List of Hollyoaks characters introduced in 2019
Hollyoaks is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2019, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive producer, Bryan Kirkwood. The first character to be introduced is Mitchell Deveraux, the son of Martine Deveraux. Stuart Sumner, Shahid Shirani and Amir Shirani first appear in February, March and April, respectively, as part of the soap's far-right extremism story. Babs Drinkwell, the mother of Lily Drinkwell, also appears in April. Sid Sumner, the son of Stuart, joins as a guest character in May, before being promoted to the regular cast in November. Sadie Cressington, the former girlfriend of Harry Thompson, is also introduced in May. The following month features the introduction of Levi Rochester, a love interest for Scott Drinkwell, and the appearance of [|Mr Reynolds]. Azim Desai, the half-brother of Sami Maalik, debuts in September, and during October, D.S. Naomi Cohen, the detective sergeant investigating Harry's murder, and builder [|Woody Turner] join the show. Married couple Toby Faroe and Celeste Faroe are introduced in November, while Jordan Price is the final character to debut in the year, arriving in December. Additionally, multiple [|other characters] appear throughout the year.
Mitchell Deveraux
Mitchell Drinkwell-Deveraux, portrayed by Imran Adams, first appears in episode 5100, broadcast on 8 February 2019. The character and Adams' casting details were announced on 16 December 2018. Mitchell is introduced as the son of established character Martine Deveraux. He is billed as "the popular new guy in town" who is levelheaded in his job as a trainee doctor. Despite having had a "strict upbringing", Mitchell is gentle and friendly. Adams has expressed his joy at joining the cast of Hollyoaks stating that he is "proud and grateful" to be a cast member. He added that it is a challenging job, which he described as "a rollercoaster of a ride" and "Acting Athletics".Mitchell's introduction sees the character move into his cousin, Lisa Loveday's, flat with Martine and his grandfather, Walter Deveraux, annoying Lisa. Daniel Kilkelly of entertainment website Digital Spy reported that Mitchell would begin a relationship with a member of the McQueen family, later confirmed to be Cleo McQueen. Mitchell appears as a stripper at a themed night in The Dog in the Pond public house, organised by Cleo's grandmother, Nana McQueen ; this leads to him asking Cleo on a date.
Producers developed the character by introducing his long-lost siblings, Toby Faroe and Celeste Faroe in November 2019. In episodes broadcast in September 2019, it emerges that Mitchell has a twin brother, and in the soap's 2019 Christmas episodes, Toby is revealed to be his twin brother. Adams thought that Mitchell would be "quite emotional and confused" if he knew Toby's identity, but thought his "compassionate" nature would make him want to build a relationship with Toby. Toby resents Martine and Mitchell for the former's decision to keep Mitchell and not Toby. Gordon said that Toby and Celeste have "ulterior motives", but did not believe that they were villains. Writers developed the twist further by revealing that Celeste is also the sister of Toby and Mitchell, making them triplets. On 21 August 2020, it was announced that Adams would leave Hollyoaks at the end of his contract. The character departs in episode 5476, broadcast on 24 November 2020. His exit story sees him blackmailed into leaving the village by Toby and Celeste.
Stuart Sumner
Stuart Sumner, portrayed by Chris Simmons, first appears in episode 5109, broadcast on 21 February 2019. Simmons announced his casting on Twitter on 2 January 2019, but soon deleted the tweet, which expressed his excitement about joining the cast. The character and further details were announced on 20 February 2019, prior to Stuart's introduction. Stuart is connected with The Teahouse café and shares scenes with Ste Hay. Simmons expressed his delight at his casting and believed that his character would "challenge and stretch" him.The character is at the focus of a year-long far-right extremism story, where he grooms Ste into joining his far-right group using "psychological manipulation" to "immerse him in their anti-Islamist ideology". Hollyoaks worked with Home Office-related organisations, Prevent and ExitUK, to produce the story and raise awareness for the subject. Simmons described the story as "dark" and said that Stuart is using "a disguise of respectability" and demonstrating how he is "friendly and good with Ste's children". The actor called Stuart "very clever and charismatic" and explained that he "genuinely believes what he believes". The character was killed off in an extended episode of the soap, episode 5301, broadcast on 18 November 2019, marking Simmons' final appearance.
Keen to portray himself as the respectable owner of the Teahouse, Stuart was actually the leader of a dangerous Far Right Organisation with the intention of grooming vulnerable young men into fostering Islamophobic beliefs. Along with his right-hand man, Jonny Baxter, Stuart successfully groomed Ste over the course of a year and fuelled his hatred of Maalik family. Once Stuart had isolated Ste from the Lomaxes, he planned to detonate an explosive device in a Muslim community centre - but it accidentally detonated in the Maaliks' back garden, causing Yasmine Maalik to go deaf. After that, Stuart began to realise that Ste no longer believed in the Far Right cause and became suspicious of him. Although Stuart tried to keep Ste locked in the house, his son, Sid Sumner reluctantly let Ste out to see Leela Lomax and Peri Lomax. Realising Ste could no longer be trusted, Stuart and Jonny abducted Ste and Sami Maalik and drove them to the clifftops - where he planned to kill them both. However, the police arrived and Sid pushed Stuart to his death to save Ste's life.
