Ashworth family

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Ashworth family
Hollyoaks family
First appearance3 October 2005
Last appearance16 June 2015
Created byDavid Hanson
Introduced byDavid Hanson
Duration2005-15

The Ashworth family are a fictional family in the long-running Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks . Introduced to the show in 2005, the family derives from Manchester and moved to Hollyoaks village in 2005. The characters have been involved in storylines such as secret siblings, anorexia, drug abuse, incest and paternity issues. With Phoebe McQueen, the deceased Rhys Ashworth's adoptive daughter`s recent murder in June 2015, there are officially no longer any Ashworth family members left in Hollyoaks, besides Darren Osborne, who between 2009 until 2011 was married to Hannah Ashworth; though, their marriage ended in divorce.

History

The Ashworth family first arrived in 2005, introduced by producer David Hanson. They moved to Hollyoaks village from Manchester with family friend, Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan). Nev (Jim Millea) and Suzanne (Suzanne Hall) had fallen in love at a young age and married, however, in 1986, Suzanne fell for Nev's younger brother Noel's (Craig Cheetham) charms and the pair slept together. After this, she gave birth to her first child, Rhys (Andrew Moss). Nev forgave Suzanne and Noel and they decided that Nev would raise the child as his own. In 1988, Noel had an illegitimate daughter, named Beth (Sinéad Moynihan), to a woman named Mary. Noel visited rarely but did stay in contact with his daughter. In 1989, Suzanne became pregnant again, this time it was Nev's, they had a girl named Hannah (Emma Rigby). In 1991, Nev and Suzanne had Josh (Sonny Flood), their final child together. At a young age, Rhys fell into a river and almost drowned, however was saved by Gilly. The pair became best friends and Gilly became one of the family. Also close to the family was Jamie "Fletch" Fletcher (Sam Darbyshire), cousin of Rhys, Hannah and Josh, who was also his best friend. Although it was never fully established how Fletch relates to Nev or Suzanne, it is most likely one of his parents is Suzanne's sibling, given her maiden name of Fletcher.

In 2008, Emma Rigby, who plays Hannah, decided to leave Hollyoaks. [1] Following this news, it was revealed that Rigby had extended her contract. [2] Rigby again extended her contract, and left the series onscreen in January 2010. [3]

Later in 2010, new producer Paul Marquess axed the family, except Andrew Moss (Rhys), as part of his overhaul of the series. [4] Neville, Suzanne, and Josh left for Spain in July 2010. [5] Rigby expressed her feelings towards the family's exit, saying: "I'm sad it's coming to an end. I think they were quite emotional when they left. I don't think they were quite ready to go. But I suppose they'll all be doing new things." [6]

In Hollyoaks

A frequent visitor, Bill Ashworth is the father of Nev who adored Hannah, yet was not liked by Josh. However, Josh and Fletch began to see Bill was lonely, and ended up sneaking him out of his care home. Josh and Amy Barnes formed a band called the 'Baby Diegos' with Michaela, Sasha and Fletch. Josh made enemies of Ste Hay and Wayne Tunnicliffe. Hannah and Nancy Hayton babysat Grace Hutchinson for Tony and Mandy Hutchinson, that night, Grace died of SIDS, leaving Hannah and Nancy feeling shocked and guilt-ridden, believing it was their fault. After this, Hannah began a relationship with uneasy John Paul McQueen. After a night of joyriding, Suzanne gave Amy a check-up and discovered she was pregnant. She then warned Josh to stay away when the pair began a relationship. After the birth of her child Leah, Amy covered up and told Josh that Leah was her sister, born to Mike and Kathy Barnes. Mike became increasingly involved in Josh and Amy's relationship, this ended up with Josh nearly killing him by hitting him over the head with a brick. Josh was arrested, however Mike dropped the charges. After discovering Leah was really her daughter, Josh split up with Amy and told her he could not trust her.

