Three 'Hollyoaks' questions answered

Sometimes certain questions crop up again and again on our forum and in my inbox, and this update is because I can finally help with a trio of Hollyoaks-related matters!

How old is Riley Costello?
This one gets asked a lot on our forum because Riley's initial character descriptions billed him as 17, yet since he's appeared on screen fans have noticed that he seems older due to his friendships with characters like Ethan and relationship with Mercedes.

After asking those in the know, I can confirm that Riley is 19-years-old. He was originally supposed to be 17, but when Rob Norbury was cast in the role it was decided that he'd have to be slightly older. Show bosses thought that Rob would be perfect as Riley and, as he's been a successful new addition to the cast, it seems to have worked out well.


What happened to Evissa?
This is another one that gets mentioned a lot on the forum as the beauty salon disappeared after the fire and was replaced by Price Slice without being addressed directly.

There's no big revelation with this one: after the fire, the property was sold off screen to Price Slice. Spencer was the owner of the business so it would seem that it was his decision.

Carmel, who was an employee at Evissa, is now working in Tony's spa and also has her new nun duties to keep her busy!


Has the Silas storyline been dropped?
In interviews last year, then-producer Paul Marquess said that serial killer Silas would be a dangerous presence in the village throughout 2011. However, as Lynsey and Riley both get suspicious of Silas next week, there's been some speculation that Hollyoaks' new boss Gareth Philips could have decided to bring the plot's conclusion forward.

After asking Hollyoaks, however, I can confirm that the plan is still for the Silas plot to be a year-long storyline with more peaks and troughs in the coming months. So the villagers will have to stay on their guard!


DS