Courtney Campbell is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Amy Conachan. The character and casting was announced in July 2016 and Conachan first appeared as Courtney on 29 August of that year. Courtney was introduced as the cousin of established characters Cameron Campbell (Cameron Moore) and Lockie Campbell (Nick Rhys), the latter of whom Courtney is trying to track down after he was murdered by Cameron. Courtney's initial storyline featured her involvement in the conclusion of Cameron's murder spree and her friendships with Cameron's fiancée, Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter), and her family. Conachan described Courtney as level headed and a family person that could take Cameron down, whilst critics described her as feisty. Conachan was happy that producers did not solely focus on Courtney's disability as she was determined that Courtney's storylines would not focus on her being in a wheelchair. The actress has praised Hollyoaks for not defining the character by her disability and allowing Courtney have fun "soapy" storylines, and believed that other shows could learn from that example.
Beginning in 2017, Courtney was central to a storyline where she becomes pregnant after a one-night-stand with Liam Donovan (Maxim Baldry) and she is unsure about whether to keep the baby. She decides against a termination and her manipulative grandmother, Granny Campbell (Jenny Lee), is introduced to cause issues for Courtney during her pregnancy, which was used to explore the character's backstory. Conachan did not oppose to her disability being brought up in the storyline as it would have been something that would be addressed if she was pregnant herself. Courtney also is given a love interest when Liam's brother, Jesse Donovan (Luke Jerdy), begins helping her during the pregnancy. After the birth of Courtney's daughter, Iona, Courtney and Jesse's romance faces more issues due to her grandmother's attempts to take Iona away by framing Courtney as a bad mother and a love triangle with Goldie McQueen (Chelsee Healey). After Jesse faces financial difficulties Courtney is blackmailed by Jesse and Liam's father, Glenn Donovan (Neil Roberts/Bob Cryer), into smuggling drugs for him after she falls behind in repaying his loan. This leads to Courtney meeting Liam (now Jude Monk McGowan) again in special episodes set in Magaluf. Conachan believed that Courtney is shocked to see him as she had given up any hope that Liam would do anything for her and Iona. After being arrested with drug-related charges, Courtney teams up with five other women (known as the WAGs) to kill Glenn. They are then targeted by a vengeful Liam, though it later transpires that none of them killed Glenn after all.
Courtney and Jesse marry in early 2020, but the marriage is short lived when Jesse dies on their wedding day from binge-drinking. Conachan was glad that the storyline could bring awareness to the dangers of drinking, and believed that she and Jerdy had portrayed the relationship well in order to create an impact on viewers. Conachan also explained that the soap would be exploring Courtney's grief following her husband's death. The following year, Courtney builds up a friendship with her student and Leela's foster son Sid Sumner (Billy Price), who develops a crush on her. When Sid kisses Courtney and lies that they had sex, Courtney is temporarily suspended. Conachan hoped that producers would not develop an inappropriate relationship between Courtney and Sid as she believed it would be strange due to Courtney being a maternal figure towards Sid. After the situation resolves, Courtney leaves for a new job in Scotland and Conachan made her last appearance as the character on 30 June 2021. Conachan explained that she had decided to leave the soap opera on a high after five years and did not rule out a return. Courtney was well received by critics and Conachan was nominated for "Best Actress" at the 2018 British Soap Awards. Courtney's joining with the WAGs was received positively, but the storylines where she is manipulated by her grandmother received criticism.
Casting and characterisation On 18 July 2016, it was announced that Scottish actress Amy Conachan had joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Courtney Campbell, the cousin of established characters Cameron Campbell (Cameron Moore) and Lockie Campbell (Nick Rhys), the latter of whom Courtney is trying to track down. It was reported that Courtney would join the Lomax household and teach science at Hollyoaks High, the secondary school of the soap's fictional setting. Conachan was excited to join the soap and to finally be able to talk about it, explaining, "Coming in as a new character to a show that's been successful for many years is something I'm really proud of. Everyone has been very welcoming and I'm looking forward to seeing how much trouble Courtney will cause in the village". Conachan also joked that she hoped Cameron is ready for Courtney's arrival.
