Anita Roy
Encyclopedia
Anita Roy is a fictional character
from the long-running Channel 4
soap opera
Hollyoaks
, played by Saira Choudhry
. Choudhry was cast in 2008 as part of the new Roy family and arrived in November and stayed in the serial for 2 years before she left Hollyoaks on 20 January 2011. Her more notable storylines include being racially bullied, which was nominated for an award at the Inside Soap Awards and which led to her self-harming storyline. In her time on the show she also discovered that she is adopted and began an on-line relationship. Anita also suffered an identity crisis
.
described Anita as "a self-harming schoolgirl with low self-esteem." Colin Daniels of Digital Spy
branded her a "troubled teen". In an interview Choudry labelled the character "disturbing" and commented that "She's not so self-absorbed and she's turned into a young adult now." On her favourite storyline she also added that it was "probably the story where Anita tried to bleach her skin." because of how challenging it was to her and because she was most proud of it. E4 also said the character was originally "a shy young teenager, who found it hard make friends because her Dad happened to be head of the school." The Daily Star labelled her a "honey".
and Barry Newton used her so they could be together in secret, this led to Anita feeling secluded from their group. Anita tried to dress like Newt and Lauren, however Leila Roy
told her to be herself. She then began a friendship with Theresa McQueen
. After Lauren and Newt split up, Anita and Newt began a relationship. Lauren was jealous and began to make people think Anita was bullying her. Newt took Lauren's side and dumped Anita, with only Theresa believing she was innocent. Anita began feeling self-conscious and wished to be blonde and beautiful like Theresa. She then put a picture of Theresa on a social networking website and pretended to be her, when Theresa found out, she called her a freak. Local bully Gaz Bennett
approached Anita and began racially bullying her. Anita, in order to become white, began rubbing bleach onto her skin.
When Choudry found out about the storyline, she was "quite surprised". She said the nature of the story was controversial and she felt shocked at some of things Gaz does to Anita. Choudry was not certain Hollyoaks had ever aired such "dark scenes" of racism before. The storyline gave Choudry a chance to "do something new" as she had previously been filming "normal school scnes." Speaking on the opportunity to portray the storyline, she added: "I just felt really glad to be given the chance to do something like this - it was a big challenge." The Daily Star called the storyline "one of the show’s most controversial plotlines" and "shocking."
. Anita was adopted by Govinda and Bel Roy, who then failed to inform Anita she was adopted until she was sixteen and told by her brother Ash. She keeps to herself, and is friends with Barry Newton, Theresa McQueen
and Lauren Valentine
.
and Barry Newton. Anita feels she is different from her friends and begins to dress like them, however is advised by sister Leila Roy
to be herself. After helping Bel Roy in Evissa, Anita begins to dislike Theresa McQueen
, however the pair do eventually become friends. Anita discovers a CCTV DVD
containing Warren Fox
having sex in The Loft with Mandy Richardson
, which Ravi Roy
accidentally left out. Anita then shows Michaela McQueen
and Theresa McQueen
, with Myra McQueen
and Jacqui McQueen deciding to go to Warren's wedding to Louise Summers and show the wedding party. Gaz Bennett
begins to bully Anita, who makes racist comments towards her, he is later expelled from Hollyoaks High School. Lauren and Newt begin to use Anita to cover up their secret relationship, with Newt pretending to be Anita's boyfriend. The pair eventually do go out after Lauren and Newt split up.
Jealous Lauren begins claiming she is being physically bullied by Anita. Anita protests her innocence, however Newt takes Lauren's word for it and ends the relationship. Theresa convinces Anita to record Lauren saying she made the bullying up, when she does so, Lauren threatens Anita but is told to leave by Gaz, who returns and apologises to Anita. Anita begins to think Gaz has changed and agrees to meet him. When she does, Gaz and his friends throw white paint over her and record it. With the video circulating around the village, Lauren sends it to various people, leading Anita slap her. Anita finds the video on the internet and reads hurtful comments about herself. She then signs up to an social networking website and uses an image of Theresa as herself when she gets a compliment. Anita begins to talk on-line to a boy named Ricky
. Theresa catches Anita pretending to be her and calls her sad. Anita is hurt and begins to pour household bleach on her legs. Leila finds Anita in pain and comforts her. Leila tells the rest of the family and Govinda believes she is ashamed of her ethnicity. Anita puts on Theresa's jacket and smashes the school window, which is caught on CCTV. Gov believes it was Theresa but Anita admits the truth. Theresa is shocked to discover Anita's self-harming and tells her she is beautiful. Theresa, Newt, Anita and Lauren confide in each other and make up, with Theresa revealing Anita's self-harming.