Shahid Shirani
Shahid Shirani, portrayed by Alex Williams, first appears in episode 5124, broadcast on 14 March 2019. The character and Williams' casting details were announced on 5 March 2019. Shahid is introduced as part of a far-right extremism story when he becomes the victim of a racist attack from a gang including Stuart Sumner, Jonny Baxter and Ste Hay. He first appears during a special episode focusing on the story, before returning a month later. Following his return, Shahid's brother, Amir Shirani, is introduced as another victim to the gang. Williams expressed his excitement at joining the soap and featuring in the story alongside Richardson and Quinn. He called his first scenes "hard-hitting".Babs Drinkwell
Babs Drinkwell, portrayed by Samantha Mesagno, appears in episode 5144, broadcast on 11 April 2019. The character was first referenced in January 2017 following the introduction of her daughter Lily Drinkwell. Details about the character's appearance were announced on 1 April 2019. Babs is created as Lily's mother and the sister of Diane Hutchinson. Her backstory states that she was terminally ill and died, which resulted in Lily's arrival in the village. McQueen explained that Babs' illness "forced to grow up before her time". The character appears in flashback scenes set in 2006 as Lily, in the present day, reminisces about her childhood while dying from sepsis.Amir Shirani
Amir Shirani, portrayed by Naveed Choudhry, first appears in episode 5155, broadcast on 26 April 2019. The concept of the character was announced on 15 April 2019, while the character and Choudhry's casting details were announced on 18 April 2019. Amir is introduced as the brother of Shahid Shirani who appears as part of a far-right extremism story. Amir and Shahid co-own a takeaway food business and when Amir delivers food to a far-right gang, including Stuart Sumner, Jonny Baxter and Ste Hay, they subject him to a racist attack. Prior to this, they had also attacked Shahid. Choudhry expressed his delight at appearing in the soap and said that he felt at ease working with the cast and crew. On the extremism plot, he commented, "I've enjoyed getting my teeth into the challenging storyline – the subject matter is very relevant and I'm keen to see the response when it airs." Choudhry appears in a guest stint, and makes his final appearance in episode 5163, broadcast on 8 May 2019.Sid Sumner
Sid Sumner, portrayed by Billy Price, first appears in episode 5164, broadcast on 9 May 2019. The character was announced on 30 April 2019. Sid is introduced as the son of Stuart Sumner and a new student at Hollyoaks High School. He features in the soap's far-right extremism story when he is racially abusive to fellow student Imran Maalik and falsely reports Imran as a terror threat. He also launches a prejudiced attack on Scott Drinkwell while he is dressed in drag. Price is initially contracted in a guest role, before being promoted to a regular character in October 2019. Sid returns as a regular during the following month and producers then plotted the character in the show's year-long county lines drug trafficking storyline.Sadie Cressington
Sadie Cressington, portrayed by Alexa Lee, first appears in episode 5179, broadcast on 30 May 2019. The character and Lee's casting details were announced on 21 May 2019. Sadie is introduced as the former girlfriend of Harry Thompson. She is his alibi for the night that Grace Black was run over in a stolen car, as the police suspect him for the crime. Glasspool explained that Sadie is a "former fling" who "wants something" from Harry. He added that Sadie is "the last thing he needs". Lee expressed her joy at joining the soap, calling the experience an "absolute pleasure and privilege". She enjoyed filming with Glasspool and Finnegan and looked forward to exploring the character further. The actress later reinforced that she was enjoying working with Glasspool and Finnegan, opining that she had "made friends for life".When Harry explains the situation to his boyfriend, lawyer James Nightingale, he is surprised to discover that Harry's former partner is a woman. A show spokesperson confirmed that Harry and James would try to persuade Sadie to give Harry an alibi. Sadie pressures Harry into meeting her and paying her, which Harry tries to keep secret. Glasspool said that Harry wants Sadie "out of life". Producers kept the reason for Harry paying Sadie out of advanced spoilers, and in the episode, it emerges that Sadie is pregnant with Harry's child. Glasspool explained that Sadie wants money because her family have ejected her from their home, but she is also hoping that Harry will "step up, be a dad and be in the kid's life". Sadie leaves the village when Liam Donovan pays her to leave and not be Harry's alibi.
Sadie returns to the village after receiving a call informing her that Harry is dying, but when she arrives, she discovers Harry is well. Lee told Alice Penwill of Inside Soap that Sadie is "torn whether to stay or go". Sadie admits to James that she was paid off, which helps his case for proving Harry innocent. When asked by Penwill, Lee said that she thought Sadie would make a good friend for Mercedes McQueen or Peri Lomax due to their similar personalities and experiences. On another visit to the village, Sadie goes into labour with Harry's son. Harry's father Tony Hutchinson and Breda McQueen to help, and gives birth to a boy, [|Isaac]. Glasspool pointed out that the experience "happens so fast" and makes Harry reconsider his stance on Sadie and the baby, deciding to be involved in their lives. He added that Harry believes that there is "no point holding a grudge against Sadie". The character makes her final appearance in episode 5218, broadcast on 24 July 2019.