Frank Kauer) and Hunter McQueen (Theo Graham).
Now, fans are convinced that Rory is amongst the growing numbers of departees after he collaborated an Instagram post with photographer Dan Collins, who has taken his new headshots.
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Headshots are used to market an actor to casting agents for new roles.
He cryptically captioned the picture: ‘🎥 ⚡️🤐’, suggesting that he’s keeping something a secret.
This was immediately met by speculative comments: ‘don’t say new head shots mean you’re leaving the Oaks??’ asked one viewer.
Another of his 328,000 followers added: ‘I hope you don’t get axed from hollyoaks.’
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