Anita and her "20 year old" internet boyfriend, Ricky Campbell
, decide to meet, however Anita, who has still been using Theresa's photo, is stood up, although Ricky had really caught Theresa, who he assumed was Anita, kissing Newt. Anita then tells Ricky on-line she lied about her identity. The pair then meet and Anita is shocked to find he is actually 14. Ricky records Theresa and Newt acting more than friends in order to get Anita to believe him. During a camping trip, Newt and Theresa accidentally invite Anita and Lauren, with Ricky inviting himself. Ricky promises to keep Theresa and Newt's relationship a secret as long as they pretend to like him because he really likes Anita. When Lauren discovers the truth, Newt and Theresa have an argument and Anita is angry that they made her believe Ricky had lied. Theresa then makes fun of Ricky. Newt shouts at Anita, with Ricky standing up for her. The pair, on their own, share a kiss. Anita then decides to give their relationship a chance because he liked Anita for who she is.
Ravi's aneurysm
causes him to fall into a coma after Ash hits him. Anita is worried the hereditary condition could mean she and her other siblings could get it, however Ash reassures her she cannot, as she is adopted. Anita refuses to believe Ash, who then manipulates her into keeping it a secret. To make her believe, Ash shows her a birth certificate, revealing her birth mother was a teenager and that her parents had lied to her. She then confides in Ricky about the adoption. After finally confessing she knows about her adoption, Anita cannot face her "family". Ash then tells his parents she came to him with her birth certificate, however Ravi, who awakens, reveals he overheard Ash telling Anita. To escape her problems, Anita confides in Newt, and the pair begin a secret relationship. Newt, Lauren and Anita leave for a few days at a cottage. Gaz returns and follows the group there, as does Ricky. Gaz threatens Anita and tells her to have sex with him. Anita drugs his alcohol with peanuts, due to his allergy. Anita escapes the cottage before he can force her into sex. Gaz rushes after her and jumps on top of her. Struggling, Anita reaches for a brick and hits Gaz. Seriously injured Gaz is rushed to hospital. Newt believes he had attacked Gaz but cannot recall the events. Anita tells Newt, Lauren, Theresa and Ricky she was the one who had hit Gaz. Theresa looks at Gaz's phone and finds a recording of Anita and Newt kissing, she slaps Anita then leaves.
Whilst getting drunk in The Dog in the Pond
with Dave Colburn
, Anita is sick in the toilets and is caught by former anorexic Hannah Ashworth
. Hannah then believes Anita is suffering from the same illness
and consults Leila, who tells Anita she can confide in her. For attention, Anita leads Hannah to believe she is suffering from the illness. Leila, Anita's teacher Nancy Hayton
and Theresa believe she has an eating disorder. When Anita catches Hannah being sick, she feels guilty, realising she could cause a relapse, and she confesses to an angry Hannah. Hannah then tells Leila, Theresa and Ravi. Anita and Ricky decide to lose their virginity to each other. However, a nervous Ricky decides to wait. Anita then lies to Leila that she has lost her virginity after she begins to treat her like an adult. She later admits she has not. Theresa and Anita set their sights on Dave. Theresa tells Anita that she can lose her virginity to him. During a party at the student halls, Anita feels like Dave does not even notice her. After he finds MDMA, Anita takes some in order to impress him. Later on, Anita goes dizzy and collapses. After being released from hospital, Ravi accuses Dave of spiking her drink. However, she later admits he is innocent and she took the drugs herself.