When Sarah became a model and John Paul came out as gay, Hannah turned to Sarah's model friend Melissa Hurst for help and advice. Melissa taught self-conscious Hannah how to be skinny by hiding food and making herself sick. Soon, Hannah began an eating disorder and shut her friends out of her life. Sarah and Nancy assumed Hannah was on drugs. Suzanne then found rotting food in a sideboard in her bedroom and discovered the truth. Hannah was sectioned, both her and Melissa were put in hospital. Melissa escaped and planned to flee Hollyoaks with Hannah, however, tragedy struck when Melissa took a heart attack and died. Hannah was heartbroken by her friend's death but agreed to get help in hospital.

Rhys met Beth Clement when he accidentally ran her over, the pair soon began a relationship, however, not wanting to jinx it, Rhys did not introduce her to his family straight away. Beth stopped seeing Rhys, who was deeply saddened. Neville told Rhys that Noel had died of liver disease. At his funeral, Rhys was introduced to his secret half-sister, who turned out to be Beth. Rhys and Beth agreed to keep quiet about their affair, knowing it was incest. Gilly took an instant liking to Beth and they soon started going out. After months of holding back their feelings, Rhys and Beth slept together, realising they were in love. Beth felt guilty for cheating on Gilly so the pair left to go travelling to Thailand, which angered Rhys. After their return, Gilly proposed to Beth, who shockingly agreed. However, behind Gilly's back, Beth and Rhys began an affair. Meanwhile, recovering Hannah had found love in Danny Valentine, much to racist Nev's dislike. Michaela McQueen caught Rhys and Beth kissing and tried to tell Mercedes, who was Rhys's girlfriend. She refused to believe her, however Michaela got Gilly to return home in the hope he would find them in bed. Gilly did so and caught them in the act. After the secret was out, Rhys and Beth decided to flee together to escape the police. On their departure, Rhys and Beth crashed their camper van into a lorry which immediately killed Beth. Heartbroken Rhys then left for a short time. Hannah and Danny's relationship ended thanks to Darren Osborne and Mercedes

With he and Amy's relationship over and Fletch's addiction to drugs getting out of hand, Josh enlisted Rhys and Gilly to join the 'Baby Diegos', with a name change to 'Dirty Diegos'. Soon, the band broke up and Josh returned to the original line-up, he then attempted to get a record deal, but chose pregnant Amy, as the pair had reconciled, over his dream. Nev bought a few flats in Hollyoaks and then proceeded to buy The Dog on the Pond from Jack and Frankie Osborne. The pub was silent so Nev renamed it The Jolly Roger, this was quickly reverted on realising it had turned into a gay bar. Hannah met Matt Bowman, whom she began to see, however they soon split up. Josh and Amy split up after she gave birth to Lucas Hay and she abandoned him.

Hannah began a relationship with Ash Roy, who became jealous of Hannah's friendship with Justin Burton. Hannah began to realise her feelings for Justin. Ash and Justin challenged each other to a bike race. Ash fiddled with Justin's bike on order to hurt him, however, Hannah got on the bike and was badly injured. After finding out what he did, Hannah ended her relationship with Ash and, with the help of McFly, began seeing Justin. The Asworths were convinced Justin was a bad influence on Hannah. Ash seen an opportunity for revenge and planted food in Hannah's bedroom, which Suzanne found. The Ashworths went to extreme lengths to stop Hannah and Justin's relationship as they believed it was the cause of her "relapse". Hannah planned to leave Hollyoaks with Justin, however she was stopped by Rhys. Eager to leave, Hannah told Rhys that she could not choose who she fell in love with, just like him and Beth. Rhys realised this and let her leave. Hannah went to The Loft to find Justin and was knocked unconscious by Clare Cunningham, who had tied up Warren Fox and planned to kill Justin. Hannah came around as The Loft began to burn, she attacked Clare and the two fell over the banister, where they both lay motionless. Luckily, Justin appeared and saved Hannah, as paramedics struggled with her life, Justin assumed she was dead and left after being accused of starting the fire. With the police after him, Justin convinced Hannah to run away with him, however he realised it would mean she could never see her family again and left her. Hannah was heartbroken and angry over Justin's departure.

