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 (Ricky Whittle); teenage pregnancy; being the target of serial killer Silas Blissett (Jeff Rawle); falling down a lift shaft; discovering her boyfriend, Ethan Scott (Craig Vye) was dating two other women and forming a friendship with the girls; finding her long-lost father; relationships with Dodger Savage (Danny Mac), Will Savage (James Atherton) and Joel Dexter (Andrew Still); 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.
It was announced in April 2014, four months after her exit scenes aired, that Porter would be returning to the serial as Theresa, with her return scenes airing on 25 August 2014. Theresa's storylines since her return have included: a breakout from prison; giving birth to her second child, this time with Dodger and her subsequent on-off relationship with him; a feud with Sonny Valentine (Aaron Fontaine); being involved in a train crash which saw Calvin's wife and her cousin, Carmel (Gemma Merna) save Theresa and die; being kidnapped by Will; agreeing to donate a kidney to Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson); a relationship with Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) which saw her care for him as he suffered from motor neurone disease; and being targeted by Nico as she plotted to kill her for her other kidney. In 2016, Porter left the soap again in order to pursue a career in Hollywood. She agreed to reprise the role in 2020 for the programme's 25th anniversary on a short-term basis, however it was later announced that the character would not depart at the end of year as originally planned and Porter would remain in the soap indefinitely. On 8 December 2022, Theresa left the village to accommodate Porter's maternity leave, before returning on 16 January 2024. Porter took another maternity leave in 2024, with Theresa leaving the village on 30 December 2024.
Casting The character was announced in early November 2008. 20-year-old actress Jorgie Porter was cast as Myra McQueen's (Nicole Barber-Lane) 15-year-old niece, Theresa. She was described as a "teen temptress" and "lolita type". Porter, speaking of her new role, said: "I'm thrilled to be joining not just Hollyoaks but one of soap's most notorious families. Although she's feisty with outsiders, Theresa's ranking within the family is low so she's eager to impress. I can’t wait to see how Theresa earns her stripes as part of the McQueen clan!" Due to the departures of Tina McQueen (Leah Hackett) and John Paul McQueen (James Sutton) earlier in 2008, Hollyoaks producer Bryan Kirkwood added a new member to the McQueen family. Theresa was mentioned earlier before her entrance to the soap on-screen during a conversation between Myra and Nana McQueen (Diane Langton), her mother Kathleen McQueen (Alison Burrows) was also mentioned when it was revealed she was in prison.
Development
Characterisation The character of Theresa was first described as "A 'teen temptress' and 'Lolita type' who has a distinct lack of self-awareness. Her vulnerability is her status within her family and she is alert to the fact that she has a long way to go before she becomes a real member of the McQueens." Also her keen love of men was noted. In 2010, Porter commented on the character, saying: "She's got load of attitude, but she's got a good heart, too. Although she'd probably flirt with your boyfriend. She wouldn't mean to hurt you, but she'd think, 'Your boyfriend fancies me. Watcha gonna do?'" Following the revelation that Theresa shot Calvin Valentine (Ricky Whittle), Porter commented about what it would show from Theresa's character, saying: "I was a bit excited, too, because it's another side Theresa can show."
Calvin Valentine's murder and pregnancy
In December 2009, Hollyoaks broadcast the first ever flashforward episode. The episode, set in May 2010, featured the wedding of Calvin and Carmel Valentine (Gemma Merna), as well as the murder of Calvin. This started a six-month-long 'whodunnit'. During May 2010, Theresa was revealed as the killer. When asked what her reaction to the news that she was the murderer, Porter said: "I was a bit gutted because I thought I'd be gone, because everyone gets puts away for life if they kill someone. I believe one day she should get her comeuppance and I think she does." In an interview with Digital Spy, Porter was asked what happened in the aftermath, saying: "It's the whole guilt trip really. It was never planned because Theresa's not that type of person. She's not a murderer — she's a 17-year-old girl with little girl tendencies. She wants to talk about boys and clothes and make-up, then this comes along and totally changes her." She also explained Theresa's motive: "Well, she'd recently had a night of naughtiness with Calvin, and as a result she fell pregnant. She was really stressed out about it and he's getting married so she thinks, 'If I go and tell him maybe he won't get married to her and maybe he'll want to bring up the baby with [me]'. I think she thought he would be with her." Porter admitted that she thinks it allows viewers to see a "completely different side to her character," but also believes Theresa is probably "a little too young." She also admitted her view on Theresa's personality after Calvin's murder: "You see her become really vulnerable. You saw her vulnerable when her mum left but this is a total helplessness, she just doesn't know what to do."