Anita ruins Ravi's date with a woman who she believes is called Kate, by accidentally spilling a drink on her. Later Ravi finds Anita has been stealing money from the till when asked about her recent change in behaviour. Anita reveals she's still upset with the knowledge that her real mother gave her up for adoption. Unbeknownst to her, Kate's real name is Eva Strong
and is Anita's real mother. Anita starts to find her birth mother, with Jem Costello
's help. Anita and Jem visit Anita's mother's workplace at a stall in Manchester. Anita is then hurt when she realises and is confused that Kate is actually Eva. Anita is horrified and devastated to learn this and furthermore thinking that Eva doesn't want her for the second time, and walks away in tears. However Eva returns and begs her to give her another chance. Anita does so, but discovers that she was a result of Eva's holiday fling with her Indian father. She is deeply upset when Eva doesn't let the conversation any further and instead, goes for fashion advice from Jem. Anita calls her mother a slapper and when Theresa comes for comfort after deciding not to have an abortion, Eva feels uncomfortable and leaves. Anita reconciles with Lauren who Lauren accepts to go to Paris with her to visit Leila but Gaz is furious about this and gives Lauren an ultimatum to either choose between him or Anita. She decides to choose Anita and consequently her and Gaz split. Anita then later finds a gun in Evissa after she is attacked by Gaz and came to Carmel Valentine for help. She tells Theresa, not knowing that she used the gun before to kill Carmel's husband Calvin Valentine
. Theresa then tries to ignore the situation and tries to convince Anita that she must have imagined it. Anita walks off in a strop and insists that someone will believe her, but is wrong when the gun is replaced by Theresa's cousin Jacqui McQueen. Anita is later held hostage by Gaz in the woods after he successfully lures her by texting through Theresa's mobile phone. During the hostage, Gaz finds the gun in his bag and is arrested by the police who arrives at the same time he found the gun.
Anita goes to a party at the McQueen house and kisses a boy named Jason. Anita becomes smitten by Jason until she realise he is in fact Jasmine Costello
. Jasmine explains that she is Jason born into the wrong body. Despite a strange start the pair remain good friends. Anita is then involved with Jasmine's ex boyfriend Bart McQueen
when they begin to proceed to have sex in a room at school, until they are interrupted by Eva, who catches them in the act. Anita feels embarrassed and she refuses to talk about it to her own mother. Anita stands by and sticks up for her friend Jasmine when she enters school as Jason. Eva finds Amber Sharpe
's diary, in which it claims that the principal Rob O'Connor is the father of Amber's unborn child. Eva then blackmails Rob over this. At first Anita believes it, but later feels sorry for Rob and decides to give him Amber's diary so he can dispose of it, unaware that her mother had taken out the important pages. Anita brought Rob back to her house to try find the missing pages, Eva returns home and see's Rob alone in the house with Anita, she then phones the police and has Rob arrested. Gaz returns to the Village and threatens Anita. Anita and Eva decide to move to Manchester
together, however shortly before they leave, Anita decides to go and stay with Bel and Govinda leaving Eva to go to Manchester alone.
. Caroline Fitton of the Daily Mail
commented negatively on Anita's fake anorexia saying it was unrealistic as "she looked way too healthy to be taken seriously" Jaci Stephen of the Daily Mail commented on Anita leaving saying "bad news for Anita on Wednesday, when she learns that she is needed back in Middlesbrough
. Not all bad, then" Stephens also commented on Anita's quest to lose her virginity branding the storyline "a bit of light relief". Holy Soap
described her most memorable moment as "When she tried to get paler skin by putting chemical bleach on her legs."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the long-running Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
, played by Saira Choudhry
Saira Choudhry
Saira Choudhry is an English actress, most notable for her role as Anita Roy in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks .-Television:-External links:...
. Choudhry was cast in 2008 as part of the new Roy family and arrived in November and stayed in the serial for 2 years before she left Hollyoaks on 20 January 2011. Her more notable storylines include being racially bullied, which was nominated for an award at the Inside Soap Awards and which led to her self-harming storyline. In her time on the show she also discovered that she is adopted and began an on-line relationship. Anita also suffered an identity crisis
Identity crisis (psychology)
"Identity crisis is the failure to achieve ego identity during adolescence." The term was coined by the psychologist Erik Erikson. The stage of psychosocial development in which identity crisis may occur is called the Identity Cohesion versus Role Confusion stage...
.