Rhys went on a date with Hayley Ramsey, but was put off by her wheelchair. The pair began a love-hate relationship in which Rhys denied liking her. The pair were thrown together in Josh's new band, 'The Somethings' and finally the pair gave in and shared a kiss and began going out. Trying to cope with Justin's exit, Hannah began to drink and spent many nights in the SUBar. She ended the night drunkenly kissing Gilly, which she regretted as they see each other as siblings. Hannah met a man named Stav, who was playing at the SUBar with his band. After, Hannah joined him in a trip to Denmark, where she drunkenly married Darren Osborne. On her return, the couple tried to keep it a secret but were found out. Suzanne tried to get Hannah to get the marriage annulled, however Hannah did not want to be a divorcee at her age and agreed to try to make the marriage work. Over Amy, Josh found a new friend, Dave Colburn, the pair set off for Manchester where they partied hard. In 2010, Hannah left the village. Josh was involved in a drunken car accident and was later jailed for drink driving. Suzanne and Neville's marriage began to strain. This subsequently led her to have an affair with Darren. After Rhys found this out, he alerted Neville, who then threw Suzanne out. Suzanne and Nev agreed to move away for a new life together. Rhys admitted he was responsible for Josh crash as the Ashworths left Hollyoaks.

Since the exit of his family, Rhys's main storyline has been his relationship with Jacqui McQueen (Claire Cooper). In January 2011 Suzanne returned to Hollyoaks before being paid by Cindy Longford (Stephanie Waring) who he'd later have an affair with during 2012. Josh Ashworth returns to Hollyoaks for brief appearance, before permanently departing in August 2012 with Michaela McQueen. In 2012, Rhys died during a tragic accident at Tony Hutchinson, Cindy, Doug Carter and Ste Hay's double wedding and Rhys` mother Suzanne Ashworth makes a one-off reappearance for his funeral, leaving none of the original Ashworth's in Hollyoaks. In 2013, Sinead O'Connor (Stephanie Davis) gave birth to Rhy's daughter Katy. As it stands, she was the only Ashworth in Hollyoaks, until she died after an illness. Rhys makes a brief return in June 2014 as part of Cindy's bipolar storyline. He appears as a hallucination in her mind. Rhys Ashworth`s adoptive daughter, Phoebe McQueen was murdered in June 2015, leaving Hollyoaks without any Ashworth family members. As of now, the only character left in Hollyoaks with any relation to the Ashworth family is Darren Osborne, who was married to Hannah Ashworth between 2009 until 2011. They ultimately divorced, severing Darren`s ties to the family.

Generations

Reception

Hannah's anorexia storyline gained large attention from the press, Hollyoaks being the first major British soap to go into a deep eating disorder storyline in which a character died, this being Melissa Hurst. [7] The storyline was garnered with praise for showing the harsh realities of anorexia and bulimia. With actress Emma Rigby giving a message of advice stating:

Anyone who feels pressure to look a certain a way, it's not real life, and it is a soap, and they shouldn't concentrate on trying to look a certain way but being happy and healthy with themselves". [7]

She also said it was a real honour to take part in such a good storyline. [8] Actress Emma Rigby has won numerous awards for her portrayal of Hannah and the storylines given including 'Best Actress' at The British Soap Awards 2008. [8]

Related Research Articles

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Rhys Ashworth

Rhys Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Andrew Moss. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 October 2005. Rhys was killed off in the Enjoy The Ride storyline in an episode airing on 15 November 2012 and the character departed on 16 November 2012. Rhys made a return on 27 June 2014 as part of his ex-girlfriend Cindy Cunningham's storyline about her bipolar disorder.

Hannah Ashworth

Hannah Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Emma Rigby. Hannah first appeared on-screen on 30 September 2005 and her last appearance was on 12 February 2010.

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Neville Ashworth

Neville Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Jim Millea. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 3 October 2005 and was created by David Hanson. Neville departed in July 2010 with his wife Suzanne Ashworth and their son Josh Ashworth, after they were all axed by new executive producer Paul Marquess.

Suzanne Ashworth

Suzanne Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Suzanne Hall. She made her first on-screen appearance on 3 October 2005. Suzanne was introduced by series producer David Hanson as part of the Ashworth family. In February 2010, Suzanne was axed from the serial by new series producer Paul Marquess. Suzanne made her final appearance on 14 July 2010. Marquess stated in an interview that he was a big fan of Hall's work in the serial. In late 2010 it was revealed that Hall had returned to filming and Suzanne would be pregnant with twins. Suzanne's storylines have included trying to keep her family together, fathering a son Rhys Ashworth secretly with another man, other affairs and a feud with Kathy Barnes. Suzanne returned to Hollyoaks on 14 January 2011 for a period of 2 months. In 2012 it was announced that Hall had reprised the role once again.

