Malachy Fisher

Last updated
Malachy Fisher
Hollyoaks character
Malachy Fisher.JPG
Portrayed by Glen Wallace
Duration2007–2010
First appearance20 March 2007
Last appearance18 November 2010
Classification Former; regular
Introduced by Bryan Kirkwood
Spin-off
appearances
Hollyoaks Later (2008)
In-universe information
OccupationBuilder (2007–2008)
Bartender (2009–2010)
Doorman (2010)
Father Eamon Fisher
Mother Erin Fisher
Brothers Kris Fisher
SistersBernadette Fisher
Wife Mercedes McQueen (2008–2010)

Malachy Fisher is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks , played by Glen Wallace. Malachy first appeared in 2007 on a recurring basis and became a permanent character in 2008. The character has been noted for being at the centre of an HIV plot. In July 2010, it was announced that the character was to leave the show. The character was later killed off in a structure fire. He made his final appearance on 18 November 2010. [1]

Contents

Storylines

Malachy first appears in 2007 for a surprise visit to his brother Kris. Kris hides his bisexuality and cross dressing from Malachy, who sleeps with Kris' girlfriend Jessica Harris. Malachy finds Kris kissing a man and shows his homophobia towards him. He then leaves, before returning later in 2007 where he befriends Jake Dean and continues to be homophobic towards Kris. Malachy then leaves.

Malachy returns to Hollyoaks to find his father Eamon in July 2008. He and Kris make up and begin to build up their relationship. Malachy meets Mercedes McQueen. The pair begin a casual relationship and start to fall in love. Malachy and Kris go to donate blood and Kris is angered after he discovers he cannot give blood due to his sexual orientation. Later, Malachy gets results from the doctor, revealing he is HIV positive. Malachy is shocked and cannot come to terms with the diagnosis. Despite his condition, Malachy continues his relationship with Mercedes and involves in unprotected sex with her. Malachy leaves and turns to alcohol. During this time, Mercedes sleeps with Kris. Malachy returns and admits the truth to Kris, who realises he and Mercedes could now be infected. Mercedes is devastated and attacks Malachy. Malachy and Kris are horrified when they discover Eamon is dead and attack Darren Osborne for pretending Jack Osborne was Eamon in order to claim on life insurance. Mercedes struggles to cope with the death of her sister Tina and the prospect of having HIV. Malachy and Mercedes are united in grief for the loss of loved ones. Kris and Malachy head off back to Northern Ireland with their father's ashes. Whilst there, Mercedes pushes Malachy to admit to his family about his condition, he eventually does and the pair get back together and marry on 28 November.

Malachy and Mercedes return in January 2009 from their honeymoon without any money or a home. Their marriage is strained when Mercedes gets her HIV test results back and reveals she does not have it. Malachy thinks Mercedes will leave him, however she reassures him. They move into the McQueen household. Myra McQueen struggles to live with Malachy and believes she will catch HIV, this angers him and Mercedes. Mercedes becomes worried about Malachy's health when he catches the flu. She urges him to see a doctor, thinking it is his HIV. After seeing the doctor, Malachy is given the all clear and told it is not the HIV. During this time, Malachy's ex-girlfriend Cheryl Brady turns up in the village and continues to taunt Mercedes and flirt with Malachy. She later tells them she is over Malachy.

When Malachy was helping rebuild The Loft with Calvin Valentine and Spencer Gray. Malachy saw Spencer playing with a metal saw and rushed down to stop him, but ended up cutting his arm. Mercedes saw this and rushed to his side. To stop Malachy and Mercedes suing for the accident Calvin gave them both jobs at the loft. Malachy also resumed his friendship with Jake Dean when he was released from a mental institute. On 18 December Malachy walked in on Mercedes and Calvin about to have sex he runs out devastated and keeps the truth to himself. Kris also finds out about the affair. During a drunken evening Malachy kisses Cheryl but won't go any further. When Calvin can't find a best man for his wedding to Mercedes sister Carmel Valentine he asks Malachy. During the wedding, Malachy confronts Mercedes and Calvin separately telling Mercedes their marriage is over. Malachy intended to shoot Calvin however couldn't go through with it. When Calvin is shot dead by Mercedes' cousin Theresa McQueen, Malachy blames Mercedes. When Mercedes is questioned by the police Malachy tells them it was him, however he is released as they know he is only trying to save Mercedes.