Characterisation
E4 described Anita as "sensitive soul". The Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
described Anita as "a self-harming schoolgirl with low self-esteem." Colin Daniels of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
branded her a "troubled teen". In an interview Choudry labelled the character "disturbing" and commented that "She's not so self-absorbed and she's turned into a young adult now." On her favourite storyline she also added that it was "probably the story where Anita tried to bleach her skin." because of how challenging it was to her and because she was most proud of it. E4 also said the character was originally "a shy young teenager, who found it hard make friends because her Dad happened to be head of the school." The Daily Star labelled her a "honey".
Self-harming
Anita's first major storyline started in late 2008, when Lauren ValentineLauren Valentine
Lauren Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Dominique Jackson. First appearing in 2007, Lauren was written out of the show in 2010 along with the rest of the Valentine family as part of series producer Paul Marquess's overhaul of the...
and Barry Newton used her so they could be together in secret, this led to Anita feeling secluded from their group. Anita tried to dress like Newt and Lauren, however Leila Roy
Leila Roy
Leila Roy is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lena Kaur. The character made her first appearance in June 2008. In November 2009, it was announced that Kaur had quit the role and would leave in January 2010.-Backstory:Leila was born in 1989 to...
told her to be herself. She then began a friendship with Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance in November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQueen family...
. After Lauren and Newt split up, Anita and Newt began a relationship. Lauren was jealous and began to make people think Anita was bullying her. Newt took Lauren's side and dumped Anita, with only Theresa believing she was innocent. Anita began feeling self-conscious and wished to be blonde and beautiful like Theresa. She then put a picture of Theresa on a social networking website and pretended to be her, when Theresa found out, she called her a freak. Local bully Gaz Bennett
Gaz Bennett
Gary "Gaz" Bennett is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Joel Goonan. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 25 November 2008. Goonan took a break from filming during 2010, and returned on-screen on 19 January 2011. Goonan announced his...
approached Anita and began racially bullying her. Anita, in order to become white, began rubbing bleach onto her skin.
When Choudry found out about the storyline, she was "quite surprised". She said the nature of the story was controversial and she felt shocked at some of things Gaz does to Anita. Choudry was not certain Hollyoaks had ever aired such "dark scenes" of racism before. The storyline gave Choudry a chance to "do something new" as she had previously been filming "normal school scnes." Speaking on the opportunity to portray the storyline, she added: "I just felt really glad to be given the chance to do something like this - it was a big challenge." The Daily Star called the storyline "one of the show’s most controversial plotlines" and "shocking."
Backstory
Anita was born to a teenage mother named Eva StrongEva Strong
Tania Evette "Eva" Strong is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sheree Murphy. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 April 2010.-Character creation and casting:...
. Anita was adopted by Govinda and Bel Roy, who then failed to inform Anita she was adopted until she was sixteen and told by her brother Ash. She keeps to herself, and is friends with Barry Newton, Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance in November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQueen family...
and Lauren Valentine
Lauren Valentine
Lauren Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Dominique Jackson. First appearing in 2007, Lauren was written out of the show in 2010 along with the rest of the Valentine family as part of series producer Paul Marquess's overhaul of the...
.
2008-11
Anita arrives with the Roy family in November 2008. They move into the Ashworths former home. Soon after her arrival, Anita befriends Lauren ValentineLauren Valentine
Lauren Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Dominique Jackson. First appearing in 2007, Lauren was written out of the show in 2010 along with the rest of the Valentine family as part of series producer Paul Marquess's overhaul of the...
and Barry Newton. Anita feels she is different from her friends and begins to dress like them, however is advised by sister Leila Roy
Leila Roy
Leila Roy is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lena Kaur. The character made her first appearance in June 2008. In November 2009, it was announced that Kaur had quit the role and would leave in January 2010.-Backstory:Leila was born in 1989 to...
to be herself. After helping Bel Roy in Evissa, Anita begins to dislike Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance in November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQueen family...
, however the pair do eventually become friends. Anita discovers a CCTV DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
containing Warren Fox
Warren Fox
Warren Fox is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jamie Lomas. He first arrived in 2006 as an old acquaintance of Sean Kennedy and quickly became known as the show's main villain...
having sex in The Loft with Mandy Richardson
Mandy Richardson
Mandy Richardson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sarah Jayne Dunn...
