Lauren Valentine
Encyclopedia
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 series.
On 8 March 2010 Jackson's axing was announced. Although it was initially reported Jackson was axed on screen brother Ricky Whittle
confirmed she had planned to leave at the end of her contract which coincided with the ending of the rest of the Valentine's contracts who also chose not to renew. On leaving Jackson said that whenever she left would be "an upsetting time because I'd been there since I was 15. But, at the end of the day, times have to change and I'm only 18 and wasn't going to work at Hollyoaks forever. There are people I'm going to miss but it's the right time to do something else now."
described her as a "bad girl". Channel 4
described her as an "emo kid" who "always likes to make a statement." The Daily Star described her as a "troubled babe".
who first arrived in the village with her mother Valerie Holden and her brother Danny
on September 6, 2007. Valerie leaves them at the Valentine residence and demands that Leo
look after them while she sorts out her housing problems. Calvin
& Sasha
didn;'t know of Lauren and Danny, and until Lauren calls Leo
Dad they hadn't Leo had been leading a double-life. Lauren and Sasha initially don't get on but when Fletch tries to win Sasha back with a song he writes for her, Lauren helps Fletch improve it. Sasha later laughs at the song and kicks him out.. When Valerie decided to stay in Greece, Lauren and Danny were set to join her. However the two decided to stay in Hollyoaks.
At the beginning of 2008, Val returns from Greece
. Lauren wants nothing to do with her, but Val persuades Danny and Leo to give her another chance and let her stay in the Valentine house until she could get back on her feet. Tom is reported missing when he goes to return Newt's sketchbook and stays longer than planned. Lauren and Newt are later accused of kidnapping Tom. On Thursday 6 March 2008, Newt and Lauren decided to have sex. They both realize they aren't ready to have sex after Lauren suggests going to a graveyard to have sex like in Romeo and Juliet.
Lauren plots revenge against Elliot Bevan
when forgots to help them with their studies. Lauren overhears Elliot talking about his father, and along with a reluctant Newt, contactes him through an Internet message board and convinces him to meet them in the woods. Elliot expects to meet his father, and suffers a nervous breakdown when no one arrives. Elliot disappears for several days. They disvoer a body, only for the corpse to be identified as Sean Kennedy
. When Elliot returns, Newt tells him what has happened, and Elliot forces them to tell their parents. Lauren's mum and brother leave Hollyoaks.
Lauren takes Newt's medication in order to understand how he feels. Newt and Anita go round to her house because Newt finds out Lauren tells Anita about his schizophrenia and finds her really ill. Anita calls an ambulance while Newt comforts her and tells her he loves her.
Lauren is banned from seeing Newt and Newt tells her that he wants to end their relationship. Newt explains that Eli would be gone forever if Lauren burnt his belongings and that he and Lauren shall stay together in secret. On New Year's Eve 2008 Newt and Lauren slept with each other for the first time in Evissa. In January 2009, Newt and Lauren split up. Newt and Anite begin dating. Lauren begins claiming she is being bullied by Anita, who Newt ends his relationship with. Newt eventually finds out about her lies but they continue their friendship.
Ricky, Lauren, Theresa, Anita and Newt go on a camping trip. Wade joins them and he and Lauren go off alone into the woods. Newt discovers Wade's bag of women's clothes and panicks, worrying about Lauren. He tells the others and accidentally calls Lauren his girlfriend. Lauren discovers Newt and Theresa's secret fling and slaps Newt across the face, before declaring that she is now going out with Wade. Lauren sleeps with Wade in Evissa, however he breaks up with her realising she was using him. Newt later tries to reconcile their relationship but Lauren declines because of the pain he had caused her. Lauren started a relationship with Gaz Bennett
. Gaz and Lauren begin humiliating Anita for fun. Gaz and Lauren sleep together for the first time and Lauren realises that he was a virgin. The pair started to spend more and more time with Spencer Gray
, a man with severe learning difficulties who had inherited a lot of money from Warren Fox
. They used him to get him to buy alcohol for them and even swiped his credit card; they then hatched a plan to steal all of Spencer's money and run away together.
