Hollyoaks is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive producer, Bryan Kirkwood.
The first character to be introduced was Dylan Jenkins (James Fletcher) – the estranged son of established character Trevor Royle (Greg Wood), who made his first appearance in early January. Shortly following, in late January, was the younger sister of Porsche (Twinnie-Lee Moore) and Celine McQueen (Sarah George), Cleo (Nadine Mulkerrin). In February, the "Lovedays", a small new family, were introduced, with Simone Loveday (Jacqueline Boatswain) appearing first, followed by the rest of her family – son Zack (Duayne Boachie) and husband Louis (Karl Collins). April saw the arrivals of Reenie McQueen (Zöe Lucker), mother of Porsche, Celine and Cleo and younger half-sister of Myra (Nicole Barber-Lane); brothers Aiden (Joseph Cocklin) and Kyle Bigsby (Mitchell Hunt); Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams), cousin of Sinead O'Connor (Stephanie Davis) and nephew of Diane O'Connor (Alex Fletcher); and the younger sister of Lindsey (Sophie Austin) and Kim Butterfield (Daisy Wood-Davis), Kath (Mikaela Newton). Cindy Cunningham's (Stephanie Waring) secret husband, Mac Nightingale (David Easter) and Jason Roscoe's (Alfie Browne-Sykes) police mentor, Ben Bradley (Ben Richards) began appearing from May. Dylan's mother, Val Jenkins (Tanya Robb), made her first appearance in June, as did Reenie's sexually abusive ex-boyfriend, Pete Buchanan (Kai Owen), and Sonia Albright (Kiza Deen), the woman pretending to be the missing daughter of Simone and Louis, Lisa.
Ben Bradley's drug-addicted daughter Carly Bradley (Sophie Wise) made her first appearance in July, as did Angela Brown (Adele Silva), her husband, Mark (Ben Faulks) and con artist Wayne (Nathan Whitfield). September saw the introductions of new villainess Ashley Davidson (Kierston Wareing), Derek Clough (Bruce Montague) – the abusive ex-partner of Nana McQueen (Diane Langton) and father of Porsche after raping Reenie, Jade Albright (Kassius Nelson), the sister of Sonia, and Joanne Cardsley (Rachel Leskovac), Louis' former mistress and Simone's former co-worker. October saw Ben's ex-wife, Sadie Bradley (Kirsty Mitchell) introduced and also saw Mac's family introduced as they take over the village pub The Dog in the Pond. The "Nightingales" include Mac's children, Nathan (Jared Garfield), Ellie (Sophie Porley) and Alfie (Richard Linnell); Mac's fiancée Neeta Kaur (Amrit Maghera); and Nathan's fiancée, Rachel Hardy (Jennifer Brooke). October also saw the arrival of new transgender Hollyoaks High headteacher, Sally St. Claire (Annie Wallace). In November, Diego Salvador Hernandez Martinez De La Cruz (Juan Pablo Yepez), Myra's toyboy lover, arrived in Hollyoaks, following her return to the village. In December, new doctor Dr. Berrington (Tupele Dorgu) made her first appearance.
Dylan Jenkins
Dylan Jenkins (also Royle), played by James Fletcher, made his first screen appearance on 6 January 2015. Dylan is the son of established character, "gangster" Trevor Royle (Greg Wood), who had been rejected by his mother and decided to find his father. A casting call was made for the character on 24 September 2014, revealing the show wanted to cast a "young male actor" that was aged 16 and over to play a "15-year-old emo boy" in a regular role that did not require a specific accent. Auditions were then held for the part of Dylan, with James Fletcher securing the part in 2014. In November 2014, Kirkwood revealed Dylan would become a student of the show's secondary school, 'Hollyoaks High'. Fletcher's casting was announced on 10 December 2014. It was teased whether he would be telling the truth about being Trevor's son. Dylan's first scenes were scheduled to air in January. Fletcher commenting, "Dylan has come to Hollyoaks to find something that's been missing from his life. He hopes he'll find what he's looking for, but it could be a struggle to get what he wants if people keep standing in his way. Deep down Dylan is a good kid who just wants to find his place in the world, but if you cross him he'll make you pay for it. He has secrets but if I told you, they wouldn't be secrets anymore, would they?"
Dylan is 15 years old upon his arrival. He was billed as "a good kid who wants to find his place in the world, but if you cross him he'll make you pay for it." Fletcher described Dylan as "varied", "somebody that isn't run of the mill" and "different". Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy described Dylan as an "alternative teen". Executive producer, Bryan Kirkwood also described Dylan as "different". Johnathan Brown of OK! magazine described him as a "troublemaker". Dylan was described as "mysterious" upon his introduction. Dylan arrives in Hollyoaks village on 6 January 2015 when he tells a shocked Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) that her father, Cameron Campbell (Cameron Moore), is his father. Cameron is confused when Dylan introduces himself, but Trevor corrects him and reveals himself to be Dylan's father.