The last straw comes for Malachy when Carmel reveals that Theresa killed Calvin and Mercedes has been hiding the truth all along. Malachy leaves for Belfast but Mercedes catches up with him and tells him she wants them to start a fresh.

Malachy comes back to Hollyoaks still not over Mercedes' affair. After pouring his heart out to a girl named Veronica he takes her back to his place where they begin to undress. Veronica ties Malachy to the bed, thinking it's some kind of game however, she leaves him there whilst she robs the house and Evissa. After this Malachy tells Mercedes he's leaving her for good.

Malachy moves in with Cheryl, her brother Brendan Brady and best friend Lynsey Nolan. Malachy clashes with Brenden on numerous occasions, especially after catching him stealing from Cheryl's club Chez Chez. As Lynsey is an ex of Kris's, she and Malachy get on well and it soon becomes clear that they have feelings for each other. Neither of them wants to do anything about it because of Cheryl, however eventually they begin a secret relationship.

Lynsey is fed up with having to keep their secret. Malachy consoles her by kissing her in the middle of the village unbeknownst to them Mercedes is watching. Mercedes, jealous that Malachy's moving on, lies that he has infected with HIV making him realise how much he still loves her. When Lynsey finds out that Mercedes and Malachy plan on getting back together, she goes through Mercedes medical records to find she has lied. Lynsey breaks the news to Malachy who punches Mercedes. Lynsey is shocked by his aggression and wants nothing more to do with him.

Malachy decides to leave, but is tricked into having dinner with Mercedes by Myra. He wants to apologise to Mercedes because he feels bad about hitting her. Mercedes tells him that he only hit her because she pushed him to it, and that she pushed him so hard because she still loves him. After spending the night babysitting Angel, they decide to get back together, get a house and have a baby of their own. As Malachy and Mercedes celebrate, walking through the village, an explosion in II Gnosh throws them both to the ground. Malachy pushes Mercedes out the way just in time but he is badly injured by the blast and is rushed to hospital. He is in a stable condition at first, but when Mercedes was dreaming that Malachy is discharged and talks to him that she wants to have a family, she is interrupted by Cheryl who says that she heard the news. When Mercedes is confused, she turns around and is horrified to see that Malachy is still lying in his hospital bed, but only for him to fall into a coma, causing him to be on a life support machine.

The doctors tell Mercedes and Lynsey that there is nothing more they can do. Kris arrives and tells Mercedes that there is no way that she is switching off the life support machine. Malachy appears to Mercedes, helping her to make the decision to switch off his life-support machine. Kris and Mercedes decide to allow the life-support machine to be switched off. Cheryl, Lynsey, Mercedes and Kris say goodbye to Malachy as the machine is turned off. Afterwards, still in the hospital, Malachy appears to Mercedes one last time to tell her that he loves her, signalling that he is truly moving on.

Creation

Malachy initially appeared in only three episodes, a gruff builder who was appalled to learn his brother was a bisexual cross dresser. Actor Glen Wallace got on well with Gerard McCarthy, as they had known each other since they were teenagers. He said producers were "keen" on his work and brought him back for another nine episodes to see if he could be integrated into the canvas. After an absence of several months, they gave him a year-long contract. [2]

Development

A central part of Malachy's character was his discovery in September 2008 that he had HIV. Wallace said he was "taken aback" when he heard about the story, but felt the storyline was very important, as national TV had not covered the topic since EastEnders character Mark Fowler. He knew many people never believed they could get HIV, and hoped his character's own ignorance might make some of them change their minds. [3]

Malachy's main love interest was Mercedes McQueen. Wallace described Mercedes and Malachy as "very alike, they are two alpha characters and everything is about them – that sounds a bit harsh!" [2] Their relationship was jeopardised when he exposed her to HIV, but they married in the final episode of the first series of Hollyoaks Later .