Lauren gets Spencer drunk and tells him they slept together. She lies to him that she is pregnant with his child and that he has to give her £2000 to have an abortion to con him out of his inheritance so that she and Gaz can run away together. However Spencer, in a state of panic, tells Sasha about the situation. When Calvin finds out after lodger Cheryl Brady
eavesdrop the family argument, he grabs Gaz and throws him out, leading everyone to believe that Gaz is the father, when in fact Lauren's actually not pregnant at all. Calvin's friend arrests Gaz after an argument which Lauren blames Calvin for. Gaz is released and makes plans with Lauren to run away that day however their plans are cut short when Calvin is shot dead by Theresa. Lauren later lies to Sasha and Leo, telling them that she has had a miscarriage before running away with Gaz. Gaz is arrested for Calvin's murder and when he is later released he asks Lauren to run away with him again however she can't when she sees her dad needs her. Lauren and Gaz's relationship later deteriorates, she then starts to reconcile with Anita and accepts to go to Paris with her to visit her sister Leila Roy
. Gaz is furious about this and gives Lauren an ultimatum to choose between him and Anita. Lauren then decides to choose Anita and they make a proper reconciliation and sh breaks up with Gaz. Lauren then later hears that Gaz has been arrested. She is then told by Anita that he held a gun, in which Lauren didn't believe and angrily thought she was lying. However she realises this when Gaz was actually arrested and goes to apologises to Anita. Lauren doubts that Gaz would actually shoot Anita with a real gun, but Anita convinces her that he probably would. Gaz is charged with Calvins murder Lauren believes him when he says he didn't but still wants nothing to do with him. Sasha finds out about the scam to fleece Spencer and argues with Lauren, during the argument Lauren falls down the stairs of the Loft. Lauren is hospitalised but discharges herself so she can go to Calvin's funeral. During the funeral Lauren shouts horrible things about Calvin then knocks his casket over. Val returns and reveals she wants to take Lauren back to Spain. Lauren visits Gaz in prison. He assumes that she cares about him, but she realises that she doesn't love Gaz anymore and leaves him. She then reveals to both Leo and Val that she wants to go to Spain with Val to reconnect with her. Out of guilt, Lauren then apologises to Spencer about her scheme and then is being forgiven by him. She later finds out that Val isn't going to Spain after all, but is then shocked to hear the rest of the family are joining them and that Spencer is going with them too. They attend the opening launch of the Chez Chez bar that replaces The Loft and they are cheered on as they leave the village.
of The Guardian
joked about one of Lauren's light hearted storylines which featured after tragic storylines stating: "cruel, skint January has been brightened with a lawnmower race featuring Gaz and Lauren astride killer-bladed mowers, larking about like people who'd clearly forgotten they were stalked habitually by bad luck and tragedy." Jaci Stephen of the Daily Mail
commented on her pairing with Gaz saying "Lauren realises that they have more in common than she thought. Hmmm. Misery?"
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 Dominique Jackson
Dominique Jackson
Dominique Hannah Jackson is a British actress from Oldham, Greater Manchester, who has starred in various TV roles. She is best known for her roles as Becky in the Children's TV series Becky and Barnaby Bear and Lauren Valentine on Channel 4 soap, Hollyoaks...
. 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
Paul Marquess
Paul Marquess is a Northern Irish-born British television producer.-Television career:His credits include Brookside, The Bill and Family Affairs. He also originated the idea for the series Footballers' Wives...
's overhaul of the series.
Casting and creation
Jackson's casting was announced on 13 August 2007. She was created as an extension to the Valentine family and was created as part of a storyline which saw Leo Valentine reveal he had lived a double life.On 8 March 2010 Jackson's axing was announced. Although it was initially reported Jackson was axed on screen brother Ricky Whittle
Ricky Whittle
Ricky Whittle is a British actor from Oldham, Greater Manchester.-Biography:The son of former Royal Air Force serviceman Harry Whittle, Whittle grew up travelling with his father's career around the world, with a home base at Burghfield Common near Reading, Berkshire.A keen sportsman, Whittle...
confirmed she had planned to leave at the end of her contract which coincided with the ending of the rest of the Valentine's contracts who also chose not to renew. On leaving Jackson said that whenever she left would be "an upsetting time because I'd been there since I was 15. But, at the end of the day, times have to change and I'm only 18 and wasn't going to work at Hollyoaks forever. There are people I'm going to miss but it's the right time to do something else now."