Fletch (<i>Hollyoaks</i>)

Jamie "Fletch" Fletcher is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sam Darbyshire. The character debuted on-screen during episodes airing in October 2005. Fletch was created by executive producer David Hanson as a recurring character. In 2007 new executive producer Bryan Kirkwood promoted Darbyshire to the regular cast. Fletch made his final on-screen appearance on 21 August 2008. Fletch's main storyline was an addiction to the drug heroin.

Kathy Barnes

Kathy Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sarah Jane Buckley. Kathy arrived in November 2005. In October 2007, it was announced that Kathy had been written out of the serial and would leave in January 2008. She returned briefly on 24 April 2017 for the funeral of her daughter Amy Barnes and departed the following day on 25 April 2017. Kathy returned on 4 September 2017 for Ste's week-long trial. After being found not guilty on 8 September 2017, Ste was shot by Kathy who had found Shane Sweeney's gun at the beach the prior day. Following this, Kathy is taken into police custody and makes a permanent exit.

Sarah Barnes

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Michaela McQueen

Michaela McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Hollie-Jay Bowes. Michaela was the first of the McQueen family to be seen on-screen in 2006, when she was credited as Michaela Jones. On 8 June 2010, Bowes announced that she had quit the show and would leave in six months. However, it was announced on 24 June 2010 that show bosses had axed Bowes and speedily wrote Michaela out after she spoke about upcoming storylines and her exit on social networking website Twitter. Bowes reprised her role as Michaela in 2011, initially appearing in the fourth series of Hollyoaks Later, before reappearing in the main series. In July 2012, Bowes confirmed she would be leaving Hollyoaks.

Gilly Roach

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Jacqui McQueen

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Beth Clement

Beth Clement is a fictional character from British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Sinéad Moynihan. Beth first appeared as a student at Hollyoaks Community College, studying for a nursing degree and was later involved in an accidental incest storyline with her half-brother, Rhys Ashworth. Beth died in a car accident on 18 April 2008.

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Duncan Button

Duncan Button is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Dean Aspen. He debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 2 November 2009. Duncan was originally credited as Duncan Smith until he was credited as Button. In May 2011, it was announced that Aspen had quit his role and Duncan departed the series on 11 November 2011. Aspen reprised his role as Duncan for the sixth series of Hollyoaks Later in October 2013.

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The Osborne family are a fictional family in the long-running Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks. Introduced to the show in 1996, The family moved to Hollyoaks village in 1996, although Ruth Osborne had previously lived in the Village. The characters have been involved in storylines such as dealing with a Gambling addiction, Ruth relationship with Kurt Benson, Jack's affair with Dawn Cunningham, a fake death scam for insurance money, financial troubles, Jack three marriages and fostering a child. Throughout their tenure on the serial, the Osbornes have owned the Dog in the Pond. Hollyoaks″ official website has described the Osborne family as belonging in the Dog in the Pond and as being the " rightfully at the helm" of the public house.

References

  1. ↑ Green, Kris (8 November 2008). "Emma Rigby quits Hollyoaks". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Green, Kris (3 March 2009). "Emma Rigby extends 'Oaks contract". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Green, Kris (11 May 2010). "Emma Rigby confirms December 'Oaks exit". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  4. ↑ Green, Kris (9 February 2010). "New Hollyoaks producer axes three". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  5. ↑ Green, Kris (14 July 2010). "2863: The Ashworths leave the village". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  6. ↑ Love, Ryan (6 July 2010). "Rigby: 'Ashworths not ready for exit'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  7. 1 2 Kirby, Sharon (7 September 2007). "Hollyoaks Anorexia Storyline". Disordered Eating. DisorderedEating.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
  8. 1 2 "Hollyoaks triumphs". Metro. Associated Newspapers. 4 May 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
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