Kurt Benson
Encyclopedia
Kurt Benson is a fictional character
from the British Channel 4
soap opera
Hollyoaks
, played by Jeremy Edwards
. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. He was created by Phil Redmond
as one of the serial's original characters.
as being the Alpha male. The also go on to state: "A clean-cut guitarist with a quiff of dark hair and jeans that are unpleasantly loose, bagged together by a tight belt. He's chased by a panda car wherever he goes, though it's not clear what he's done wrong." MSN
described him as the serial's "original bad boy". Virgin Media
described him as "good looking, cheeky and often in trouble with the police, but everyone loved him". The Daily Record
described him as a "rebel- without-a-cause". The Liverpool Echo
described him as "heart throb" and said "He was a motorcycle-loving rock star-in-waiting." The Independent
described him as "cool-guy Kurt".
and Jambo Bolton
and had his heart set on winning Natasha Anderson
as his girlfriend. Tragedy struck before the two could really get together, and her death started a deadly feud with Rob Hawthorne.
He moved on to Ruth Osborne
(Natasha's cousin), and after a rocky start to their relationship, they ended up getting married. As a result, Kurt and Ruth became icons for all teenagers in love, demonstrating that love can conquer all. Their decision to marry was provoked by the trouble Kurt had got himself into after injuring Spike. Kurt had caught Spike making a play for Ruth and, in his attempt to protect her, he pushed Spike, causing him to fall from the scaffolding. As a result, Kurt was accused of attempted murder and was certain that he would be found guilty. He took off to Hull, sensing that Ruth doubted his innocence.
Ruth went in pursuit of him, however, and they decided to make the ultimate commitment to each other and got married, incurring the wrath of their parents when they returned home. When Kurt was found not guilty, the couple began to enjoy life as newly weds, although they knew that things would never be easy.
Meanwhile Kurt handed Rob over to the mercy of his drug dealers, who threw him from the roof of a car park. Rob never forgave Kurt, and began a long and drawn out plan to exact revenge. Rob’s plan culminated in getting Lucy
hooked on heroin and, when she fell into a drug-induced coma, Kurt took matters into his own hands and followed Rob to France. After a dramatic chase and confrontation, he left Rob floating in the middle of the Atlantic, announcing that fate would decide his destiny.
As Lucy slowly recovered from her ordeal, Kurt and Ruth’s marriage hit a rocky patch and they both began to wonder whether they had made a mistake marrying so young. Ruth was determined to make it work, but Kurt soon found himself tempted by the alluring Kate Patrick
and started an affair. Ruth found out about Kurt’s infidelity and threw him out, but he managed to persuade her that he had made a terrible mistake and she eventually took him back. Kurt’s decision to leave was prompted by a violent outburst when he caught Kate trying to drown Ruth in the swimming pool. He tried to teach Kate a lesson by holding her head under water, and almost drowned her in the process. Ruth was shocked by his violent reaction, this was a Kurt she barely recognised.
After much soul- searching, Ruth and Kurt decided to call it a day. "I am going to let everyone get on with their lives. I am going to go away to grow up, so we can both work out what we really want…" Kurt said, and he left, promising Ruth that he would always be her friend. Tragically, just six months after saying goodbye, he was killed in a jet ski accident. Lucy later found out the accident had been caused by Rob but it turned out to have been a random hit and run and Rob had told people he killed him to look hard.
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 British 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 Jeremy Edwards
Jeremy Edwards
Jeremy Edwards is an English actor and television presenter, who has appeared in the TV shows Hollyoaks and Holby City...
. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. He was created by Phil Redmond
Phil Redmond
Phil Redmond CBE is an English television producer and screenwriter.He is well-known for creating several popular television series such as Grange Hill , Brookside and Hollyoaks...
as one of the serial's original characters.
Characterisation
Kurt is described by British newspaper The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as being the Alpha male. The also go on to state: "A clean-cut guitarist with a quiff of dark hair and jeans that are unpleasantly loose, bagged together by a tight belt. He's chased by a panda car wherever he goes, though it's not clear what he's done wrong." MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
described him as the serial's "original bad boy". Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
described him as "good looking, cheeky and often in trouble with the police, but everyone loved him". The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
described him as a "rebel- without-a-cause". The Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
described him as "heart throb" and said "He was a motorcycle-loving rock star-in-waiting." The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
described him as "cool-guy Kurt".