In May 2009, Wallace revealed his contract had been extended, which he appreciated, he stated: "I think there's a lot more to be got from the HIV storyline and to have someone come in and die off straight away is unrealistic anyway." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Harris (Hollyoaks)</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Jessica Harris is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jennifer Biddall. She debuted on-screen during episodes airing in October 2005. Biddal decided to leave the serial in December 2007, Jessica last appeared on 31 December 2007, And Biddall has since admitted she doesn't want to return to the serial. Jessica's notable storylines include affairs, being unlucky in love, gambling and a carbon monoxide plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Summers</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Louise Summers is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by actress Roxanne McKee. The character first appeared in February 2005 as the feisty, glamorous girlfriend of Darren Osborne. McKee has been nominated for several awards for her portrayal of the character. In 2008, it was revealed McKee had quit her role as Louise and planned to depart later in the year. She made her final appearance on 26 December 2008 when fiancé Warren Fox murdered her on their wedding day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmel McQueen</span> UK soap opera character, created 2006

Carmel Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gemma Merna. She debuted on-screen during episodes airing on 22 August 2006 and was introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of the McQueen family. Carmel has proved popular with fans with her comedic personality and has become notable for her "dumb blonde" appearance. Carmel was killed-off as she saved her cousin, Theresa McQueen from Sonny Valentine during the "End of the Line" storyline. Her most prominent storylines include her marriage and divorce from Sonny's brother Calvin Valentine, her facial disfigurement after a tanning machine explodes in her face, remarrying Calvin which ends in tragedy after he was shot dead by Theresa, her relationship with Jim McGinn, her feud with Theresa and infatuation with Theresa and Calvin's daughter Kathleen-Angel McQueen, beginning a relationship with Sonny and being killed in an explosion following a train crash at her cousin Porsche McQueen's wedding reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes McQueen</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Mercedes McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jennifer Metcalfe. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 as the first character to be introduced to the series by series producer, Bryan Kirkwood. In 2008 Metcalfe feared that the character was to be axed but was later reassured by the series producer that she would not be. Metcalfe later stated her intention to stay with the series. Mercedes is part of the McQueen family and is the longest serving McQueen on the series. On 26 August 2014, it was revealed that Metcalfe had decided to quit the soap. On 20 November 2014, Mercedes was presumably stabbed to death, with her body discarded. However, Metcalfe returned to screens on 17 February 2015 in a surprise, unannounced twist which saw Mercedes revealed as alive and well, living in Nice, France. It was announced that Mercedes would make a full-time return to the show in May 2015, after brief appearances on 18 February, 9 March, and 6 April. Metcalfe announced her pregnancy in 2017 and revealed that she would be taking a year's break from the show. Mercedes was last seen on screen leaving with Goldie McQueen on 4 July 2017, although she briefly appeared on 7 September 2017 in a fake flashback scene involving her and Amy Barnes surmised by James Nightingale. Mercedes returned on 9 July 2018, and then made several other appearances before returning permanently on 13 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Fox</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Warren Fox is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, portrayed by Jamie Lomas. The character and casting were announced on 12 May 2006, and Warren made his first appearance on 26 June. He was introduced as an old acquaintance of Sean Kennedy. Lomas left the series in 2009, with his departure coinciding with the return of Clare Devine. On 17 October 2010, it was announced that Lomas would return to the series, appearing from 29 October, but he left the series for the second time in December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilly Roach</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kris Fisher</span> UK soap opera character, created 2006