, which Ravi Roy
Ravi Roy
Ravi Roy is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Stephen Uppal. He first appeared in an episode airing on 20 May 2008, introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood. Since then he has been central to a bisexuality storyline and living with an aneurysm...
accidentally left out. Anita then shows Michaela McQueen
Michaela McQueen
Michaela McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Hollie-Jay Bowes. Michaela was the first of the McQueen family to be seen on-screen in 2006, when she was credited as Michaela Jones. On 8 June 2010, Hollie-Jay Bowes announced that she had quit...
and Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance in November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQueen family...
, with Myra McQueen
Myra McQueen
Myra McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nicole Barber-Lane. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 and was introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of the McQueen family.-Character development:The...
and Jacqui McQueen deciding to go to Warren's wedding to Louise Summers and show the wedding party. Gaz Bennett
Gaz Bennett
Gary "Gaz" Bennett is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Joel Goonan. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 25 November 2008. Goonan took a break from filming during 2010, and returned on-screen on 19 January 2011. Goonan announced his...
begins to bully Anita, who makes racist comments towards her, he is later expelled from Hollyoaks High School. Lauren and Newt begin to use Anita to cover up their secret relationship, with Newt pretending to be Anita's boyfriend. The pair eventually do go out after Lauren and Newt split up.
Jealous Lauren begins claiming she is being physically bullied by Anita. Anita protests her innocence, however Newt takes Lauren's word for it and ends the relationship. Theresa convinces Anita to record Lauren saying she made the bullying up, when she does so, Lauren threatens Anita but is told to leave by Gaz, who returns and apologises to Anita. Anita begins to think Gaz has changed and agrees to meet him. When she does, Gaz and his friends throw white paint over her and record it. With the video circulating around the village, Lauren sends it to various people, leading Anita slap her. Anita finds the video on the internet and reads hurtful comments about herself. She then signs up to an social networking website and uses an image of Theresa as herself when she gets a compliment. Anita begins to talk on-line to a boy named Ricky
Ricky Campbell
Richard "Ricky" Campbell is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ashley Margolis. He made his first on-screen appearance on 16 June 2009. Ricky was created by executive producer Lucy Allan. Margolis took a period of leave in 2010 to complete his real life...
. Theresa catches Anita pretending to be her and calls her sad. Anita is hurt and begins to pour household bleach on her legs. Leila finds Anita in pain and comforts her. Leila tells the rest of the family and Govinda believes she is ashamed of her ethnicity. Anita puts on Theresa's jacket and smashes the school window, which is caught on CCTV. Gov believes it was Theresa but Anita admits the truth. Theresa is shocked to discover Anita's self-harming and tells her she is beautiful. Theresa, Newt, Anita and Lauren confide in each other and make up, with Theresa revealing Anita's self-harming.
Anita and her "20 year old" internet boyfriend, Ricky Campbell
Ricky Campbell
Richard "Ricky" Campbell is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ashley Margolis. He made his first on-screen appearance on 16 June 2009. Ricky was created by executive producer Lucy Allan. Margolis took a period of leave in 2010 to complete his real life...
, decide to meet, however Anita, who has still been using Theresa's photo, is stood up, although Ricky had really caught Theresa, who he assumed was Anita, kissing Newt. Anita then tells Ricky on-line she lied about her identity. The pair then meet and Anita is shocked to find he is actually 14. Ricky records Theresa and Newt acting more than friends in order to get Anita to believe him. During a camping trip, Newt and Theresa accidentally invite Anita and Lauren, with Ricky inviting himself. Ricky promises to keep Theresa and Newt's relationship a secret as long as they pretend to like him because he really likes Anita. When Lauren discovers the truth, Newt and Theresa have an argument and Anita is angry that they made her believe Ricky had lied. Theresa then makes fun of Ricky. Newt shouts at Anita, with Ricky standing up for her. The pair, on their own, share a kiss. Anita then decides to give their relationship a chance because he liked Anita for who she is.
