Lucy Benson
Encyclopedia
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.
labelled Lucy "troubled". Taylor felt the character had "gone through everything" saying she had taken the character from "a good daughter character on a journey to hopeless addict and then to strength again". The character was also labelled "hopeless" and a "junkie" by the Daily Record.
. Lucy is involved in an accident which kills Dermot Ashton. Lucy tells the police of Rob's part in Dermot's death. After Lucy and Kurt seek revenge Rob is thrown off a car park roof by his drug dealers. Rob begins a vendetta Uagainst the Bensons. Lucy begins a band with Carol Groves
and Bazil McCourtney.
Lucy's younger brother Ollie is killed in a car crash. Lucy blames herself for the accident, as she encouraged Kurt to chase after him. Lucy found it difficult to get over Ollie’s death, and ended up turning to Rob for support. He offered Lucy some tranquillisers to get her through difficult times. Lucy becomes addicted so Rob begins giving her heroin. Lucy is put in a coma. Lucy finally weans herself off heroin.
However, Rob traps Lucy, Lewis Richardson, Ruth Osborne
and Tony Hutchinson
in a watertank. Rob tries to set fire to Rory Finnigan's bus but is trapped inside, perishing in the fire.
Lucy decides that she wants to travel the world and Tony offers to go with her. As Tony became increasingly preoccupied with researching tropical diseases, Lucy began to realise that he really did not want to leave Hollyoaks and told him he should stay in Chester. As Lucy and Tony bid farewell at the airport, Tony promises Lucy that he would wait for her.
. While expressing her disinterest, Merle Brown from the Daily Record did not welcome Lucy’s drug habit being a heavily focused upon storyline. Charlie Catchpole of the Daily Mirror commented on the performances of soap actors giving his opinion on what they should be paid. On Taylor he said she would be in his "bottom" paid soap stars saying she deserved £15, 000 which Lucy would use for "A new silver spoon for her nose. She's tried every drug bar aspirin".
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 Kerrie Taylor
Kerrie Taylor
Kerrie Taylor is a British actress.Taylor is best known for the role of Beth Enright/Beresford on the ITV1 family drama Where the Heart Is, a role she played for four years...
. 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 "I was scared to leave. I thought I might never work again, but the time was right". Taylor described her time on the serial as "happy" which made her decision to leave "hard". Taylor added that the Hollyoaks cast felt "like family". Taylor filmed her final scenes around Christmas 1999. The Daily Mirror labelled the character a "goody-two-shoes".Characterisation
Merle Brown of the Daily RecordDaily 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...
labelled Lucy "troubled". Taylor felt the character had "gone through everything" saying she had taken the character from "a good daughter character on a journey to hopeless addict and then to strength again". The character was also labelled "hopeless" and a "junkie" by the Daily Record.
Development
Taylor commented on Lucy's herion addiction saying "it wasn't pleasant. I had this foundation I had to wear called Death Grey. Most foundations have girlie names, like Autumn Dew or Sunrise, but not this". Taylor commented on the storyline saying "For 18 months, I'd go into work and play a heroin addict" which she found "challenging, but it it did get to me after a while".Storylines
Lucy was introduced as part of the Benson family. Lucy began dating Rob HawthorneRob Hawthorne (Hollyoaks)
Robert "Rob" Hawthorne is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Warren De Rosa.-Character history:...
. Lucy is involved in an accident which kills Dermot Ashton. Lucy tells the police of Rob's part in Dermot's death. After Lucy and Kurt seek revenge Rob is thrown off a car park roof by his drug dealers. Rob begins a vendetta Uagainst the Bensons. Lucy begins a band with Carol Groves
Carol Groves
Carol Groves is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Natalie Casey. Casey played the character from January 1996 before leaving the role in October 2000.-Characterisation:...
and Bazil McCourtney.
Lucy's younger brother Ollie is killed in a car crash. Lucy blames herself for the accident, as she encouraged Kurt to chase after him. Lucy found it difficult to get over Ollie’s death, and ended up turning to Rob for support. He offered Lucy some tranquillisers to get her through difficult times. Lucy becomes addicted so Rob begins giving her heroin. Lucy is put in a coma. Lucy finally weans herself off heroin.
However, Rob traps Lucy, Lewis Richardson, 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...
and Tony Hutchinson
Tony 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...
in a watertank. Rob tries to set fire to Rory Finnigan's bus but is trapped inside, perishing in the fire.
Lucy decides that she wants to travel the world and Tony offers to go with her. As Tony became increasingly preoccupied with researching tropical diseases, Lucy began to realise that he really did not want to leave Hollyoaks and told him he should stay in Chester. As Lucy and Tony bid farewell at the airport, Tony promises Lucy that he would wait for her.
Reception
Taylor was nominated for "Best Dramatic Performance" at the British Soap AwardsBritish Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas.The first event took place in 1999 and takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre, in London until 2010. The 2011 awards relocated to...
. While expressing her disinterest, Merle Brown from the Daily Record did not welcome Lucy’s drug habit being a heavily focused upon storyline. Charlie Catchpole of the Daily Mirror commented on the performances of soap actors giving his opinion on what they should be paid. On Taylor he said she would be in his "bottom" paid soap stars saying she deserved £15, 000 which Lucy would use for "A new silver spoon for her nose. She's tried every drug bar aspirin".