Kris Fisher is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gerard McCarthy. The character first appeared on-screen in September 2006 and left in August 2010 after McCarthy quit the show. He is noted for his storylines involving the PEP treatment, a bisexual love triangle, his outlandish personality and being the only permanent cross dressing character in a British soap opera. Following his departure, it was announced that McCarthy would return in November 2010 for a short stint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvin Valentine</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Calvin Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ricky Whittle. He arrived in July 2006 as a police officer with his mother Diane Valentine, his brother Sonny Valentine and his sister Sasha Valentine and made his final appearance on 21 May 2010 after he was murdered by Theresa McQueen. Whittle was credited for a flashback episode on 1 December 2010. Calvin appeared again as a ghost to tell his wife and Theresa's Cousin Carmel McQueen that his and Theresa's daughter, Kathleen-Angel McQueen, was fine with Theresa in February 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theresa McQueen</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance on 24 November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQueen family and quickly became a fan favourite for her cute, bubbly personality and dark storylines. During her first five years on the show, Porter was featured in numerous high-profile storylines, including: underage sex; the murder of Calvin Valentine ; teenage pregnancy; being the target of serial killer Silas Blissett ; falling down a lift shaft; discovering her boyfriend, Ethan Scott was dating two other women and forming a friendship with the girls; finding her long-lost father; relationships with Dodger Savage, Will Savage and Joel Dexter ; and her arrest for Calvin's murder. Porter announced her departure from the soap in October 2013 so she could focus on Dancing on Ice. Her exit scenes aired on 9 January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Brady</span> UK soap opera character, created 2008

Cheryl Brady is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Bronagh Waugh. The character first appeared on-screen on 25 November 2008, during the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off Hollyoaks Later, as the former love interest of Malachy Fisher. She made her first appearance in main Hollyoaks episodes in July 2009, introduced to the serial by series producer, Lucy Allan. In 2010 when Paul Marquess began producing the serial, he felt that Cheryl was being used in the wrong way, subsequently making her a central character to the show. It was announced on 1 February 2013 that Waugh quit her role. Cheryl departed Hollyoaks on 22 March 2013, after four years on the show, along with her brother, Brendan Brady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heidi Costello</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Heidi Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kim Tiddy. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 July 2010 and made her final appearance in the series on 1 November 2011, after Heidi was accidentally murdered by her father, Silas Blissett, in which he mistakes her for Lynsey Nolan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riley Costello</span> UK soap opera character, created 2010

Riley Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Rob Norbury. Riley was introduced on 20 July 2010 with the Costello family as part of a cast overhaul of the series. In December 2011, the serial's executive producer Emma Smithwick said that Riley would remain in Hollyoaks despite his family's departure. On 14 September 2012, it was announced Riley was to leave Hollyoaks and Riley was killed off in a shooting during the episode airing 3 October 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitzeee Minniver</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Anne "Mitzeee" Minniver is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Rachel Shenton. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 July 2010. Mitzeee was created by series producer Paul Marquess for a different television series which was never commissioned and instead introduced his ideas onto Mitzeee. She is also one of the first characters created in Marquess's 2010 reinvention of Hollyoaks. Mitzeee is a wannabe glamour model and WAG, she is portrayed as being ruthless in achieving her goals and is fame driven. Shenton helped create her backstory and has stated on different occasions that Mitzeee uses femininity to get what she wants. Various media outlets drew comparisons to the character with pop star Cheryl Cole and Mitzeee spells her career name with triple e's because she finds her name plain, a tag Shenton has also agreed with. On 20 December 2012, it was announced that Shenton had left the show and her final scenes aired on 15 February 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Brady</span> Soap opera character

