Hollyoaks has unveiled a brand new winter trailer, and with it, five new characters who are set to move into the village. Things are about to get frosty, folks.

As the Channel 4 soap gears up for a bitter winter – and some festive fun too, of course – a new trailer for the series has confirmed the impending arrival of five new residents.

Although, there are some faces you might already recognise.

Among the new cast members are Matthew James-Bailey and Ky Discala, who will play Ethan and Maya, respectively.

hollyoaks, darren kidnapper
Lime Pictures

Related: Hollyoaks reveals Darren Osborne's kidnapper

'Oaks viewers will have caught a brief glimpse of troublemaker Ethan earlier this month, but he'll make his official debut during Friday's first-look E4 episode on November 26.

Maya, Ethan's girlfriend and a dangerous criminal herself, will make her first appearance on Monday, November 29.

Ethan was first introduced when it was revealed that Darren Osbourne had been kidnapped, but the new winter trailer teases a much darker potential outcome, as Ethan plots to kill the fan-favourite character.

Ethan finds himself under pressure from his girlfriend Maya, who makes no bones about ruining people's lives. Village residents will want to look out for this 'Femme Fatale'.

serena aka galaxy in hollyoaks
Lime Pictures

Related: Hollyoaks hints at romance for Sid as newcomer Serena arrives

The winter trailer also reveals new character Honour – Warren Fox's new prison psychiatrist – and Lizzie, a potential love interest for Sid Sumner.

Speaking of Sid, fans may have also noticed the return of Galaxy in the winter preview. This time, she'll be back as Serena, rather than her alias – and it looks like she has a close connection to Sid's latest date, Lizzie.

Talking about joining the Hollyoaks family, Matthew James-Bailey said that his first scenes as Ethan have been "incredibly fun" to film.

"I won't give too much away, but Ethan is here to shake things up and bring a new, albeit 'manic', energy to the village – unfortunately so for Darren," he teased.

hollyoaks, darren
Lime Pictures

"And he won't be the last to have the displeasure of meeting Ethan... Ethan's definitely coming in with a bang."

Ky Discala is equally thrilled to be joining the cast as Maya, saying that it's been "great" to play the soap's "new female villain".

"She's ruthless," Ky added. "Unfortunately for Darren, he was her next victim, which not only sees him but the whole village on their toes..."

Hollyoaks airs new episodes from Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first-look screenings at 7pm on E4. Selected omnibus episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video.


Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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Rianne Houghton
Rianne Houghton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy.