Hollyoaks is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2016, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive producer, Bryan Kirkwood. The first character to be introduced was James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan), a mysterious solicitor who begins manipulating Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and is later revealed to be the eldest Nightingale sibling, while February saw the arrival of Marnie Nightingale (Lysette Anthony), the Nightingale family matriarch. Liam Donovan (Maxim Baldry), Jesse Donovan (Luke Jerdy), and Adam Donovan (Jimmy Essex), the half-brothers of Grace Black (Tamara Wall) were introduced in March and April, with Lisa Loveday (Rachel Adedeji), the missing daughter of Simone Loveday (Jacqueline Boatswain) and Louis Loveday (Karl Collins), making her first appearance in late April.
D.S. Armstrong (Andrew Hayden-Smith), a police officer, debuted in June. August saw the first appearance of Maria (Fernanda Diniz), the former wife of Diego Salvador Martinez Hernandez De La Cruz (Juan Pablo Yepez), Ryan Knight (Duncan James), the fiancée of Amy Barnes (Ashley Slanina-Davies), and Courtney Campbell (Amy Conachan), the cousin of Cameron Campbell (Cameron Moore). Tracey Donovan (Lisa Maxwell), the mother of Grace, Liam, Jesse and Adam, joined the recurring cast in September, while Juanita Salvador Martinez Hernandez De La Cruz (Jacey Sallés), the mother of Diego, and Billy Brodie (Clive Russell), the estranged brother of Jack Osborne (Jimmy McKenna), were introduced for guest appearances.
Nick Savage, the nephew of Dirk Savage (David Kennedy), and Eva Falco (Kerry Bennett), the estranged niece of Jack, made their first appearances as regular characters in September. The McQueen family were expanded in November with the arrivals of Goldie McQueen (Chelsee Healey), Prince McQueen (Malique Thompson-Dwyer) and Hunter McQueen (Theo Graham). Marnie's mother Tabitha Maxwell-Brown (Linda Gray) was introduced in November, while Dr. Barton (Amanda Muggleton), a doctor treating Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox), appeared in December.