In an interview with Digital Spy, Fletcher discussed Dylan's cross-dressing storyline, stating how "a lack of a mother figure in his life at the moment" is behind his decision to crossdress. Of Trevor's reaction to Dylan's cross-dressing fun, Fletcher said Trevor "blows up at him" and "Dylan is distraught over Trevor's reaction." Fletcher hopes that story will have a positive impact and that viewers "will just be less judgemental about what people are wearing." He went to mention that Dylan has "nobody to talk to about" his cross-dressing. Fletcher also confirmed that it has been "great fun" to make the transformation to Dylan and his look. On 19 May, it was announced that Dylan's mother, Val Jenkins, would be arriving in the village on 1 June, played by Tanya Robb. It was revealed that Val would arrive after receiving news Dylan had been in a road accident and that Dylan would be happy to see his mother after several months in the village without her. Val would also be seen offering support to her Trevor, to the dismay of Grace who becomes jealous over her presence. It was also announced that Dylan would keep his cross-dressing secret from his mother.
In May 2015, it was announced that Fletcher had chosen to leave his role as Dylan at the end of his contract. Dylan's final scenes were commented to be "a while off", with show bosses promising more drama in the build-up to his exit. Fletcher chose not to comment on his exit, but a Hollyoaks spokesperson said: "Dylan was a popular new addition with the show's young fans, so he definitely won't be leaving quietly. There's a busy few months ahead for him – building up to a memorable exit." Dylan departs on 28 August after being killed off as part of the ongoing "Gloved Hand Killer" storyline. Fletcher spoke to Digital Spy about his exit, stating that he felt his exit storyline was "amazing" and how he "loved that we got to film on location in Sefton Park in Liverpool". When questioned on his reason behind leaving, Fletcher said: "It was one of those things where I went into it and thought, 'I know I don't want to do more than a year'. That was because I'm essentially fresh out of drama school and I didn't train for 4 years to then just do one job." He revealed that he was contracted until late October, but when producers developed this storyline, they went with an early departure. Discussing Kim's visions of Dylan, Fletcher said how they were "great fun": "That was great fun because I got to be scary – it's the closest I've ever got to filming anything with a horror genre. When I saw how they actually make that work when it comes to filming it, you soon find out that it's not scary at all! But hopefully, the thing that ends up on telly will be a bit of a surprise for everyone." Fletcher also stated how it looks that Kim killed Dylan, but he would "love to know who's killed [him]". He also mentioned how pleased he was with the reaction to Dylan's cross-dressing storyline and how it was "fun" to play "such a varied character". Fletcher concluded with the hope that Hollyoaks introduces more "alternative" teenagers to the show in the future.
Dylan arrives in the village believing Cameron Campbell (Cameron Moore) to be his father, until Trevor reveals the truth. Dylan swiftly joins Hollyoaks High School, making friends with Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell), Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) and Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson). Dylan develops a strong bond with Nico, later entering a relationship with her. He supports and protects Nico from her uncle Will Savage (James Atherton), who is being treated hospital after Nico pushed him off the hospital roof. Dylan, Nico and Tom are stunned to discover that Peri is pregnant and support her, but to cover this, Nico lies that she is pregnant by Dylan. Nico's grandfather Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) threatens Dylan after discovering Nico's "pregnancy". Dylan later began dressing up in female clothing, first as a fun afternoon with Peri, Tom and Nico where they dress up in wedding attire. However, when Trevor discovers this through a video Peri has uploaded to the internet, he is furious. Dylan's experiences later becomes more serious and begins trying on Trevor's fiancée, Grace Black's (Tamara Wall) make-up, dresses and jewellery. Dylan is later targeted by bullies, Aiden (Joseph Cocklin) and Kyle Bigsby (Mitchell Hunt) for his appearance and personality. Dylan and Nico plot revenge, but it backfires on them when Aiden and Kyle catch them red-handed. Dylan comforts himself by trying on Grace's clothes.
Dylan later goes on a date with Nico, whilst wearing her mother Sienna Blake's (Anna Passey) silk top. Nico tries to undo Dylan's top, but he panics and runs. He is hit by a car driven by Zack Loveday (Duayne Boachie) and is admitted to hospital. Whilst in hospital, nurse Kim Butterfield (Daisy Wood-Davis), who is stalking Grace, discovers his secret and blackmails him, threatening to tell Trevor if he does not put her camera back into the flat. Dylan does so, keeping his secret safe. Dylan is later accused of drugging Nico and planning a sexual assault and despite Nico's pleas to police officer Ben Bradley (Ben Richards), he is nearly charged. In July, Dylan's cross-dressing secret is discovered by Trevor and Grace and react badly. Trevor locks Dylan in the flat, causing an emotional Dylan to tear off his clothes. When Dylan frees himself, he confides in Nico and they take revenge on Trevor by tampering with his car. However, they are shocked to discover that a heavily pregnant Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks) and her friend, Sinead O'Connor (Stephanie Davis) have used the car for a trip to a spa. Dylan and Nico also vandalise The Loft ahead of its grand re-opening. Trevor later punches Dylan when they have an argument.