Hollyoaks star QUITS soap after two years amid 20-person cast cull
HOLLYOAKS’ Jon-Paul Bell has allegedly quit the soap after two years on screen.
The actor is the latest to announce he’s leaving after bosses have culled 20 cast members.
Jon-Paul, who has played Beau since 2022, has removed all references to Hollyoaks from his Instagram bio.
A source told The Sun: “His character has been seriously under-used recently – he’s looking forward to booking other jobs and moving forward in his career”
This comes after he shared a posed snap with his Instagram followers, telling them he had a “busy few weeks ahead”, tagging Hollyoaks.
Jon-Paul recently appeared in Apple TV+ Masters of Air, an American war drama miniseries based on the 2007 book.
Jon-Paul hasn’t officially announced his departure from the show and The Sun has approached Hollyoaks for comment.
The actor is one of many leaving the E4 soap after it announced some major changes amid dropping ratings.
It was revealed that the series will be reduced from five weeknight episodes to three from September this year.
Executive producer Hannah Cheers announced that 20 cast members would be axed during the transition between the five and three episode format of the show.
In order to facilitate the huge change making sense with the plot of the show, writers will skip through a “lost year” in Chester.
Hannah added this shake-up will sadly involve waving “goodbye to some much-loved Hollyoaks villagers – and some earlier than we would have expected to.”
Jon’s departure comes after Matthew James Bailey decided to bow out of the soap after playing Ethan Williams for three years.
Who is leaving Hollyoaks?
Show bosses had to make some tough decisions in order to cut back on costs - resulting in stars being axed or choosing to walk. So who is leaving Hollyoaks?
Steph Waring – Cindy Cunningham
Jonas Khan – Zain Rizaan
Ross Adams – Scott Drinkwell
Jamie Lomas – Warren Fox
David Ames – Carter Shepherd
Owen Warner – Romeo Nightingale
Chelsee Healey – Goldie McQueen
Emma Rigby – Hannah Ashworth
Ashling O’Shea – Nadira Valli
Erin Palmer – Ella Richardson
Chris Gordon – Rafe Harcourt
Jemma Donovan – Rayne Royce
Tamara Wall – Grace Black
Jacob Roberts – Damon Kinsella
Ethan first turned up in Chester when he kidnapped Darren Osborne – after he spotted the man robbing a jewellers with his girlfriend Maya Harkwell.
Things took a dark turn between him and Maya, as Ethan grew increasingly scared of her.
Their partnership ended when Maya tried to kill his step niece and he shot her, leaving the woman with a fatal wound.
But in recent months Matthew’s character hasn’t been at the centre of any significant storylines, and some think that is why the actor decided to quit.
Jonas Khan, who played Zain Rizwaan, is also leaving the show after two years in the role.
His character’s storylines have seen Zain and Misbaah get married, as well as Zain suffering a stroke.
Steph Waring, who has been on the soap for 28 years, is preparing to also step away.
She became the second actress to play Cindy Cunningham, taking over from original portrayer Laura Crossley.
Ross Adams, who plays Scott Drinkwell also announced earlier this year that he would be leaving after a nine-year stint.
Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox) and Owen Warner (Romeo Nightingale) are said to have volunteered to leave Hollyoaks.