Whittle, who portrayed Calvin, told Inside Soap that he was "very surprised" when he learnt the identity of the killer. He later admitted he wanted a different killer. He stated: "My opinion was it would have been someone else. If I was going to pick a killer for Calvin I don't think anyone had a strong enough motive apart from Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe), Malachy and Spencer. Obviously, with Malachy, I was sleeping with his wife. Mercedes is a woman scorned, and I don't think Spencer understands consequences so he could probably act without realising that if he shot Calvin he would die and that would be forever. I thought it could possibly been him because he was upset that Calvin left Warren to die, so those are the only three I felt had enough motive to pull the trigger."
Along with Calvin's murder, Theresa's next main storyline was her pregnancy. Porter commented on having to wear the fake bump, saying: "It's so hot! I have to wear a big padded bra as well as the bump and I can get quite irritable." She also expressed her concern about acting with a child: "I'm not looking forward to acting with a baby, either. Some kids can be quite laid-back, but I've worked with ones who've just screamed in my face the whole time. Nightmare!" After Theresa gave birth to Angel McQueen in Hollyoaks Later, Merna, who plays Carmel, explained Carmel's plan to take baby Angel and raise her as her own: "In Carmel's mind, the baby is hers. It's Calvin's baby, therefore it is her baby because they were supposed to be the ones who were going to have a child together. She's really angry and wants to make Theresa pay for ruining her life. But she also dearly wants to bring the baby up. She believes she can give Angel a better life than Theresa, who's young and still wants to go out and have fun."
2014 departure and return On 13 October 2013, it was announced that Porter had chosen to leave her role as Theresa after five years and would be filming her final scenes in late 2013. It was revealed, two months later, that Porter would be leaving to compete in the final series of Dancing On Ice, having previously appeared in the show in 2012. Theresa's exit storyline would see her face consequences for Calvin's murder that occurred four years previously, to which the show's executive producer, Bryan Kirkwood said: "Theresa has got away with murder for many years, so it is time for her to face the consequences." Entertainment website, Digital Spy reported that Porter was expected to return after a break, with the door left open. Speaking of her decision to leave, Porter said: "I've loved playing Theresa and of course being a McQueen. I've been so lucky to have been given some amazing storylines over the last five years. I start to feel a little emotional when I think about leaving but the time is right for me to move on. I've still got a while to go yet so there'll be plenty more mischief from Theresa over the next few months." Meanwhile, Kirkwood described Porter as " a real talent, beautiful, sexy and a delightful presence on and off screen." Porter had since stated she had backed her exit, while co-star, Gemma Merna (Carmel Valentine) expressed her sadness over Porter's decision to leave as well as stating she hoped that Porter would return soon.
Porter filmed her exit scenes on 17 December 2013 and was pictured in an emotional farewell party, surrounded by her colleagues. In January 2014, speaking in an interview with Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy, Porter revealed that the main reason behind her exit was appearing in Dancing on Ice and being unable to cope with both programmes and the tour when she appeared in 2012. She also mentioned that she was excited upon hearing that Sonny Valentine would be returning to the cast, now played by Aaron Fontaine, but quickly realised that Sonny would behind her exit. Porter also spoke about how she would miss her on-screen family, the show and her family. Theresa's exit scenes aired on 9 January 2014 as she was arrested for the murder of Calvin, following the return of Sonny. Porter appeared on Dancing on Ice, but was eliminated in the first week.
On 24 April 2014 - four months after her exit scenes aired - it was announced that Porter would be returning to Hollyoaks and that her return scenes would be air during the year. Theresa's return storyline would feature "more twists and turns" in the build-up to her trial. Of her return, Porter said: "I am excited to be returning. Theresa is awaiting trial but has some serious unfinished business before then so I am thrilled to be able to come back and finish what we started." Meanwhile, the show added: "Theresa is on a mission and she's got a secret that's going to shock a lot of people around the village." Fontaine also spoke about Theresa's return, stating that Sonny still wants justice for his brother's murder and is looking forward to the drama between Sonny and Theresa. He also stated that he expects to be involved in Porter's return, "It'd be weird if Sonny wasn't involved in it, because obviously he still wants justice for his brother. If Theresa is released from prison so quickly, he'll feel that justice hasn't been served." Porter later expanded on her return and expressed that she would like Theresa to be nice upon her return to the village. Porter revealed that she would be filming within the summer and that she is unaware of her return storyline as well as that she would like to stay with soap for "a while". It was also announced in July 2014 that Nicole Barber-Lane would be returning to her role as Myra McQueen to tie in with Theresa's return. Porter's return scenes were previewed in the annual Hollyoaks: Six Weeks of Summer trailer that showed what would happen in the space of six weeks between 21 July and 29 August.