Serena Chen-Williams (also Galaxy) is a fictional character from the Channel 4 British soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Emma Lau. She originally appeared in a single episode originally broadcast on 22 September 2021 as a love interest for established character Sid Sumner (Billy Price). Lau later returned to the soap and began reappearing from December 2021 as part of a new family unit in Hollyoaks, consisting of Serena, her adoptive stepsister Lizzie Chen-Williams (Lily Best), Serena's step-uncle Ethan Williams (Matthew James-Bailey) and his girlfriend, Maya Harkwell (Ky Discala), Serena's mother Honour Chen-Williams (Vera Chok), Serena's stepfather Dave (Dominic Power), Honour and Dave's son Mason (Frank Kauer) and Dave's son Sam (Matthew McGivern). The family were the first East Asian family to appear in a British soap opera, which Lau was passionate about. Serena has been characterised as being a competitive athlete with an alter ego named "Galaxy", and Lau liked portraying both sides of the character. The actress initially was unaware of the alter-ego and believed she had been given the wrong script when she saw that her first scene was under the name "Galaxy". Lau also characterised Serena as being hardworking and emotional, which the actress related to.
Upon the family's move to the village, Serena struggles for her feelings towards Sid as he is now dating Lizzie, Serena's best friend and stepsister. Serena also faces Sinophobia linked to the COVID-19 pandemic from Becky Quentin (Katie McGlynn), which Lau believed was an important storyline that the soap was representing. Serena also begins a romance with Imran Maalik (Ijaz Rana), which ends due to Imran's eating disorder; Lau believed that Serena was better suited to Imran rather than Sid. Serena's other storylines include finding out that Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) is Dave's daughter, accidentally taking amphetamines, being forced to give up her place at the Commonwealth Games after falling from a café roof and being operated on by the unqualified doctor Ali Shahzad (Raji James), being threatened and taken hostage by incel Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty) and finding out that Mason has been radicalised by Eric and carried out misogynistic actions himself. Serena's final storyline sees her disagree with her family on how to deal with Mason's actions and she subsequently leaves the household, leading to Serena's exit from the soap, which aired on 12 January 2023. Lau called her stint on the soap an honour and felt lucky with Serena's portrayal. Lau briefly reappeared as Serena in the episode originally airing on 24 January 2023. Serena and her family were initially popular with viewers. Digital Spys Daniel Kilkelly praised Serena's initial guest appearance, but believed that Serena lacked screentime once she became a regular.
Casting
Emma Lau portrayed Serena. Her first appearance as Serena first aired on 22 September 2021. She was introduced as a love interest for established character Sid Sumner (Billy Price) and initially only appeared in one episode. After her initial appearance, Lau's return to the soap aired in December 2021. Lau was a regular cast member on the soap as Serena. Lau initially auditioned for the role of Serena and was told that the character was very "ambitious and sporty". Lau revealed, "Then I got my introductory episode and I was like: 'Whoa, Galaxy! Wait, she's a singer?' I was really confused. But then they explained it to me that this is an alter ego Serena goes to, as a release from the pressure she faces. That was really fun to do".
In November 2021, Hollyoaks released a winter trailer which revealed Serena would be returning to the soap and would be one of five new characters moving to Hollyoaks village, where the soap is set. The trailer also revealed that Serena's adoptive stepsister, Lizzie Chen-Williams (Lily Best), Serena's step-uncle Ethan Williams (Matthew James-Bailey) and his girlfriend, Maya Harkwell (Ky Discala), and Serena's mother Honour Chen-Williams (Vera Chok) would also be moving into the village, although it was not yet revealed that these characters were all part of the same family. In the trailer, Serena was depicted as being connected to Lizzie, and that Serena would be back as herself rather than Galaxy, her alter-ego. It was later revealed that the give characters were all part of the new "blended" Chen-Williams family, which also consisted of Honour's husband Dave (Dominic Power), Honour and Dave's son Mason (Frank Kauer) and Dave's son Sam (Matthew McGivern). They were described as a "close-knit clan" whose first scenes as a family involved them celebrating Christmas together at The Dog in the Pond. Most of the characters had been already introduced in seemingly unconnected storylines. Serena was depicted as being the sister and best friend of Lizzie, but it was teased that their bond could be tested over their mutual romantic feelings towards Sid. Chok explained that the pair's parents, Honour and Dave, have "been together for a long while and brought up this really adorable blended family". Before the cast members of the family began filming, they had a "workshop day" where they got to know each other and spoke about what they thought their characters were like and what they wanted, as well as doing some improv with the writers so that they could see how the cast members talk and move together.
