Darren Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. He was introduced by executive producer Phil Redmond as part of the Osborne family, making his first screen appearance on 18 November 1996, portrayed by Adam Booth. Booth left the role in 1997, and the character was later recast to Ashley Taylor Dawson who first appeared in September 1999. Dawson left the role in 2000 to concentrate on his music career, though returned in 2003 and has remained in the role ever since. He remains one of the longest-running characters in the programme.
Mike Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Tony Hirst. He first appeared on 9 January 2006. In 2010, soap opera magazine Inside Soap reported that the character would leave in late January with love interest Zoe Carpenter. This was later confirmed. The character briefly returned in August 2016 and again in March 2017, where his youngest daughter Amy Barnes was killed off in a "whodunit" storyline. He returned again in September 2017 giving evidence against Ste Hay during Amy's murder trial.
Sarah Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Loui Batley. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 11 October 2005. Sarah was introduced by executive producer David Hanson as part of the Barnes family. In 2009, Batley quit the serial in order to pursue other projects. The character has been central to many key storylines, one of the earliest the high-profile gay storyline involving supercouple John Paul McQueen and Craig Dean.
Amy Barnes is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ashley Slanina-Davies. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 14 November 2005. Amy was created by executive producer David Hanson and Slanina-Davies was offered the role whilst looking for work as an extra. In 2009, Slanina-Davies stated that she would be lost without the role and confirmed her loyalty to the serial. In July 2010, it was announced that Slanina-Davies would be leaving the show. However, it was later revealed that she was back filming and staying in the serial in 2011. Amy's storylines have included underage pregnancy which resulted in the birth of daughter Leah Barnes and the subject of domestic abuse in her relationship with Ste Hay, portrayed by Kieron Richardson. Whilst filming the storyline, Slanina-Davies cut her long hair off for charity and this was scripted into the storyline.
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, and her final scenes would air on 31 August 2012.
Gilly Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Anthony Quinlan. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 October 2005. Gilly was created in 2005 by executive producer David Hanson. Gilly has often been portrayed as a push-over and has a double act partnership with fellow character Rhys Ashworth. His main character traits have been his "nice attitude", with Quinlan branding Gilly in his first five years as a "push-over". He has been labelled a loser and unlucky in love after failed relationships with Jessica Harris, Beth Clement, Cheryl Brady and Jem Costello. In 2009, executive producer Lucy Alan made changes to the character and reached a mutual agreement with Quinlan to shave off his hair, which has characterised Gilly during his early years.
Zak Ramsey is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kent Riley. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 6 September 2004. The character was originally credited as "Zak Barnes". After only four months, Riley was written out of the show. Producer Bryan Kirkwood reintroduced him in 2006 and was then credited with the surname Ramsey. Zak was introduced into the series as one of three new student characters, who arrive to study at the Hollyoaks Community College. Joining Zak were Bella Manning and Stuart Harding. When the character was reintroduced, a new set of students were created for Zak to share stories with. Zak is portrayed as a Scouser / Liverpudlian character, with a "fun-loving" persona and enjoys partying rather than concentrating on his studies.
Zoe Carpenter is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Zoë Lister. The character first appeared on-screen on 1 September 2006, as one of three new students at Hollyoaks Community College. It was announced in 2009 that Lister had quit her role in order to pursue other projects; she subsequently left the series in January 2010. During Zoe's time in Hollyoaks she has been portrayed as a bubbly tomboy who often makes the wrong choices in life and has had a number of failed relationships. In March 2017, it was reported that Lister would be reprising the role and it was later confirmed that she would return for Amy Barnes' funeral. Her return aired on 24 April 2017.
Hollyoaks Later was a British television spin-off of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. The series allowed for more sexual content, 'edgier' storylines and stronger language than Hollyoaks. The show was on hiatus from 2014 to 2020, where it returned on 6 January 2020 for a one-off episode focusing on the conclusion of Breda McQueen's serial killer storyline.
Archie Carpenter is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Stephen Beard. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 3 November 2008. He was introduced as the brother of the established character Zoe Carpenter. Archie moved into the college halls of residence. In March 2010, executive producer Paul Marquess wrote the character out of Hollyoaks as part of his rejuvenation of the series, which included multiple cast changes. Archie made his final appearance during the episode broadcast on 28 May 2010.
The second series of Hollyoaks Later is a British television series which ran for one week starting 28 September 2009. Hollyoaks Later is a spin-off of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.
Lydia Hart is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lydia Kelly. Lydia was created by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as one of many characters introduced that year. She made her debut in the soap on 4 March 2009, and remained for ten months.
India Longford is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Beth Kingston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 September 2009 and was introduced by series producer Lucy Allan as a new student at Hollyoaks Community College. Kingston was given the role after she entered and won an online competition run by Hollyoaks Desperately Seeking. In November 2010, it was announced that India would be murdered. India was murdered by Silas Blissett on 23 December 2010. India returned briefly in 2011 and 2012. Kingston has stated that she was happy to leave the show before being typecast in the role. India has been portrayed as a "posh bird" and is narrow-minded, having a tendency to "rub people up the wrong way". She is also described as sensible and "strait-laced".
Jem Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Helen Russell-Clark. She made her first on-screen appearance on 5 March 2010. It was later announced that Jem had been written out of the serial, and the character would leave in November 2010. Russell-Clark made her final appearance as Jem on 30 November 2010.
Amber Sharpe is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lydia Lloyd-Henry in 2010 and Lauren Gabrielle-Thomas in 2014. The character was introduced as a member of the new Sharpe family, as part of series producer Paul Marquess' rejuvenation of the serial in 2010. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 June 2010. Amber's storylines have included sleeping with Finn O'Connor and subsequently discovering she is pregnant and giving birth to her daughter Bella.
Leanne Holiday is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks and its Internet spin-off Hollyoaks: Freshers, played by Jessica Forrest. Forrest's casting was announced in July 2010 and she began filming her scenes in June. The actress originally commuted from Manchester to Liverpool for filming, before relocating there. Forrest was a drama and film studies student when she gained the role of Leanne. She made her first appearance in Hollyoaks: Freshers on 26 August 2010 before appearing in the main show. Leanne departed the show on 21 October 2013, when the character was killed off in an explosion as part of the show's eighteenth anniversary celebrations.
Hollyoaks began airing on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 23 October 1995. The target audience was that of teenagers and it initially dramatised the lives of seven of that age group who lived in Hollyoaks, a fictional suburb in the city of Chester in Cheshire, England.
