Francine "Frankie" Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Helen Pearson, making her first on-screen appearance on 20 August 2002. Frankie was once the longest-serving female character in the show. On 9 October 2017, Pearson announced that she would depart the show, and Frankie was killed off on 1 November 2017, after suffering a stroke, making her the second member of the Dean family to be killed off after her daughter Steph Cunningham in 2010. She made her final appearance on 27 November 2017, as a ghost to Jack Osborne.
Jack Osborne is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jimmy McKenna. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 18 November 1996 and is the second longest featured character in the show. He was introduced as part of the Osborne family, which also consisted of Jack's wife Celia and their children Darren and Ruth. His storylines include an affair with Dawn Cunningham, four marriages and faking his own death in an insurance scam. For numerous years, Jack's role in the show is the landlord of the 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.
Jake Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kevin Sacre. Sacre portrayed the character between 2002 and 2008, before making a return on 5 October 2009. In March 2010, Sacre was axed from the series by Paul Marquess during his major revamp and cast cull. Jake made his last appearance on 6 August 2010.
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 29 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.
Zara Morgan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kelly Condron. The character initially appeared from 1 April 1999 to 22 December 2005. In July 2021, 15 years after her initial departure from the soap, it was announced that Condron would be reprising her role as Zara, and she returned full-time from 5 August 2021. On 29 June 2023, it was announced that Condron was to make a second departure from Hollyoaks. Zara's final scenes aired on 30 June 2023.
Toby Mills is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Henry Luxemburg. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 25 October 2001. Toby is introduced into the series as a university student and a pub barman. He was originally characterised as a risk-taker and a loyal friend. Producers decided to transform Toby into the show's first serial killer. His murder spree plays largely into his characterisation as writers displayed his anger issues and relationship issues.
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 6 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.
Johnno Dean is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played originally by Mark Powley. He first appeared in November 2002, and from April 2003 was replaced by Colin Wells until his exit on 22 July 2005. The character returned on 26 to 31 October 2017 for a guest stint to coincide with the exit of his former wife, Frankie Osborne.
Abby Davies is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Helen Noble. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 1 March 2001. Noble remained a part of the cast until her character departed in June 2004. She made reprised role for a guest return on 7 February 2005.
Les Hunter is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by John Graham Davies.
Ellie Mills is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sarah Baxendale. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 15 February 2002. Ellie is part of the show's Hunter family. She had been referenced on-screen numerous times as her family were searching for her after she goes missing in Ibiza. She later arrives in Chester which shocks her family. Ellie is characterised as a confident and independent female but has selfish tendencies. Ellie's stories have revolved around her relationships, especially with Toby Mills, who she later marries. Writers portrayed Toby as a serial killer who goes on a prolonged murder spree in the community. Writers embroiled Ellie into his crimes and she choses not to report him to the police. Ellie later fears for her safety and flees to Liverpool. The scenes formed part of a late-night spin-off episode titled Hollyoaks: Leap of Faith, which featured Toby's death. Ellie was featured in one of the show's biggest stunts when she and Toby fall from a one-hundred foot building. Ellie survives and later allows her brother, Dan Hunter to take the blame for the murders. Ellie's lies are soon discovered and she is arrested and put on trial for covering up Toby's murders.
Natalie Osborne is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Tiffany Mulheron. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 23 May 2003. Mulheron made her final appearance as Natalie during the episode broadcast on 24 August 2004.
Izzy Davies is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Elize du Toit. She made her first appearance in 2000 before leaving in 2004. The character then briefly returned in October 2007.
Niall Rafferty is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Barry Sloane. He first appeared during an episode broadcast on 3 December 2007. Former Brookside actor Sloane was cast as the "mysterious" hairdresser Niall and was introduced by the series' producer Bryan Kirkwood. During Sloane's portrayal of Niall on-screen, he was central to a storyline involving the already-established McQueen family and it was revealed Niall was the illegitimate son of Myra McQueen. The storyline featured Niall seek revenge on the McQueens, which concluded in highly advertised episodes featuring Niall kidnapping his siblings and causing the death of his half-sister Tina Reilly. Niall was portrayed by upcoming actor Devon Jackson, the older brother of Hollyoaks actor Kieron Richardson, in flashback scenes depicting Niall's childhood.
Loretta Jones is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, and its spin-off series, Hollyoaks Later. The character is played by Melissa Walton and first appeared on-screen on 26 November 2008 during the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off Hollyoaks Later as a new love interest for the character Dominic Reilly. She made her first appearance in the Hollyoaks series in February 2009 and was the first character to be introduced to the series by producer Lucy Allan. In 2010, Loretta was axed from the series, along with 15 other characters, during a cast cull by executive producer Paul Marquess.
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.
Ruby Button is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Anna Shaffer. Shaffer's casting was announced in December 2010 and it was revealed that Ruby would be introduced as the sister of Duncan Button. Shaffer originally auditioned for the role of Leanne Holiday, in which she was not successful. Shaffer began filming her scenes in late 2010 and relocated to Liverpool for filming. Ruby made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 3 January 2011. In October 2013, it was announced that Shaffer had quit the role and would leave in February 2014. In October 2017, speculation emerged indicating Shaffer was to reprise the role very soon and on 16 November 2017, it was confirmed that Ruby would be back for Frankie Osborne's funeral later that month. She returned on 23 November 2017, departing in the following episode, broadcast on 24 November. She made another return for a guest stint at the end of April 2018, making her final appearance on 30 April.
Dan Hunter is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Andy McNair. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 19 April 2001. McNair attended an audition for the role and was called back for a second audition, after which he was informed he had won the role. Dan is characterised as "moody and non-conformist" and has an anger problem. McNair believed Dan is defined by his miserable personality. He never became bored of playing the character's misery and admired his characterisation. He is initially portrayed as a loner who is disinterested in romance due to the pressure of working at his family garage business. Writers portrayed the illness diabetes via Dan and he takes insulin to control his condition. McNair found the story challenging to portray and thoroughly researched the condition to add authenticity to the character.
