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 (Jorgie Porter). 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 (Gemma Merna) that his and Theresa's daughter, Kathleen-Angel McQueen, was fine with Theresa in February 2011.
Casting In May 2006, it was announced former Dream Team actor Ricky Whittle would arrive in Hollyoaks as "mysterious" Calvin Valentine. Along with Whittle's casting, it was announced his former Dream Team co-star Jamie Lomas would take on the part of "bad boy" Warren Fox. Speaking of Lomas and Whittle's casting, a Hollyoaks spokesperson stated: "We're delighted to welcome Ricky and Jamie to the Hollyoaks cast. Their characters are set to bring lots of drama to the show!"
In 2009, it was announced that Whittle had decided to leave the series after he quit to pursue other projects. It was then announced that the character would be killed off. Speaking of how he reached the decision to leave, Whittle stated: "To be honest I was always looking to leave next year. It'll be four years next year when I eventually leave. Everyone has ambition. I could stay on this show for the rest of my life because I love it up here - it's a wicked little family and we're all really close. However, I don't want to spend all that time here for a big movie director or producer to come across to England when I'm in my 30s and say, 'If you'd come over when you were in your 20s, you'd've made it really big'. I'd rather go over to the States, go do the movie thing, the drama thing, or even fail - I'd rather go over and fail and have them say, 'You're not good enough, your accent's not right or your look's not right' - at least then I'd know and I'd have it out of my head. I always believe you regret the things you don't do. I don't want what-ifs hanging over me."
Development
Personality and identity Calvin first appeared as an honest, kind-hearted policeman. However, in 2008, the character of Calvin began to change, when his younger sister Sasha Valentine (Nathalie Emmanuel) began buying drugs from Nige Foster (Sam Townend), who Calvin ultimately ended up believing he had killed. Whittle, speaking to Digital Spy, said, "He was at his lowest ebb. Everyone forgets that he's only 22 and he's had to look after his family. He's still just a kid himself and everything piles up on him. He just doesn't know what to do any more. Sasha was on the drugs and then she came off them. Calvin was making an extra effort with her and there was no reason for her to go back to them. He didn't understand why she went back to the drugs after all his efforts. When he caught her 'self-harming' — or what Calvin thought was self-harming — he didn't want her to go through the ordeal, so he went to get her drugs."
Calvin then began dodgy dealings for Warren, including drugs. Whittle, speaking to Digital Spy, said, "Calvin and Warren have always been these stags who have locked horns – good versus evil, battling for the two years we've been on the show together. Warren's going to start corrupting Calvin a little bit. Calvin's been on the moral side for two years and it's not really done anything for him. He's lost the girl, the baby, friends and family. Whereas Warren's been wheeling and dealing and he's got the girl, the club, the money, the car… Let's just say Warren leads Calvin astray a little and they're going to become allies."
Relationships The apparent love of Calvin's life was originally Louise Summers (Roxanne McKee). However, their engagement ended when he discovered her affair with his enemy Warren Fox. The second main love for Calvin was Carmel McQueen (Gemma Merna). The characters quickly fell in love, became engaged and eventually married. In May 2008, series producer Bryan Kirkwood, speaking to Digital Spy about the couple's upcoming wedding, said: "They're a fantastic couple to come up with stories for. They're engaged at the moment and it's nice to see the lighter side of Calvin. We'll have fun watching Carmel planning the wedding of the millennium and it'll continue to serve the fun war between the Valentines and McQueens."
Whittle also discussed Calvin and Carmel's relationship and second wedding. He explained: "Calvin's completely besotted with Carmel. She's the one he's always wanted - she's always been his true love since they first started seeing each other and everyone's always wanted them to get back together, which has been nice. I think it's a very good example of fan power. The producers weren't going to put these two together ever again because everyone wanted them together. It was a Ross and Rachel situation — they're meant to be [together], but something would always happen for it not to quite work out. I think Calvin and Carmel fans will be happy that they're back together in the episode — it'll just pull a few heartstrings when Calvin's shot at the end."
Departure and death Of the flash forward episode in which Calvin is killed, Whittle said: "I was so honoured that they gave me a flash forward — that’s never been done before. So people knew months ago that Calvin was going to die. You want to do a story justice and when it’s your exit, you want it to be memorable." Whittle's final scenes involved his death scene of which he stated: "Calvin was actually already dead, so it was more about the aftermath. I was just lying there while people were crying around me."
