Hollyoaks was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera Brookside and the BBC children's drama Grange Hill.

The show began in 1995 with a cast of fifteen characters, seven of whom were teenagers who received the main focus; all of these original teen actors had left the series before 2000 except Nick Pickard.

Nick Pickard, who has played Tony Hutchinson since the first episode, revealed he was originally only signed for 26 episodes, making his continued presence since the show's inception particularly notable.

Although set in the fictional version of Chester, the majority of Hollyoaks is filmed at Lime Pictures' studios in Childwall, Liverpool, since moving location filming from Chester to Liverpool for every block became too expensive.

The original opening theme tune was written and performed by Steve Wright, who also created music for Brookside and Grange Hill; the titles were revamped multiple times over the years, including a delayed 2010 relaunch due to a reported reshoot.

Several real music acts have appeared performing in Hollyoaks episodes, including McFly in 2009 (who also had speaking roles convincing two characters to date), Darius Campbell in 2003, and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly in 2008.

Hollyoaks was the first British soap opera to broadcast a 'non-linear' week in September 2009, telling storylines out of chronological order, an idea pitched by writer Richard Burke.

In December 2009, Hollyoaks made soap history again by airing a flashforward episode that jumped its timeline six months into the future to show the second wedding of Calvin Valentine and Carmel McQueen.

A 2007 episode depicting characters suffering carbon monoxide poisoning at a party reportedly helped a real viewer recognize she was experiencing symptoms of a genuine carbon monoxide leak in her home, prompting her to seek medical treatment that saved her life.

In 2009, Hollyoaks faced criticism for a storyline in which character Loretta Jones was revealed to have killed a child at age twelve, due to perceived similarities to the real-life murder of James Bulger; the victim's mother Denise Fergus publicly objected, and producers ultimately pulled the storyline from transmission.