Brendan Brady is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Emmett J. Scanlan. The character was introduced on 5 August 2010 by series producer Paul Marquess during part of the show's overhaul, and became one of Hollyoaks' most popular characters. He is easily recognised by his famous horseshoe moustache. He is the older half-brother of already established character Cheryl Brady. Following the announcement of Brendan's casting, he was quickly billed as the show's new "bad boy" character. Despite having the persona of a villain at the start of the show, as the show progressed the character was portrayed to be more of a tragic antihero. He made his final appearance on 22 March 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynsey Nolan</span> UK soap opera character, created 2008

Lynsey Nolan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Karen Hassan. The character originally appeared in the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off Hollyoaks Later. In 2010, Hollyoaks series producer Paul Marquess asked Hassan to join Hollyoaks as part of the soap's ongoing rejuvenation, to which she agreed and the character began appearing in the main show from 11 August 2010. Hassan left Hollyoaks in 2012 when her character was killed off during a "dramatic cliffhanger" episode. To surprise the audience, the actress's exit was not announced beforehand. Hassan's final scenes were broadcast on 21 August 2012, giving viewers the "ending they were looking for".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silas Blissett</span> UK soap opera character, created 2010

Silas Blissett is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jeff Rawle. Rawle's casting was announced in December 2010 and it was revealed that he would portray a serial killer. Rawle was approached by Hollyoaks and met with series producer, Paul Marquess, who explained the role of Silas and his storyline. Rawle found the storyline something which he would like to "have a crack at". The actor said that the role of Silas is "very interesting" for him as he had not played a murderer in his career before. He made his first on-screen appearance in episode 2979, originally broadcast on 23 December 2010. However, Silas departed for the first time on 4 November 2011. Silas returned on 19 July 2012, as a guest stint. Silas returned again in 2016 as well as making two further returns in 2020 and 2022 with this being his last return as he was killed off in a final showdown with the McQueens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Browning</span> Soap opera character

Paul Browning is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Joseph Thompson. He made his debut screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 23 January 2012 and was introduced by Emma Smithwick. Doctor Browning was introduced as part of a storyline featuring Mercedes McQueen in which he "shows her the benefits of 'selling her services'". Doctor Browning and Mercedes later begin a relationship, which Smithwick called a "union of the dark soul mates". Thompson said that Doctor Browning and Mercedes "are excited by how dangerous the other is" and are "kindred spirits" who have an "undeniable connection between them". When Lynsey Nolan is murdered in a whodunnit plot Doctor Browning becomes a suspect before it is later revealed he had killed Lynsey. Doctor Browning is described as having an "incredible capacity for Sleaze" and as someone who "needs to be in control and is not afraid to use underhand tactics".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsey Butterfield</span> UK soap opera character (created 2013)

Lindsey Roscoe is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sophie Austin. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 3 June 2013. Lindsey had been involved in storylines such as covering up the murder of Paul Browning with Cindy Cunningham and Mercedes McQueen, having to choose between two brothers, Joe Roscoe and Freddie Roscoe, being revealed as the notorious Gloved Hand Killer, and teaming up with fellow serial killer Silas Blissett. Lindsey kills seven people in her killing spree: Rick Spencer, Will Savage, Mariam Andrews, Phoebe McQueen, Dylan Jenkins, Ashley Davidson and Dr. Charles S'avage, while also attempting to kill five others: Diane O'Connor, Esther Bloom, Freddie, her sister Kim Butterfield and Mercedes. It was revealed during the 20th anniversary week of Hollyoaks that Lindsey had also attempted to murder her younger sister, Kath Butterfield when they were adolescents, as shown in flashbacks. In 2016, it was announced that Austin had quit the role and would be departing the soap later that year. Her final scenes aired on 18 May 2016, during which Lindsay herself was murdered by Silas.

References

  1. Green, Kris (9 July 2010). "Exclusive: Four more to leave 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy . Hachette Filipacchi UK . Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Glen Wallace interview". Channel 4. 2008-08-25. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  3. "Glen Wallace (Malachy Fisher, Hollyoaks)". Digital Spy. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  4. "'Hollyoaks' actor given reprieve". Digital Spy. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-09-06.