Ravi's aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
causes him to fall into a coma after Ash hits him. Anita is worried the hereditary condition could mean she and her other siblings could get it, however Ash reassures her she cannot, as she is adopted. Anita refuses to believe Ash, who then manipulates her into keeping it a secret. To make her believe, Ash shows her a birth certificate, revealing her birth mother was a teenager and that her parents had lied to her. She then confides in Ricky about the adoption. After finally confessing she knows about her adoption, Anita cannot face her "family". Ash then tells his parents she came to him with her birth certificate, however Ravi, who awakens, reveals he overheard Ash telling Anita. To escape her problems, Anita confides in Newt, and the pair begin a secret relationship. Newt, Lauren and Anita leave for a few days at a cottage. Gaz returns and follows the group there, as does Ricky. Gaz threatens Anita and tells her to have sex with him. Anita drugs his alcohol with peanuts, due to his allergy. Anita escapes the cottage before he can force her into sex. Gaz rushes after her and jumps on top of her. Struggling, Anita reaches for a brick and hits Gaz. Seriously injured Gaz is rushed to hospital. Newt believes he had attacked Gaz but cannot recall the events. Anita tells Newt, Lauren, Theresa and Ricky she was the one who had hit Gaz. Theresa looks at Gaz's phone and finds a recording of Anita and Newt kissing, she slaps Anita then leaves.
Whilst getting drunk in The Dog in the Pond
The Dog in the Pond
The Dog in the Pond is a fictional public house in the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. It has been at the centre of the show's setting since it began in 1995. The pub was burnt down in episodes airing in September 2006 during the 'Fire at The Dog', which killed five regular characters...
with Dave Colburn
Dave Colburn
David "Dave" Colburn is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Elliot James Langridge. He first appeared in Hollyoaks online spin-off, Hollyoaks: The Morning After the Night Before, which explored the dangers of binge drinking...
, Anita is sick in the toilets and is caught by former anorexic Hannah Ashworth
Hannah Ashworth
Hannah Rose Ashworth is a fictional character from long-running Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Emma Rigby. Hannah first appeared on-screen from October 3, 2005 until her exit on February 12, 2010....
. Hannah then believes Anita is suffering from the same illness
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
and consults Leila, who tells Anita she can confide in her. For attention, Anita leads Hannah to believe she is suffering from the illness. Leila, Anita's teacher Nancy Hayton
Nancy Hayton
Nancy Anne Hayton is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jessica Fox. The character first appeared on 6 July 2005. Since the character's inception she has been involved in many notable storylines such as a three-way open relationship, drug taking,...
and Theresa believe she has an eating disorder. When Anita catches Hannah being sick, she feels guilty, realising she could cause a relapse, and she confesses to an angry Hannah. Hannah then tells Leila, Theresa and Ravi. Anita and Ricky decide to lose their virginity to each other. However, a nervous Ricky decides to wait. Anita then lies to Leila that she has lost her virginity after she begins to treat her like an adult. She later admits she has not. Theresa and Anita set their sights on Dave. Theresa tells Anita that she can lose her virginity to him. During a party at the student halls, Anita feels like Dave does not even notice her. After he finds MDMA, Anita takes some in order to impress him. Later on, Anita goes dizzy and collapses. After being released from hospital, Ravi accuses Dave of spiking her drink. However, she later admits he is innocent and she took the drugs herself.
Anita ruins Ravi's date with a woman who she believes is called Kate, by accidentally spilling a drink on her. Later Ravi finds Anita has been stealing money from the till when asked about her recent change in behaviour. Anita reveals she's still upset with the knowledge that her real mother gave her up for adoption. Unbeknownst to her, Kate's real name is Eva Strong
Eva Strong
Tania Evette "Eva" Strong is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sheree Murphy. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 April 2010.-Character creation and casting:...
and is Anita's real mother. Anita starts to find her birth mother, with Jem Costello
Jem Costello
Jem Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Helen Russell-Clark. She made her first on-screen appearance on 5 March 2010.-Character creation and casting:...
