Hollyoaks legend Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) faces the prospect of a grisly

end as he’s left fighting for his life after being stabbed.

The eponymous village’s resident gangster, as fans know, is set to depart

later this year ahead of the Channel 4 soap’s brand new era, which will see episodes reduced from five a week to three.

Jamie, who has played Warren on and off for 18 years, confirmed in an exclusive

interview with Metro that he made the decision to leave prior to the news of the broadcast changes breaking.

‘Hannah [Cheers, Hollyoaks boss] and the story team have been planning my exit for a long time,’ he told us.

‘I felt like the stories [in the media] that came out were a little bit unfair because it looks rushed, like I’m leaving so they have to write this quick exit, but they’ve been planning this for a long time so that was a little bit unfair as well.

‘Hollyoaks does amazing stories and this is going to be brilliant. It’s a real rollercoaster ride from start to finish. I’m really excited for the fans to see where they go with this.’

It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for Warren, who has spiralled out of control since discovering that Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) accidentally killed Ella Richardson (Erin Palmer).

After attempting to kill Ste, Warren decided to change tactics, using the cleaner to help him with his dodgy deals, which included supplying drugs – the very same drugs which led to the tragic deaths of Lizzie Chen-Williams (Lily Best) and Hunter McQueen (Theo Graham).

Yes, Warren has certainly wracked up a number of enemies – not only this year but over the course of his two decades in the village – and one of those enemies attempted to claim his life last week in a drive by shooting but luckily he was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time.

The storyline takes a turn next week, however, with Warren coming to believe that a mysterious gangster named Blue – who is said to have vanished in 2017 – is attempting to destroy his life.

He therefore insists that Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) and her unborn babies aren’t safe in the village.

The narrative will play out over the next few months, and will likely tie in to Warren’s exit, which is being filmed on-location.

New pictures show Jamie and co-star Jennifer Metcalfe shooting the scenes in question – and it’s safe to say it’s not looking good for Warren.

The co-owner of The Loft is bleeding out, having been stabbed in the abdomen, with a heartbroken Mercedes desperately trying to save him.

The former lovers unite once again, sharing a passionate kiss, but Warren is subsequently bundled into a van – but not before he hands Mercy what appears to be a bag of cash.

The question is: will Warren die in the heart racing scenes?

And just who is to blame? Is it the mysterious Blue? If so, just what has Warren done to the elusive criminal that has resulted in him seeking such violent revenge?

Warren isn’t the only character set to leave the show in the coming weeks, with Scott Drinkwell star Ross Adams having already wrapped filming after nine years.

Stephanie Waring, who plays the iconic Cindy Cunningham, confirmed in March that her character was one of those axed amid the casting cuts, with the soap star having concluded filming this week.

Matthew James Bailey, who portrays fan-favourite Ethan Williams, is also set to exit, which similarly devastated fans, and reports have also suggested that Jon-Paul Bell – who plays Beau Ramsey – is leaving as well.

To facilitate the cast changes and the reduction of episodes, Hollyoaks will take a historic time jump in September, with events being set one year in the future from there on out.

‘The new three episode pattern offers us a different model of storytelling, which means we’ll see characters on screen for much longer,’ said boss Hannah Cheers. ‘Our viewers are really smart; in order to serve them well we need to kick off this new structure in a meaningful way.

‘Fast-forwarding the show permanently by a year presents us with unlimited story possibilities. We are now a streaming-first soap and can lean into less-restricting and conventional structures.’

Hollyoaks streams weeknights at 7:30pm on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4. 

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