It was announced on 28 January 2011 that Calvin would appear to Carmel as a ghost in February 2011. His reappearance is to coincide with the revenge of Kyle Ryder (Neil Toon) on Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter), Calvin's murderer. Teasing the surprise storyline, a Hollyoaks statement said: "Calvin's spirit reignites Carmel's love for the man she lost and leads her to make some tough decisions about her future." However, Ricky Whittle will not return to the soap as the forthcoming scenes were filmed while he was still contracted with the show in 2010. Calvin returned for episodes from 14 February 2011, and made his last appearance on 16 February 2011.
Storylines
Backstory Living with his mother Diane (Pauline Black) and younger siblings, Sonny (Devon Anderson) and Sasha (Nathalie Emmanuel), Calvin assumed the "man of the house" role after his father, Leo Valentine (Brian Bovell), walked out on them when Sasha and Sonny were young. During this time, Calvin developed an over-protective personality, which still shows presently. Unbeknownst to Calvin and his other siblings, Leo had been having an affair with Valerie Holden (Samantha Giles) for years and had produced two more children, Danny (David Judge) and Lauren (Dominique Jackson), whom he went to stay with in the thirteen years before arriving in Hollyoaks.
2006–2011 Calvin arrives with his mother, Diane, and two younger siblings, Sonny and Sasha. Calvin begins his first day as a police officer and tragically discovers that Diane has been killed in a hit-and-run accident. Calvin then has to break the news to Sonny and Sasha. Despite grieving, Calvin does his best to look after his siblings, however their father, Leo, arrives to take control of the family. Calvin does not want Leo back in their lives because of the heartache he caused Diane. Sam Owen (Louis Tamone) takes everyone, including Calvin, hostage at The Dog in the Pond public house and threatens to blow it up. Calvin attempts to stop him by smashing a glass over his head, however this causes Sam to drop the lighter and The Dog explodes. Calvin saves Jake Dean (Kevin Sacre), despite Jake being responsible for Diane's death.
In 2007, Calvin and Louise Summers (Roxanne McKee) begin a relationship. After a heated dispute and eventual separation, Louise has sex with Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas). Louise and Calvin resume their romance, however, upon their reconciliation, she announces her pregnancy. Perceptive in knowing the baby could be Warren's, Clare Cunningham (Gemma Bissix) convinces Louise to have an abortion and tell Calvin she suffered a miscarriage. After Calvin uncovers Louise's betrayal, he dumps her. Calvin becomes a suspect with Warren, Louise, Sam "O.B." O'Brien (Darren Jeffries) and Max Cunningham (Matt Littler) for the attempted murder of Clare after his mobile phone is found at the scene of the crime. He is questioned but later released. In September 2007, Calvin unearths that he has two half-siblings, Danny and Lauren, who are the children of Leo and Valerie, the woman whom he had an affair with for years. Calvin and Carmel McQueen (Gemma Merna) become romantically linked and announce their engagement, soon after, despite having temporary separations. Calvin catches Nige Foster (Sam Townend) dealing drugs and, knowing he sells them to Sasha, takes the drugs and tells him to leave. However, Calvin's colleague, Eddie find the drugs and believes Calvin has an addiction. With Warren, Calvin accidentally kills Nige and is guilt-ridden. Carmel and Calvin marry, however before, Calvin goes to The Loft during a drugs raid and removes Warren's drugs for him. Meanwhile, Carmel is waiting to be wed. Calvin arrives late and apologises before getting married. After the honeymoon, Calvin decides he needs to reflect over his guilt of killing Nige and Carmel is angered upon his disappearance.
When he returns, Calvin begins to deal drugs for Warren. Calvin agrees to take part in a raid on The Loft with Mark Gascoyne (Craig Russell). Not having time to warn Warren about the raid, Calvin goes along with Mark and two other men, whom he later discovers are not police officers and that the raid is unofficial. Mark gets Calvin to attack Warren with a baseball bat, which he does. Calvin then calls for an ambulance. Calvin informs Carmel about the drug deals and Nige's death. Carmel then splits up with Calvin and moves back in with her family. Angry Calvin decides to get Warren to confess to Sean Kennedy's (Matthew Jay Lewis) murder. Calvin records the confession on a tape and is shocked when Warren also says he killed Louise on their wedding day. As Warren is arrested, Calvin discovers the recorder has not worked and that Warren is free. Warren begins a relationship with Sasha, much to Calvin's hatred. As Sasha turns her back on her family, Warren's life begins to shatter and he ends up hitting foster brother Spencer Gray (Darren John Langford), who then moves into the Valentines. Clare has returned and has taken Warren hostage in The Loft. Calvin walks in and finds them and decides to call the police, however he remembers how much hurt his family has been put through and leaves Warren's fate in Clare's hands. Warren then presumably dies and Calvin has to help save Hannah Ashworth (Emma Rigby) and Justin Burton (Chris Fountain) from the flames.