Characterisation
Jackson described the character as "a stroppy, misunderstood teenager" who she never wanted to "blossom her into a Hollyoaks babe". Jackson also said her character "probably not the nicest person". MSNMSN
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 her as a "bad girl". 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...
described her as an "emo kid" who "always likes to make a statement." The Daily Star described her as a "troubled babe".
Storyline
Lauren Valentine arrives in Hollyoaks village as the illegitimate daughter of Leo ValentineLeo Valentine
Leo Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Brian Bovell. Despite being on the show for over three years, Leo has not been involved in any major storylines, however does serve as a comedic character. In March 2010, it was announced that...
who first arrived in the village with her mother Valerie Holden and her brother Danny
Danny Valentine
Daniel "Danny" Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by David Judge. He first appeared in 2007 and made his final appearance in 2008.-Background:...
on September 6, 2007. Valerie leaves them at the Valentine residence and demands that Leo
Leo Valentine
Leo Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Brian Bovell. Despite being on the show for over three years, Leo has not been involved in any major storylines, however does serve as a comedic character. In March 2010, it was announced that...
look after them while she sorts out her housing problems. Calvin
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...
& Sasha
Sasha Valentine
Sasha Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nathalie Emmanuel. The character first appeared on-screen on 17 July 2006 as part of the newly introduced Valentine family...
didn;'t know of Lauren and Danny, and until Lauren calls Leo
Leo Valentine
Leo Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Brian Bovell. Despite being on the show for over three years, Leo has not been involved in any major storylines, however does serve as a comedic character. In March 2010, it was announced that...
Dad they hadn't Leo had been leading a double-life. Lauren and Sasha initially don't get on but when Fletch tries to win Sasha back with a song he writes for her, Lauren helps Fletch improve it. Sasha later laughs at the song and kicks him out.. When Valerie decided to stay in Greece, Lauren and Danny were set to join her. However the two decided to stay in Hollyoaks.
At the beginning of 2008, Val returns from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Lauren wants nothing to do with her, but Val persuades Danny and Leo to give her another chance and let her stay in the Valentine house until she could get back on her feet. Tom is reported missing when he goes to return Newt's sketchbook and stays longer than planned. Lauren and Newt are later accused of kidnapping Tom. On Thursday 6 March 2008, Newt and Lauren decided to have sex. They both realize they aren't ready to have sex after Lauren suggests going to a graveyard to have sex like in Romeo and Juliet.
Lauren plots revenge against Elliot Bevan
Elliot Bevan
Elliot Bevan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Garnon Davies. He first appeared on 9 January 2007 as a new student. In July 2010, it was announced that Davies would be leaving the show. He made his final appearance on 15 November 2010...
when forgots to help them with their studies. Lauren overhears Elliot talking about his father, and along with a reluctant Newt, contactes him through an Internet message board and convinces him to meet them in the woods. Elliot expects to meet his father, and suffers a nervous breakdown when no one arrives. Elliot disappears for several days. They disvoer a body, only for the corpse to be identified as Sean Kennedy
Sean Kennedy (Hollyoaks)
Sean Kennedy is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Matthew Jay Lewis. He first appeared in 2006 and briefly in 2007.- Storylines :...
. When Elliot returns, Newt tells him what has happened, and Elliot forces them to tell their parents. Lauren's mum and brother leave Hollyoaks.
Lauren takes Newt's medication in order to understand how he feels. Newt and Anita go round to her house because Newt finds out Lauren tells Anita about his schizophrenia and finds her really ill. Anita calls an ambulance while Newt comforts her and tells her he loves her.
Lauren is banned from seeing Newt and Newt tells her that he wants to end their relationship. Newt explains that Eli would be gone forever if Lauren burnt his belongings and that he and Lauren shall stay together in secret. On New Year's Eve 2008 Newt and Lauren slept with each other for the first time in Evissa. In January 2009, Newt and Lauren split up. Newt and Anite begin dating. Lauren begins claiming she is being bullied by Anita, who Newt ends his relationship with. Newt eventually finds out about her lies but they continue their friendship.
