Hollyoaks: Enjoy the Ride
The storyline focuses on the double wedding of Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) and Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) alongside Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and Doug Carter (PJ Brennan).
Jono (Dylan Llewellyn) and Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) plan to elope to Gretna Green, so Maddie Morrison (Scarlett Bowman) steals a minibus.
Filming took place on location at Knowsley Hall, which Pickard described as a "very grand setting for a big Hollyoaks disaster".
It was initially reported by Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy that "at least two characters are expected to be killed off in the momentous episodes, but their identities will be kept closely under wraps until transmission".
When the scenes aired, four regular characters were killed off in the disaster: Neil Cooper (Tosin Cole), Maddie Morrison (Scarlett Bowman), Rhys Ashworth (Andrew Moss) and Martin "Jono" Johnson (Dylan Llewellyn).
They were well shot and suspenseful and you really were on the edge of your seat seeing who would survive".The episodes achieved high ratings for the serial.
In the run-up to Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and Doug Carter's (PJ Brennan) double wedding alongside Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) and Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring), Tony confronts Rhys Ashworth (Andy Moss) about his affair with Cindy.
Jono (Dylan Llewellyn) and Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) have a joint stag and hen party, planning to elope to Gretna Green the next day.
The Osbornes discover her missing but do not worry because Jack points out that Ruby and Jono will not be able to marry legally; they have not given the necessary notice for a wedding licence.
Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke) has forgotten to organise transport for Jono, Ruby and their wedding guests, and cannot drive everyone to Gretna Green as he is under the influence of drugs.
When nearing the venue of the double wedding, Maddie is distracted by Bart and Esther behind them, and does not see Leah Barnes (Ela-May Demircan) in the road.
Bart refuses to help those injured in the bus crash, because he believes that both he and Esther will be sent to jail for causing death while driving under the influence.
A show source told Hill that it was a "huge stunt" and that "a lot of money has been spent making it look as realistic as possible.
He explained that together they "decided that it was time for a big, show-stopping, blockbuster sequence to grab the audience's attention and hopefully bring them back to Hollyoaks.
Shaffer explained that Esther and Bart are doing it out of the "goodness of their hearts" and are not being malicious in trying to stop the wedding but "a certain amount of blame does have to lie with them!
Waring told All About Soap magazine that Cindy decides to "run away" with Rhys, which is witnessed by Tony but then "she looks up and sees the bus coming right for them!"
[6] Soap expert Susan Hill, writing for the Daily Star noted that Tony, Cindy, Rhys, Ste, Doug, Ruby, Maddie and Neil were all possibilities to die in the storyline.
[10] In the following and concluding episode of the week another "shock" death aired when Jono who had appeared uninjured from the crash died from undetected internal injures.
[11] Kirkwood explained that the "high death toll was a mix of [himself and Smithwick] feeling that some characters had come to the end of the line, and other actors deciding it was time for them to go".
[4] Pickard revealed that the cast filmed on-location at Knowsley Hall, which he felt is a "very grand setting for a big Hollyoaks disaster".
[12] Shaffer expressed that the cast members involved in the minibus crash "got knocked about doing some of the scenes in the van" which resulted in her receiving "huge bruises all over".
Cindy and Rhys are torn apart as they reach to each other, Ste and Doug float through empty space while holding on to each other and Maddie drops into darkness.
She explained that the trailer closes with Jacqui as an "abstract tear" rolls down her face, which was added using a "dropper" after the scene was filmed.
[22][23] On Digital Spy's 2012 end of year reader poll, Enjoy the Ride was nominated for Best Storyline and came third when it received 25.0% of the vote.
Continuing, Sarah commented: "There's no expense spared as the minibus loses control and ploughs into the wedding venue, crashing straight through and out the other side.
Sarah said "there are standout performances from some of my all-time favourite Hollyoaks stars, including Claire Cooper, Andrew Moss, Nick Pickard and Stephanie Waring.
Claire Cooper is fabulous as always, and watch out for Andrew Moss, Steph Waring and Jazmine Franks, who all act their socks off".
Barrett concluded that viewers will not want to miss the fourth episode when "the fallout from the dramatic wedding day continues.
After the queen bee saved her own skin by leaving poor Neil to die in pain when the minibus exploded, she was a goner herself after the flaming car door flew off the vehicle and crushed her.
They were well shot and suspenseful and you really were on the edge of your seat seeing who would survive – especially since the show had teased that two characters were going to die, though they actually ended up killing off four".