's help. Anita and Jem visit Anita's mother's workplace at a stall in Manchester. Anita is then hurt when she realises and is confused that Kate is actually Eva. Anita is horrified and devastated to learn this and furthermore thinking that Eva doesn't want her for the second time, and walks away in tears. However Eva returns and begs her to give her another chance. Anita does so, but discovers that she was a result of Eva's holiday fling with her Indian father. She is deeply upset when Eva doesn't let the conversation any further and instead, goes for fashion advice from Jem. Anita calls her mother a slapper and when Theresa comes for comfort after deciding not to have an abortion, Eva feels uncomfortable and leaves. Anita reconciles with Lauren who Lauren accepts to go to Paris with her to visit Leila but Gaz is furious about this and gives Lauren an ultimatum to either choose between him or Anita. She decides to choose Anita and consequently her and Gaz split. Anita then later finds a gun in Evissa after she is attacked by Gaz and came to Carmel Valentine for help. She tells Theresa, not knowing that she used the gun before to kill Carmel's husband Calvin Valentine
Calvin Valentine
Calvin Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ricky Whittle. He arrived in July 2006 as a police officer with his mother and younger siblings and made his final appearance on 21 May 2010 after he was murdered by Theresa McQueen. Whittle...
. Theresa then tries to ignore the situation and tries to convince Anita that she must have imagined it. Anita walks off in a strop and insists that someone will believe her, but is wrong when the gun is replaced by Theresa's cousin Jacqui McQueen. Anita is later held hostage by Gaz in the woods after he successfully lures her by texting through Theresa's mobile phone. During the hostage, Gaz finds the gun in his bag and is arrested by the police who arrives at the same time he found the gun.
Anita goes to a party at the McQueen house and kisses a boy named Jason. Anita becomes smitten by Jason until she realise he is in fact Jasmine Costello
Jasmine Costello
Jason Costello is a fictional character from the English Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Victoria Atkin. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 2 August 2010 and was introduced by series producer Paul Marquess as a member of the yet to be established Costello family...
. Jasmine explains that she is Jason born into the wrong body. Despite a strange start the pair remain good friends. Anita is then involved with Jasmine's ex boyfriend Bart McQueen
Bart McQueen
Bartholomew "Bart" McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jonny Clarke. He first appeared onscreen at his stepmother's funeral in August 2010, introduced by producer Paul Marquess as a member of the McQueen family...
when they begin to proceed to have sex in a room at school, until they are interrupted by Eva, who catches them in the act. Anita feels embarrassed and she refuses to talk about it to her own mother. Anita stands by and sticks up for her friend Jasmine when she enters school as Jason. Eva finds Amber Sharpe
Amber Sharpe
Amber Sharpe is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lydia Lloyd-Henry. The character was introduced as a member of the new Sharpe family, as part of series producer Paul Marquess' rejuvenation of the serial in 2010. She made her first on-screen...
's diary, in which it claims that the principal Rob O'Connor is the father of Amber's unborn child. Eva then blackmails Rob over this. At first Anita believes it, but later feels sorry for Rob and decides to give him Amber's diary so he can dispose of it, unaware that her mother had taken out the important pages. Anita brought Rob back to her house to try find the missing pages, Eva returns home and see's Rob alone in the house with Anita, she then phones the police and has Rob arrested. Gaz returns to the Village and threatens Anita. Anita and Eva decide to move to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
together, however shortly before they leave, Anita decides to go and stay with Bel and Govinda leaving Eva to go to Manchester alone.
Reception
In 2009 the storyline which saw Gaz racistly bully Anita was nominated for best storyline at the Inside Soap AwardsInside Soap Awards
The Inside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony run by Inside Soap magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate the British and Australian soap operas and their actors. Until 2007, EastEnders had won the award for "Best Soap" on every occasion...
. Caroline Fitton of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
commented negatively on Anita's fake anorexia saying it was unrealistic as "she looked way too healthy to be taken seriously" Jaci Stephen of the Daily Mail commented on Anita leaving saying "bad news for Anita on Wednesday, when she learns that she is needed back in Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
. Not all bad, then" Stephens also commented on Anita's quest to lose her virginity branding the storyline "a bit of light relief". Holy Soap
Holy Soap
Holy Soap is a UK television and entertainment website founded in June 2009 by the British television company Channel 5. The website is the official UK home of the Australian soap operas Home and Away and Neighbours, which are broadcast on the channel...
described her most memorable moment as "When she tried to get paler skin by putting chemical bleach on her legs."
External links
- Anita Roy on the E4 website
- Character profile at Holy SoapHoly SoapHoly Soap is a UK television and entertainment website founded in June 2009 by the British television company Channel 5. The website is the official UK home of the Australian soap operas Home and Away and Neighbours, which are broadcast on the channel...