Natasha Andersen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Shebah Ronay. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. She was created by Phil Redmond as one of the serial's original characters.
Kurt Benson is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jeremy Edwards. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. He was created by Phil Redmond as one of the serial's original characters. Despite the character's supposed death in 1999, Kurt returned in 2020 as part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary, with the explanation being that he faked his death.
Kate Patrick is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Natasha Symms. She debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 6 November 1997. She departed in 1999 and returned for guest appearances in 2000.
Gina Patrick is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Dannielle Brent. She debuted on-screen during episodes airing in 1997. Brent secured the role after originally auditioning for the role of Gina's sister Kate Patrick. Gina was initially a recurring character, though was promoted later to the regular cast. Brent felt that the role had given her good training, though decided to leave the serial after four years.
Jack Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jimmy McKenna. He first appeared on 18 November 1996 and is the second longest serving character in the serial. He was introduced as part of the Osborne family along with son Darren and wife Celia who joined daughter Ruth to live in Hollyoaks village. His storylines have included an affair with Dawn Cunningham, four marriages and an insurance scam which saw him fake his own death. In his later years, Jack was more commonly known as the landlord of the show's pub, The Dog in the Pond.
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.
Steph Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Carley Stenson. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 8 March 2000. Steph was introduced into the serial by executive producer Jo Hallows. In 2009 Stenson decided to quit, but the then producer Lucy Allan convinced her to stay to play out a dramatic storyline. The announcement of her departure was made public in June 2010. Stenson's fellow cast members have described her as a "Hollyoaks legend" because of her lengthy duration.
Lucy Benson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kerrie Taylor. Taylor appeared from the first episode on 23 October 1995. Taylor later quit the role with the character leaving in January 2000 when she went travelling. The character's storylines included a heroin addiction. The character has been described as a "good daughter" type who changed becoming a "hopeless addict".
James "Jambo" Bolton is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Will Mellor. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 23 October 1995. Jambo was one of the show's original characters. Mellor left the cast in 1998. In 2004, Mellor reprised his role briefly for a Christmas special episode.
Gordon Cunningham is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Hollyoaks, He first appeared in October 1995 played by an uncredited walk on actor. From March 1996, he was played by Bernard Latham. He departed on 16 February 2004 when Gordon died of a heart attack following a car crash. He last appeared for a brief return on 11 July 2008 during a dream sequence broadcast on T4.
Helen Cunningham is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kathryn George. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 8 September 1997. Helen was centric to several storylines including her marriage with Gordon Cunningham, dealing with the suicide of her son Lewis Richardson and her daughter Mandy Richardson's abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Dennis Richardson. Producers also created an advanced maternal age storyline for the character, where she becomes pregnant with Gordon's child and gives birth to Tom Cunningham. In 2003, writers featured Helen in an infidelity story with Tony Hutchinson. Helen and Tony, who is younger engage in a sexual affair which nearly ruins her on-screen partnership with Gordon.
Robert "Rob" Hawthorne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Warren Derosa. Derosa first appeared in the role in January 1996 before the character departed, making his final appearance on 31 December 1999. The character is known for his status as a villain, with Derosa describing him as a "theatrical villain".
Lewis Richardson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ben Hull. Lewis was introduced by Phil Redmond as part of the Richardson family. Lewis made his first on-screen appearance on 30 October 1995 before departing on 15 October 2001. Lewis was initially a "good bloke" but changed, becoming like his abusive father Dennis Richardson. Lewis's exit from the serial was devised by series producer Jo Hallows who decided to kill Lewis on screen as part of a suicide storyline. The storyline was devised to show the "full horror" of suicide.
Luke Morgan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gary Lucy. He was introduced by the show's creator Phil Redmond as part of the Morgan family, and made his first appearance on 29 March 1999. The character was involved in a male rape storyline, which was branded "groundbreaking" and met with controversy. Lucy opted to leave the role in 2001 after two years, although he returned for two episodes in August 2002. The character's reintroduction was announced on 21 May 2017 and he returned on 24 July. Lucy took a break from the series in 2018 to appear in a play. The character made a few brief appearances throughout 2019 before he returned permanently in August. Luke was killed off in 2022, with his final scenes airing on 9 June 2022. He returned briefly in 2023 as a vision to his former fiancée Cindy Cunningham.
Ruth Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Terri Dwyer. She first appeared in January 1996 as the cousin of Natasha Andersen, and departed in 2001. She made guest appearances between 2003 and 2004, and another in 2008. Dwyer expressed interest in returning full-time in 2009.
Maddie Parker is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Hollyoaks, portrayed by Yasmin Bannerman. She first appeared on 23 October 1995. She remained in the role until 1997 when she quit the role. Maddie left Hollyoaks on 18 August 1997.
The Cunningham family are a fictional family in the long-running Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks. The family were one of the original families introduced in 1995, debuting on the first episode of Hollyoaks. They originally consisted of Gordon Cunningham and his ex-wife Angela, and their children: Dawn, Jude, Cindy and Max.
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.