Storylines
Kurt was friends with Tony HutchinsonTony Hutchinson
Anthony "Tony" Hutchinson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nick Pickard. Tony first appeared on-screen on 23 October 1995, the first episode of the series, and is the only original character still on the show to the present day...
and Jambo Bolton
Jambo Bolton
James "Jambo" Bolton is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Will Mellor. He first appeared as an original character in 1995, before leaving in 1998...
and had his heart set on winning Natasha Anderson
Natasha Anderson
Natasha Andersen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Shebah Ronay. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. She was created by Phil Redmond as one of the serial's original characters....
as his girlfriend. Tragedy struck before the two could really get together, and her death started a deadly feud with Rob Hawthorne.
He moved on to Ruth Osborne
Ruth Osborne
Ruth Osborne is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Terri Dwyer. She first appeared in 1995 as part of the Osborne family before leaving in 2001. Since then, she has made guest appearances between 2003–2004 and 2008. In 2009 Dwyer said she'd return...
(Natasha's cousin), and after a rocky start to their relationship, they ended up getting married. As a result, Kurt and Ruth became icons for all teenagers in love, demonstrating that love can conquer all. Their decision to marry was provoked by the trouble Kurt had got himself into after injuring Spike. Kurt had caught Spike making a play for Ruth and, in his attempt to protect her, he pushed Spike, causing him to fall from the scaffolding. As a result, Kurt was accused of attempted murder and was certain that he would be found guilty. He took off to Hull, sensing that Ruth doubted his innocence.
Ruth went in pursuit of him, however, and they decided to make the ultimate commitment to each other and got married, incurring the wrath of their parents when they returned home. When Kurt was found not guilty, the couple began to enjoy life as newly weds, although they knew that things would never be easy.
Meanwhile Kurt handed Rob over to the mercy of his drug dealers, who threw him from the roof of a car park. Rob never forgave Kurt, and began a long and drawn out plan to exact revenge. Rob’s plan culminated in getting Lucy
Lucy Benson
Lucy Benson is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kerrie Taylor. Taylor appeared from the first episode on 23 October 1995. Taylor later quit the role with the character leaving in 2000 when she went travelling.-Casting:Taylor quit the role saying...
hooked on heroin and, when she fell into a drug-induced coma, Kurt took matters into his own hands and followed Rob to France. After a dramatic chase and confrontation, he left Rob floating in the middle of the Atlantic, announcing that fate would decide his destiny.
As Lucy slowly recovered from her ordeal, Kurt and Ruth’s marriage hit a rocky patch and they both began to wonder whether they had made a mistake marrying so young. Ruth was determined to make it work, but Kurt soon found himself tempted by the alluring Kate Patrick
Kate Patrick
Kate Patrick is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Natasha Symms. She debuted on-screen during the episodes airing in 1997...
and started an affair. Ruth found out about Kurt’s infidelity and threw him out, but he managed to persuade her that he had made a terrible mistake and she eventually took him back. Kurt’s decision to leave was prompted by a violent outburst when he caught Kate trying to drown Ruth in the swimming pool. He tried to teach Kate a lesson by holding her head under water, and almost drowned her in the process. Ruth was shocked by his violent reaction, this was a Kurt she barely recognised.
After much soul- searching, Ruth and Kurt decided to call it a day. "I am going to let everyone get on with their lives. I am going to go away to grow up, so we can both work out what we really want…" Kurt said, and he left, promising Ruth that he would always be her friend. Tragically, just six months after saying goodbye, he was killed in a jet ski accident. Lucy later found out the accident had been caused by Rob but it turned out to have been a random hit and run and Rob had told people he killed him to look hard.
Reception
A writer from the Daily Record commented on the character's death saying "When there's a problem with a character in Hollyoaks, they just kill them off." A columnist for LGBT website AfterElton said that Kurt was the serial's original "bad boy" and "trouble had a way of following" him. They opined he had good looks and a "lovable cheeky charm and never short of female attention".External links
- Character profile on the E4 website