Myra McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nicole Barber-Lane. She made her first screen appearance during episode 1796, originally broadcast on 12 June 2006 and was introduced by producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of the McQueen family. The character is initially designed to play a supporting role in her family's stories. She is characterised as a no-nonsense matriarch who is "fiercely protective" of her family and puts her children first. Myra has a series of failed relationship, leading to her many children. One of her early stories introduces Niall Rafferty (Barry Sloane), Myra's abandoned son who returns for revenge on his mother. The story concludes in a stunt when Niall explodes a church, killing Myra's daughter Tina Reilly (Leah Hackett). Barber-Lane left the soap in 2013 and Myra fakes her death after being shot.
Having made a brief return in January 2014, the character was reintroduced in September 2014 as part of ongoing family stories. Barber-Lane took a break in early 2015, returning in October 2015. Writers created a love interest for Myra in the form of Diego Salvador Martinez Hernandez De La Cruz (Juan Pablo Yepez). Their relationship was used to provide lighter, comedic stories and counterbalance the show's darker plots. It was then challenged through cheating accusations and Diego's family, before ending when Diego cheats. As part of the story, Myra becomes pregnant with her eighth child.
In 2016, producers explored the character's backstory through the introduction of Sally St. Claire (Annie Wallace), a trans woman who fathered Myra's son, John Paul McQueen (James Sutton), before her transition. Initially portrayed as feuding, the pair develop a friendship before being romantically paired together. Writers also used the character as part of a comedic friendship with Marnie Nightingale (Lysette Anthony), which won an award. Barber-Lane departed the cast again in 2019 and Myra leaves following the breakdown of her relationship with Sally. Barber-Lane returned for a guest stint in January 2024, before returning for intermittent appearances from December 2024. The character has received a positive response from viewers and critics alike.
Casting and creation In 2006, executive producer Bryan Kirkwood created Myra McQueen as the matriarch of the McQueen family, who were described as Kirkwood's "brainchild". Actress Nicole Barber-Lane was cast in the role and she was initially informed that the character was a middle class beauty therapist and business owner with a mechanic husband and multiple children. The character was reimagined as a "rough" single mother to multiple children with writers drawing inspiration from reality television star Lizzy Bardsley. Barber-Lane learnt this on her first day when she visited the costume department.
Hollyoaks executive producer Lucy Allan said that Myra is not central to storylines as she is not central to the show. She explained that Myra plays a very important role as the mother in the McQueen household, but that she would find it "abnormal" to run a storyline from Myra's perspective. After Barber-Lane lost weight she was asked to put on weight by producers as she "didn't look like Myra any more".
Character development Characterisation
Myra is characterised as the protective matriarch of the McQueen family who cares deeply about each family member. A journalist from the Hollyoaks website wrote that Myra possesses scepticism, scathing remarks and relentless double standards. They described Myra as the "queen of the McQueen clan", saying she is the "mediator of squabbling kids, harbourer of stray relatives, she is the rock which grounds the feral McQueen family through turmoils and tragedies galore". They continued that Myra has a "feisty, no-nonsense nature" before saying that "with her trademark gold chains and sovereigns, we'd put our money on Myra over Mr. T any day". Myra is portrayed as a loyal Catholic, something she shares with her daughter Carmel McQueen (Gemma Merna). Her backstory states that she has had many failed relationships, resulting in several children. Myra is a single mother and raised all of her children alone. Hollyoaks international broadcaster, BBC America, noted that this provided the character with "a survival instinct that she's instilled in her children." They described Myra as "loud, sexually free and ready to attack to protect the ones she loves", which was reflected in the characterisation of her eldest children, Jacqui McQueen (Claire Cooper) and Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe). On Myra's parenting technique, Barber-Lane said: "I think like many mothers, she tries her best. Whether her best is up to scratch is another question. She's certainly a very lenient parent, but also she would do anything for her kids, that comes before anything else". Cooper thought that although Jacqui often adopts a maternal approach in the McQueen family, Myra is always "the boss" in the family. She added that both characters possess a "matriarch feel" and if the family had to face a big problem, then Myra would be the one to deal with it rather than Jacqui. Barber-Lane related to Myra personally as a mother, dubbing her a "lioness and protector".