Ricky, Lauren, Theresa, Anita and Newt go on a camping trip. Wade joins them and he and Lauren go off alone into the woods. Newt discovers Wade's bag of women's clothes and panicks, worrying about Lauren. He tells the others and accidentally calls Lauren his girlfriend. Lauren discovers Newt and Theresa's secret fling and slaps Newt across the face, before declaring that she is now going out with Wade. Lauren sleeps with Wade in Evissa, however he breaks up with her realising she was using him. Newt later tries to reconcile their relationship but Lauren declines because of the pain he had caused her. Lauren started a relationship with 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...
. Gaz and Lauren begin humiliating Anita for fun. Gaz and Lauren sleep together for the first time and Lauren realises that he was a virgin. The pair started to spend more and more time with Spencer Gray
Spencer Gray
Spencer Gray is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Darren John Langford. The character first appeared on-screen in December 2008. He initially appeared as the former foster brother of Warren Fox, turning up after the death of his mother...
, a man with severe learning difficulties who had inherited a lot of money from 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...
. They used him to get him to buy alcohol for them and even swiped his credit card; they then hatched a plan to steal all of Spencer's money and run away together.
Lauren gets Spencer drunk and tells him they slept together. She lies to him that she is pregnant with his child and that he has to give her £2000 to have an abortion to con him out of his inheritance so that she and Gaz can run away together. However Spencer, in a state of panic, tells Sasha about the situation. When Calvin finds out after lodger Cheryl Brady
Cheryl Brady
Cheryl Brady is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Bronagh Waugh. The character first appeared on-screen on 25 November 2008, during the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off, Hollyoaks Later, as the former love interest of Malachy Fisher...
eavesdrop the family argument, he grabs Gaz and throws him out, leading everyone to believe that Gaz is the father, when in fact Lauren's actually not pregnant at all. Calvin's friend arrests Gaz after an argument which Lauren blames Calvin for. Gaz is released and makes plans with Lauren to run away that day however their plans are cut short when Calvin is shot dead by Theresa. Lauren later lies to Sasha and Leo, telling them that she has had a miscarriage before running away with Gaz. Gaz is arrested for Calvin's murder and when he is later released he asks Lauren to run away with him again however she can't when she sees her dad needs her. Lauren and Gaz's relationship later deteriorates, she then starts to reconcile with Anita and accepts to go to Paris with her to visit her 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...
. Gaz is furious about this and gives Lauren an ultimatum to choose between him and Anita. Lauren then decides to choose Anita and they make a proper reconciliation and sh breaks up with Gaz. Lauren then later hears that Gaz has been arrested. She is then told by Anita that he held a gun, in which Lauren didn't believe and angrily thought she was lying. However she realises this when Gaz was actually arrested and goes to apologises to Anita. Lauren doubts that Gaz would actually shoot Anita with a real gun, but Anita convinces her that he probably would. Gaz is charged with Calvins murder Lauren believes him when he says he didn't but still wants nothing to do with him. Sasha finds out about the scam to fleece Spencer and argues with Lauren, during the argument Lauren falls down the stairs of the Loft. Lauren is hospitalised but discharges herself so she can go to Calvin's funeral. During the funeral Lauren shouts horrible things about Calvin then knocks his casket over. Val returns and reveals she wants to take Lauren back to Spain. Lauren visits Gaz in prison. He assumes that she cares about him, but she realises that she doesn't love Gaz anymore and leaves him. She then reveals to both Leo and Val that she wants to go to Spain with Val to reconnect with her. Out of guilt, Lauren then apologises to Spencer about her scheme and then is being forgiven by him. She later finds out that Val isn't going to Spain after all, but is then shocked to hear the rest of the family are joining them and that Spencer is going with them too. They attend the opening launch of the Chez Chez bar that replaces The Loft and they are cheered on as they leave the village.
Reception
Grace DentGrace Dent
Grace Dent is an English journalist, author, and broadcaster. Dent writes mainly for The Guardian, where she has a weekly column on television, 'Grace Dent's TV-OD'. She also writes for magazines such as Tatler and Marie Claire. She writes a restaurant review column for the London Evening...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
joked about one of Lauren's light hearted storylines which featured after tragic storylines stating: "cruel, skint January has been brightened with a lawnmower race featuring Gaz and Lauren astride killer-bladed mowers, larking about like people who'd clearly forgotten they were stalked habitually by bad luck and tragedy." Jaci Stephen 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 on her pairing with Gaz saying "Lauren realises that they have more in common than she thought. Hmmm. Misery?"
External links
- Lauren Valentine on the E4 website