Courtney was characterised as being rebellious. Conachan explained that whilst Courtney is quite "level-headed", she is also a bit of a "loose cannon". Conachan also described Courtney as a really being a "family person" and that she loves Lockie. Conachan told Inside Soap that Courtney's character would not be focused on her disability, explaining that whilst some of Conachan's previous parts had required a disability as part of their storylines, Courtney's was not, which she saw as a "really important step forward" for her as an actress and person. She added, "People are more educated and aware of disabilities nowadays, and I think having a girl in a wheelchair telling a story about her being in a wheelchair is a bit old now. For me, it's great that my first story had nothing to do with that whatsoever - and I just happen to be in a wheelchair." Conachan also described Courtney as "feisty and stubborn and she does what she wants and gets what she wants".
Development Introduction Conachan made her first appearance as Courtney in the episode that aired on 29 August 2016. Courtney comes to Hollyoaks to find her missing cousin, Lockie Campbell (Nick Rhys), who unbeknownst to her was murdered by his brother, Cameron Campbell (Cameron Moore). She also comes to the village for the will reading of Cameron and Lockie's father. Cameron is not happy to see her and tries to get her to leave, which leads to his pregnant fiancé, Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter), finding herself in the middle of the pair. Courtney makes some friends in the village and helps convince Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) to let Cameron's daughter, Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell), look after their daughter Steph Cunningham-Lomax. Courtney gets closer to the Lomax family and begins working at Hollyoaks High School, which Peri attends.
Conachan teased that Courtney's arrival could lead to comeuppance of Cameron, who by that point had already killed Lockie, Sam Lomax (Lizzie Roper), Danny Lomax (Stephen Billington) and Ziggy Roscoe (Fabrizio Santino). The actress told OK! that she hoped that Courtney would be the one to ensure that Cameron gets his comeuppance as Courtney "knows what she wants" and is similar to Cameron "temperament-wise", and also because Courtney would be determined for it. Conachan explained that there would be "fireworks" between her and Cameron and that tension would build up as Cameron looks more into Lockie's disappearance, adding that Courtney "just really gets going, and the audience may feel slightly worried for Cameron because she's really on a mission". Conachan believed that Courtney would be initially "absolutely heartbroken" if she found out what happened to Lockie and also really angry. Conachan added that Courtney "kind of trusts Cameron right now, and that would shock her. She'd never see that coming!" Conachan told Inside Soap that she believed that whilst Cameron is a dangerous criminal that Courtney should be wary of, she believed that Courtney had it in "in her" to take on Cameron, explaining, "if anyone can give as good as she gets, it's Courtney".
Courtney perseveres to find Lockie, which increasingly frustrates Cameron. A concerned Courtney continues searching for answers about Lockie and pushes Cameron for them as she is "increasingly suspicious" of him. Leela tells Courtney the "truth" about Lockie's drug use, but this does not stop Courtney from persevering with her mission and she sets up a missing person's page for Lockie. Courtney's search for her cousin leads to a "big week" for the Lomax and Campbell families as Leela ends up collapsing and Cameron promises her that no one, including Courtney, will stand in the way of them becoming parents again.
Courtney later puts up posters around the village about Lockie but is forced to remove them when Cameron tells her that Leela has high blood pressure and needs to be kept calm, though the posters turn out to be "the least of Cameron's worries" as he is asked by the police to identify a body that they have found. Cameron tells the police that the body is not Lockie's but lies to his family that it is, hoping that it will finally deter investigating his disappearance. However, this "upsetting development" makes Courtney more determined to get answers and she piles pressure onto Cameron as to why Lockie's body has not been released in order to give him a "proper send-off". Cameron continues to stall her, so Courtney – not wanting to be "fobbed off" any longer – asks Leela's sister, Tegan Lomax (Jessica Ellis), to secretly go to the mortuary after Cameron convinces Courtney not to; when Tegan returns, she reveals that the body is not there.
In January 2017, Courtney was involved in Cameron's "unmissable exit week" and the conclusion of his storyline. In the episodes, Courtney and the Lomax family head to a remote log cabin for a short break, but this takes a "horrifying turn" due to "Killer Cameron" as Tegan and Courtney discover the dead body of Celine McQueen (Sarah George), who Cameron murdered the previous month. Courtney tries to call the police, but Cameron snatches the phone off her and Courtney tries to reason with him when he angrily grabs Tegan. These scenes were filmed in November 2016, and a trailer was released to promote the episodes; as Courtney and Tegan were not shown in the trailer footage of Cameron chasing Leela and Peri, this led to speculation that Courtney and Tegan would be Cameron's "next unlucky victims".
Pregnancy and Granny