16 November 2023 , 20:00
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I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star Nick Pickard has dished the dirt on the future of Hollyoaks after starring in the Channel 4 soap for the past 28 years.
The 48-year-old, who is best known as Hollyoaks character Tony Hutchinson, said if people were no longer watching the Channel 4 soap, which is set in Chester, then TV bosses wouldn’t still be making it – and he plans to be there for at least the next two years.
Hollyoaks first aired on October 23, 1995 so will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2025. Nick is the only original cast member still in the show and he’s certain his stint on I’m A Celebrity won’t change that, as he has no plans to land a new role elsewhere.
Asked if he thought soaps were a dying breed, Nick told the Mirror: “Well I think it’s a question for bigger people than me. I mean, I look at it like if people weren't watching it, you know, they wouldn't be making it. It's all about if the money's still coming in and I don't know how but they're still on TV and we've been told that we definitely go on until at least the 30th anniversary so that's as far as I know."
Nick continued: “I'm only contracted year to year anyway. So I mean, I've always taken each year as it comes. Every time we get a contract we go out and have a little drink and say it's another year in the sunshine. So that's how we live, none of us are on longer than one year contracts anyway.”
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Hollyoaks star Nick Pickard landing in Australia earlier this week (James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock)As he has been in Hollyoaks for so long, Nick shared the crew affectionately call him 'Ken' after Ken Barlow in Coronation Street. Actor Bill Roache, who plays Ken, was awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest-serving actor in a television soap opera this year after being on the cobbles since 1960.
Nick said: "The sparks call me Ken on Hollyoaks set and I do see it as a badge of honour. It is to me and I'm proud of the show. The show has been on for 28 years and shows don't stay on 28 years if people don't watch it. It's as simple as that.”
Revealing how he had been preparing himself for the jungle, he added he had been doing a bit of exercise in the gym “trying to beef up a bit” as he is a bit worried about how he will look on TV now he is nearly 50. But his main fear is going hungry as he loves a midnight snack so much he’s been trying to train himself out of scoffing food during the night for the past few months.
He shared: “I've been doing intermittent fasting, so just trying to not eat like throughout the day and even that's been tough. So I really don't know what I have let myself in for here. But I mean, no one's gonna die over starving in the camp so I'm sure we'll be okay.”
*I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! starts Sunday November 19 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX