Feeds
His reign began with the explosion at the local watering hole,The Dog, which ultimately led to a cast clear-out including twins Mel and Sophie Burton and Joe Spencer.
However, the 31-year-old's plethora of new cast and re-establishment of existing characters, alongside a wedge of dramatic, heart-wrenching and comedic storylines has propelled the show to where it is today.
Bryan's brainchild, the McQueen family, has led to what some may regard as one of the most iconic storylines in Hollyoaks' history - Craig's love for John Paul while his decision to recast villain Clare Cunningham resulted in the 'Who Pushed Clare?' plot which dominated the summer months and climaxed in a stunt that produced some of the most spectacular scenes the soap has ever filmed.
Meanwhile, Hannah Ashworth's anorexia ordeal successfully brought to the fore the real dangers and serious consequences of eating disorders, with the programme being the first to air an anorexic death.
Here, Bryan speaks exclusively to Digital Spy about what's in store for the soap's key characters over the next few months including the festive period, the 'McDean' storyline, the transformation of the show since his arrival and the perception of the show's sexy image.
And thanks to Bryan, one lucky Craig Dean fan could walk away with a genuine and iconic wardrobe item
There's been a lot of controversy surrounding James Sutton's comments about EastEnders...
"What James was alluding to was a comment made by Jake Wood that was never said. The was a comment by another EastEnders cast member that may or may not have been misquoted in the first place about Hollyoaks stars always out partying which James took great offence at. I understand where James was coming from he's a very passionate man and he takes his job very seriously. I think his wording was quite unhelpful and I've had a word with him about it.
"He accepts totally that he should have thought before he spoke. I've chatted to Diederick [Santer] and I think that we're all working as hard as we can to produce four or five episodes a week and we get enough flack from elsewhere without having to resort to picking on each other.
"And that goes across the board really, onto internet forums such as Digital Spy. When you get viewers knocking seven bells out of each other simply because of their chosen soap, it can get relentlessly depressing there's far more interesting and up-beat things to be debating and discussing than 'my soap's better than your soap'."
How do you feel about your NTA nominations?
"Delighted. Last year was the first year that Hollyoaks had been nominated for an award other than 'Best Soap' and this year we've done it again. We've got nominations in 'Best Actor' and 'Best Newcomer' for James Sutton and Gemma Merna respectively.
"It's great recognition in a national vote that we can get into the final four in the nominations and it reflects the massive step forward that the show has taken over the past couple of years."
Were you pleased with how the Hannah storyline came across on screen?
"Yeah. A lot of the stories that have been playing out this year were conceived in my first long-term conference in January 2006, so we knew we were heading toward this story with Hannah but we had to put a year's worth of groundwork in first to get to the point where she'd turn initially to bulimia as a way out.
"It was a long time coming and it bubbled under the surface. When the press leapt on it and it was revealed that Melissa would die, it really took me by surprise that it was such a newsworthy story. But ultimately, it was gratifying that we could tell a story that could capture the interest as much.
"Emma Rigby has proved herself to be one of the all-time Hollyoaks greats. She's a very bright girl, a terrific actress and she took the storyline so seriously. She undertook her own research as well as the official research that the show took on and she attended counseling sessions with sufferers of eating disorders. You've no idea how much effort she put into that story and I think the results were clear on screen."
Where do we see Hannah go from here?
"It's a tricky one when you deal with issues on soaps because you've got to be true to the illness and you've got to act responsibly when portraying someone's recovery. But at the same time, you run the risk of viewers switching off when they're bored of the story that's the balance you have to strike.
"We'll see Hannah being released from hospital having made some strides into a recovery. Soon after, we'll get her together with Danny Valentine who's a very up-beat, optimistic, fun new character who I'm very pleased with. So his kind of personality will help Hannah move forward and shake off the 'down aspect' of the illness story, while still maintaining the true nature of her recovery which won't be the main story but will be an undercurrent to everything she does from now on."
The McDean storyline has been a huge hit for Hollyoaks and has really consumed fans - what's been the highlight of it all for you?
"Again, I have to say that, while I always knew it was going to be a good story, the audience reaction to 'McDean' took me by surprise as well. In my head, Justin/Becca and Max/Clare were the biggies which drew to a close last year and I worried that we weren't ever going to invoke the same audience reaction as we did for those two stories. And then John Paul and Craig came along and blew them out of the water, really.
"Stories like that you can't plan for. You can put the planning in, you can get the storylines, you can get the writing, you can get the actor and then certain intangible things come along like chemistry which pique the public interest and it starts to move in a whole different direction.
"As I've said before, I'm very proud of the story, very proud of the actors, delighted with how it's been received and the amazing support it continues to have."
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