In addition to darker material, the character was written comedically. The Hollyoaks website recognised that Myra is "always first on her feet for a good night out and a spot of karaoke". Barber-Lane enjoyed the comic material and found it different to some of her earlier material. She described her character's personality saying: "She can be quite serious, she can be selfish, she can be loving and giving, she can be ridiculously stupid and she can be amazingly clever - all at the same time! What a woman!" Further comic material was devised for Myra in 2011 through the introduction of the Savage family as Myra develops a relationship with Dirk Savage (David Kennedy).
The character has had numerous failed relationships in her life with the fathers of her children, Martin, Billy, Marvin and Ricky. Barber-Lane described Myra's relationships stating: "She's always fallen for the bad guy, the ones that aren't good for her. They're the ones who give her a challenge along with a bit of fun and excitement. She always believes in true love, though. That's why she constantly gets hurt". Barber-Lane went on to express her interest in introducing one of the fathers of her children, saying: "I'd love for one of the kids' dads to come back, I really would. We've seen one of them already [...] but there was no interaction with Myra".
Myra has had different styles throughout her tenure. When she first joined the show, the costume department dressed her in a ribbed vest top, heavy jewellery and double denim. Myra often dresses younger than she is, opting to wear clothes that do not suit her and are too tight. Barber-Lane called it "another level of casual chic". In 2015, the costume department redesigned Myra's style to reflect her relationship with younger man Diego Salvador Martinez Hernandez De La Cruz (Juan Pablo Yepez). She was dressed in rah-rah skirts, blonde hair extensions and Crocs, which she wears with socks to avoid her toenails being caught. Barber-Lane described the skirts and hair extensions as "horrendous but hilarious!"
Niall's revenge In 2007, Kirkwood announced that a "tall stranger", Niall Rafferty (Barry Sloane), would soon join the serial and "the McQueen family take him into their bosom – Myra's to be precise". He explained that the character is Myra's son who she was forced to give up when she was young. Kirkwood added that the storyline would be "the big storyline" of the year as Niall "wreaks revenge" on the family. During the storyline Myra's children begin to disappear making her "panic" upon the realisation. Barber-Lane told Kris Green of entertainment website Digital Spy that Myra no longer wants to look for her son as "she thinks that she's a bad omen. All the bad things that have happened to her, she believes, happened because she gave her son away. However, by trying to find her son, she's being punished in different ways with her other kids. The Catholic guilt kicks in and she feels that it's all her fault. She decides that if she tries to find her son, she'll take him away from the white picket fence and the lovely life that she's created for him in her head. As far as she's concerned, she thinks that he's in a beautiful home, with a lovely mum and dad that are probably lawyers or doctors. That's why she really believes that she did the right thing giving him up when she was young".
Niall lures Myra to the church she left Niall at when she abandoned him at. Niall "stuns" Myra by grabbing her and showing her the step she abandoned him on as a baby. Myra is "completely confused" by Niall's actions but "it slowly starts to dawn on her, especially when she sees the rest of her family in the church". Barber-Lane explained that Niall decides to play one last game with the family and tells that he is "going to wipe them out". Niall decides that he will ask Myra questions and for every one of his questions that Myra answers correctly she can choose one of her children to live. Barber-Lane added that it is "really traumatic" experience for Myra. Myra answers all but two questions correctly and must choose out of her six children which two can live. Myra is told that if she fails to make a decision all of her children will die. Barber-Lane commented that for "a mother, that's such a ridiculously difficult decision. She does choose, though - that's something that comes back to haunt her". Myra chooses Jacqui and Carmel to die, when Mercedes and John-Paul (James Sutton) volunteer to die. The church exploded and Tina (Leah Hackett) is killed. Barber-Lane explained that Myra "can't forgive herself" for choosing Jacqui and Carmel to die. She added that the family dynamics changed when Myra made this choice. Barber-Lane said that Jacqui is less responsive to Myra and she became stronger than Myra who is "constantly riddled with guilt". She concluded that Myra now lets her children "get away with a lot more things than they usually would" because of her guilt.
Family