HOLLYOAKS producer Lime Pictures is lining up product placement deals that will see well-known brands pay to appear in the show.

The Childwall company is a pioneer in “brand extension” through creating Hollyoaks spin-offs that allow fans to interact with the show online.

Now it wants Hollyoaks to be one of the first Channel 4 shows to use “product placement”. The practice was banned in the UK, but was allowed by regulator Ofcom earlier this year.

Lime has long worked with Channel 4 to find and exploit commercial opportunities for Hollyoaks.

Speaking to LDP Business magazine, Lime’s managing director Sean Marley said: “We’ve been actively preparing for this world for a long, long time.

“Channel 4 has identified Hollyoaks as a perfect vehicle for this.

“Because of its all-year-round market, it lends itself very well to long partnerships. And because it’s made quite close to transmission, it can be on-trend with whatever product you like.

“We are talking to a number of parties and we are quite close to doing deals that the audience will see as a very natural fit to Hollyoaks.

“It’s taken up a lot of my time – but in a good way.”

Product placement is, says Mr Marley, an obvious move for shows such as Hollyoaks. Until now, shows have not been able to show real brands.

“The producers of Hollyoaks and the wardrobe team want to reflect the real world, but we cannot reflect real products properly,” he said. “This allows us to reflect that.”