The Chen-Williams family was the first East Asian family in a British soap opera and Chok revealed that there was also an East Asian director, writer and cultural advisor in the soap opera. Lau was passionate about being part of the first East Asian family in a soap opera. Talking about her experience of being in the soap in January 2022, Lau told Digital Spy, "It's been going really well so far. I've really enjoyed it". She believed that the people in Liverpool, where Hollyoaks is filmed, and the people on the set of the soap were very friendly; she added, "It's quite refreshing to walk onto such a welcoming set. To film regularly has been a great learning experience". Lau believed that the cast of her family were very nice and that they got on well. She added, "With Lily, it's like we're sisters in real life, which is really nice. I was there for her screen test and the chemistry was great". In July 2022, Lau said that she would like to work more with McGivern, who plays Sam, as the pair did not have many scenes together. She also said that one of her castmates that she wanted to work with more was the "lovely" Eva O'Hara, who played Verity Hutchinson, and that O'Hara and Lau asked one of the writers to write a scene for them at the 2022 British Soap Awards. In November 2022, it was announced that Serena's cousin, Shing Lin Leong, played by Izzie Yip, would be introduced the following month, thus expanding the Chen-Williams family.
Characterisation
An official Hollyoaks video highlighting the Chen-Williams family named Serena "The sister who loves to party". In July 2022, Lau teased that Serena's alter ego Galaxy could reappear. Lau liked exploring the two sides to her character, adding, "It's really fun! When I shot my first episode, the whole scene was under the name Galaxy, and I thought I had the wrong script. It's great to play them both – Serena is very sensible, and her style is very preppy. Then you have Galaxy and there are some wild looks, I've had to spend hours in hair and makeup". Serena was also characterised as being a competitive athlete. The reason for the Chen-Williams moving to Hollyoaks village is so that she can achieve her Olympic dreams. Lau said that she does not excel at sports like Serena does, but believed that she and her character are both neurotic, hardworking and emotional. Serena and her siblings were depicted as being born in Britain, whilst Honour is an immigrant, and Chok revealed that they think differently about their culture and heritage.
Development Love triangle and sister reveal During Serena's initial appearance, Sid flirts with Serena, who introduces herself as "Galaxy". Sid had woken up after getting drunk the night before and was unaware of where his prosthetic leg is, and he ends up getting a text from Galaxy, who gives him his leg back and tells him "embarrassing stories" of his drunken behaviour the previous night. Galaxy compliments Sid on his looks, which boosts his confidence as he had doubted himself over getting into a relationship since his amputation. Galaxy also tells Sid that she had misled Sid, as she claimed the previous night to be a famous musician from China, but instead participates in karaoke competitions in the UK. When she leaves, she agrees to see Sid again next time she is in town, and she then takes a phone call, which reveals that her real name is Serena.
A love triangle is then formed by Serena's return several months later; when Sid begins a romantic connection with Lizzie, things become complicated when Galaxy returns. She reveals that her real name is Serena and immediately entices Sid; however, it is then revealed that she has a connection with Lizzie and so Serena and Sid pretend to not know each other in order to protect Lizzie's feelings. Sid also finds out that Lizzie and Serena are sisters. Discussing the love triangle, Lau explained in early 2022, "Serena still really likes Sid. They had a spark on their night out last year and then it continued when she took his leg hostage! The feelings probably grew a bit more then". The actress added that Serena was surprised to find out that Sid was the guy that Lizzie was seeing, explaining, "It's difficult, because Lizzie really likes Sid. Lizzie isn't just Serena's sister, she's her best friend. So Serena has tried to close that door because it can't happen. Serena has tried to shut down her feelings, but maybe that's not the best thing to do. Suppressing your feelings is never a wise thing to do." Best explained that the situation would be very difficult for Lizzie as she really likes Sid but Serena is "one of her favourite people in the world"; the actress added that if Lizzie found out about Serena and Sid's history, it would hit "Lizzie like a ton of bricks. I don't think she'll expect it at all. I think it'll be really hard for her, because she obviously loves her sister". However, Best also believed that Lizzie would step aside for Serena to be with Sid if she felt that they were meant to be, adding, "She loves Serena too much and wouldn't want to affect her badly at all. So I think she would be willing to, but whether she does or not is the question!" Best also teased that Lizzie suspects that something is off with Sid, but it would be a "big deal" if she found out that Sid has feelings for her sister.
Serena, Lizzie and Sam become suspicious of Dave meeting up with Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) and they believe that he is betraying Honour; they are unsure of how to tell Honour, and they then decide to investigate the situation when they hear Dave telling Maxine that he is committed to her. Lau opined that those were "fun episodes". However, the siblings then find out that Maxine is Dave's daughter. Lau explained that Serena finds out the truth difficult to handle as Dave has kept this a secret from his other children for years. Serena continues to struggle with Sid and Lizzie's relationship, and when Lizzie invites Sid to their family games night, Serena ends up revealing a secret when things become competitive.