Hollyoaks actors set for fundraising football match against Friends Fighting Cancer at Fleetlands FC this weekend

Flashback to October 2016 and Hollyoaks actors Malique Thompson, Parry Glasspool, Maxim Baldry, Duayne Boachie, Maz Ajtar (personal trainer) and Nick Rhys are pictured at Havant & Waterlooville's Westleigh Park. Picture by Mick Young

Football-loving actors from a long-running soap opera are paying a third visit to the Portsmouth area in seven years this weekend.

A Hollyoaks XI are set to play a game at Fleetlands FC this Sunday in aid of Friends Fighting Cancer.

FFC, which has a shop selling football and sports memorabilia in Cosham High Street, is a charity that supports families affected by cancer.

Actors from the soap, which first aired on Channel 4 in the mid-1990s, are no strangers to the region.

In 2016 a Hollyoaks XI played a Capita Havant XI at Westleigh Park, and the following year a FFC team welcomed the Hollyoaks team to Horndean’s Five Heads Park.

The latter match was watched by a crowd of over 400, and organisers are hoping for a similar turnout this weekend.

The FFC XI will be managed by Rich Bessey, a well-known figure on the local grassroots football scene from his time with Hayling United, Paulsgrove and Fleetlands.

Bessey will take charge of FFC on Sunday morning in a City of Portsmouth League fixture, before dashing over to Fleetlands’ Powder Monkey Park, in Lederle Lane on the outskirts of Gosport.

Some of his Sunday morning team will also be playing against the Hollyoaks XI, but he has also drafted in other players who have taken part in the annual FFC tournament.

Every year a handful of teams are formed, each given the name of someone from the Portsmouth region that has passed away as a result of cancer.

In 2022 Bessey managed the team named in memory of John Logie, with the side winning the competition.

‘FFC is a brilliant charity,’ Bessey told The News. ‘We are holding the game to raise awareness that they are here for anyone suffering from cancer.

‘The charity can change people’s lives.’

This Sunday’s fund-raising friendly kicks off at 2pm. Ticket prices are £5 for adults, £3 for 5-17-year-olds and under-5s are admitted free.