Hollyoaks is the latest soap to be hit by budget cuts with bosses looking to slash the number of staff on set by 40%.

The bombshell news has left the cast and crew of the Channel 4 soap reeling. It comes after we revealed last week the cast of ITV ’s Coronation Street also fear some of them will be axed as show bosses look to save cash. Hollyoaks, which has been running since 1995, will drop from five episodes a week to three in September, triggering the large-scale job cuts. A source said: “Hollyoaks has been hit very hard lately and like many other soaps, it is losing viewers on a large scale.

“Bosses hope that by scaling back and reducing the number of episodes per week, they will maximise impact. But as a result, they are no longer able to justify the number of cast and crew on board. It’s heartbreaking as Hollyoaks is really like a family. “The bosses will do everything they can to look after people and are putting together generous redundancy packages. But losing people who have been on the soap for years is a body blow.”

Last year, Hollyoaks won Best Storyline at the British Soap Awards for its plot about incel Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty) targeting Mason Chen-Williams (Frank Kauer) and Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson). Casting director Peter Hunt also won the Tony Warren Award at the ceremony. Last month, Channel 4 said the show would move to a “drop pattern built around evolving viewer habits”.

Chief content officer Ian Katz admitted the changes “will impact production” but vowed to work alongside Lime Pictures to minimise that. Hollyoaks’ executive producer Hannah Cheers also addressed the “speculation” surrounding the soap’s future. She said: “The genre’s ability to initiate important conversations is unparalleled, especially when it comes served up with joy, humour and jaw-dropping twists. I want future generations to experience that. As someone who was brought up on the nation’s soaps, their value must not be underestimated.”