Hollyoaks and Brookside to crossover again as three legendary characters arrive in the village

The worlds of Hollyoaks and Brookside are set to combine once again, as fan-favourite Tim 'Tinhead' O'Leary swans into the village - and into one resident's bed!

He's not alone, as sister-in-law Nikki Shadwick (Suzanne Collins) strikes up a friendship with Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe), and Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney (Michael Starke) is also roaming the Chester streets in his black cab.

Cheeky chappy Tin' made his first appearance on the now defunct Channel 4 soap in 1996, before becoming a resident of the cul de sac the following year. He would continue to appear until the final episode in November 2003.

During his time on the show he caused a near-fatal accident that almost killed his sister Melanie (Elizabeth Lovelady), found an unlikely mate in Sinbad and turned to a life of crime, which saw the death of wife Emily (Jennifer Ellison) in a botched robbery.

So beloved, actor Philip Olivier was selected as one of a few former Brookie actors to reprise their roles in a special crossover edition of Hollyoaks. He shared scenes with Collins as Nikki, who first joined the cast in 1998.

The instalment, which aired as part of 'Oaks's 30th Anniversary celebrations, came into fruition as a result of the two soaps being created by Sir Phil Redmond.

At the conclusion of the episode, Tinhead batted his eyelashes at troubled Marie Fielding (Rita Simons), who had bought a house on the famed Liverpudlian housing estate.

Starke played Sinbad across two stints between 1984 and 2000, first arriving in Hollyoaks as taxi driver 'Benny' in 2021. No explanation was given for his name change, and folk now refer to him as Sinbad once again!

Now, in upcoming Hollyoaks scenes, Liberty Savage (Jessamy Stoddart) is on cloud nine after finding a potential new love – her first chance of a relationship since controversially hooking up with her half-sister Sienna's (Anna Passey) murderous dad Jez (Jeremy Sheffield) - it's Tinhead!

It seems he has somewhat of an ulterior motive for being in Chester, but what is it?

Meanwhile, as the 2026 trailer shows, newcomer Jenson - played by Waterloo Road and Coronation Street star Ryan Clayton - enjoys a flirtatious moment with Mercedes.

Later we see him having words with Tinhead, who is seemingly using Warren’s identity. Elsewhere, Nikki strikes up a friendship with Mercedes at a local rehabilitation facility.

Elsewhere, having broken up with partner Misbah Maalik (Harvey Virdi) at Christmas, Donny Clark (Louis Emerick) – who lived most of his life as Mick Johnson on Brookside – needs to escape from the village. He's troubled following a sexual assault last year, and calls on old pal Sinbad for help.

Speaking of her return, Collins said: “I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw Nikki has a friendship with the iconic Mercedes. I’m a huge fan of Jen, always have been. She’s an incredible actress.

“The response to the crossover was incredible, so warm and positive. I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but since getting the news that Nikki would be returning I’ve been floating around on cloud nine with the biggest secret smile on my face.”

Olivier added: “I’m so happy to be back in the building. Tinhead’s got a new fling this time around but he’s also got some unfinished business lurking in the background.”

Hollyoaks is available to watch on catch-up on Channel 4 and airs Monday to Wednesday on E4.

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