Fans of the show get further clues to his whereabouts, as Hollyoaks villagers find out about his brief escape
Can Sienna and Tony help find their friend before it’s too late?
A real-world scene filmed live in Chester last Thursday will appear in today’s episode – which can be streamed today on C4.com or watched tonight on E4 at 7pm.
In filming innovation that saw live footage inserted into the episode within hours of it being shot, the footage carried clues about where missing Ste is being held.
Dedicated viewers of the Channel 4 continuing drama Hollyoaks who last week followed clues to Chester, were caught up in an immersive scene with Ste.
The mystery today/tonight moved back on-screen as news of Ste’s re-appearance spread into Hollyoaks village.
Hollyoaks has secured a ‘soap-first’ by taking a story from linear broadcast, into street theatre with multi-platform content extensions across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
Footage of the event, at the historic Chester Cross at Bridge Street, saw Ste’s story take a surprise turn, as he escaped from his captors.
Wednesday’s episode of Hollyoaks had seen the van that he has been kept in, driven off from its original site, as the net closed in on finding him.
It was then revealed in a social clip that the captors had headed into Chester, close to where the fictional village of Hollyoaks is set.
The character of Ste was spotted by the crowd, escaping from the van and handing a note to onlookers with a clue to his whereabouts, before being bundled back in.
Earlier on, characters from another family, The McQueens, had stopped shoppers in their tracks, after a bride and groom had a bust-up at their church.
And budding singers Kathleen-Angel and Maddox delighted fans by busking with even the Chester Town Crier involved.
Much-loved character Ste Hay has been the concern of residents in Hollyoaks, who have been searching for him in an on-screen mystery that started in early September.
Chiming with the live event, the character disappeared suddenly from a shopping centre, also watched by a live audience, as it was not closed for the filming.
Executive producer Hannah Cheers explained creating the idea with series producer Si Wall, after visiting Edinburgh Fringe.
She said: “We always think and talk about how we can innovate and tell a story differently and, in this instance, take a traditional mystery and bring it to life in a completely different way.
“We wondered, how we would feel, if we were sat down on a rainy day in our favourite café and one of our most-loved characters stumbled out, emerging into our world.
“The disappearance grew from there, knowing the live event would be at an intergral point within that story. In 2026 people want connection and Hollyoaks can still do that.”
Channel 4 commissioner Lucy Raffety said: “This was a fabulously creative and ambitious idea, brilliantly executed with zeal and passion by the Hollyoaks team, delivering original, memorable and innovative drama, as only Hollyoaks does.”
