September 5th 2024.
It's official - Hollyoaks fans will soon have to say goodbye to one of their beloved stars. Annie Wallace, who plays the role of Sally St Claire, has confirmed that she will be leaving the long-running Channel 4 soap. However, the decision to leave was not Annie's choice. The popular serial drama, which has been a staple of teatime TV in the UK, will be reducing its weekly episodes from five to three starting next week. This news was announced earlier this year and it was also revealed that a number of cast members would be let go in order to facilitate the change.
In March, Stephanie Waring, who has portrayed Cindy Cunningham for almost three decades, shared that her iconic character was one of the many who were being axed by the show's bosses. Following this, other beloved characters such as Tom Cunningham, Ethan Williams, and Charlie Dean were also confirmed to be exiting in the upcoming weeks. Now, after nine years of being a part of the Hollyoaks family, Annie has revealed that she too will be saying goodbye to the show. She shared that her final scenes have already been filmed and she discussed her departure with The Agency.
"We were told at the end of March," she said. "There was a big day when the cast were told [if they were staying or going]. Some people came out and said it and others kept it to themselves so I decided to keep it to myself - to let people find out in the fullness of time. I just carried on."
Annie admitted that she has been mostly ignoring the fact that she will be leaving and has been focusing on her work. However, as the time for her departure drew closer, she couldn't help but get emotional. "It was when it was headed to the last few weeks that I started to get a bit emotional. I started thinking what costumes I was going to take home with me and things like that," she shared. "The last filming days were really quite intense. My last day was July 31, so I've had a month to decompress - and I have decompressed. I was very upset. There is no lying about it. It's my career and I love the show."
Throughout her time on Hollyoaks, Annie's character Sally has been a fan favorite. She has been a part of many huge storylines, from her whirlwind romance with Myra to her unintentional killing of PC George Kiss. She has also been a pillar of support for the McQueen clan, offering guidance and advice to the younger members of the family. As the headteacher of Hollyoaks High, she has also shown genuine care and concern for her students. In the real world, the character has been equally loved by the audience, so news of her departure will no doubt come as a shock.
"It will be a shock," said Annie. "There's been no hints about Sally." She also shared that she believes her character still had a lot to offer and that she would have loved to see her find love. "There's certain people on forums that think Sally has outlived her usefulness but I disagree," she said. "The one thing I would've loved is for her to find love. I think it's the one thing I regret that, in nine years, it didn't happen. The fling with Myra was just them harking back to a romance they had when they were 20. They rode the wave of nostalgia until it came crashing down. I think it would've been lovely to see Sally actually meet someone and forge a relationship."
Annie also mentioned that she was watching Classic Coronation Street and thought it was a shame that Sally didn't find her "Roy or Hayley" in the show. But despite her character's exit, Annie is open to reprising her role in the future. "The one thing [problem] is maybe I could end up in some show, contracted, and then when they call for me I'm not available," she shared. "That could happen. It would be a shame because I don't think I would ever say no to coming back, but if I was working elsewhere, who knows? There's a lot of 'I don't know' - and that discomforts me. I like a bit of structure in my work life. That being taken away has left me a little bit adrift."
As of next week, Hollyoaks will only air on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays at 7pm on E4 or can be streamed from 7am on Channel 4. If you have any soap or TV stories, videos, or pictures, you can get in touch by emailing us - we would love to hear from you. Don't forget to leave a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.
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