Johnno Dean

Johnno Dean
Colin Wells as Johnno Dean
Hollyoaks character
Portrayed by	Mark Powley (2002–2003) Colin Wells (2003–2005)
Duration	2002–2005
First appearance	9 October 2002
Last appearance	July 2005
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Date of birth	4 August 1958
Occupation	Fitness Club manager
Family Wife Frankie Wallace (1981–2005) Michelle Dean (2005—) Sons Jake Dean Craig Dean Presley Dean Daughters Debbie Dean Steph Roach

John "Johnno" Dean is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera Hollyoaks, played originally by Mark Powley. He first appeared in October 2002, and from April 2003 was replaced by Colin Wells until his exit in July 2005.

Storylines

The Deans were a very close, happy-go-lucky-family unit, and quickly settled into life in the village. Shortly after they arrived in Hollyoaks, it was revealed that Johnno and Frankie were childhood sweethearts who had been married since 1981 and had started going out with each other in their final year of high school. In Johnno's last appearance in Hollyoaks to date, in July 2005, he and Frankie reminisced to the day they met, Frankie recalling "we were standing at a bus stop in 1979, your cheeky grin, the white leather jacket, hair slicked back... Johnno Dean, who treats girls mean to keep them keen".

Unlike his short-tempered and often over-zealous then-wife Frankie Osborne, Johnno was cheerful, friendly and easy-going, although he was less mature and sensible with it, and possessed a childlike sense of humour, Frankie often describing him as a "big, grown up kid". It was implied that Johnno was quite a lively and carefree character in his younger days, although his becoming a father of four had led to him becoming considerably more laid-back with age. Confident, streetwise and headstrong, Johnno enjoyed a very close relationship with his four children, in particular his youngest daughter Steph Dean and son Craig Dean.

A loyal and devoted husband and father, Johnno arrived in October 2002 as part of the Dean family, and began working as a lorry driver with Les Hunter. Throughout his time in Hollyoaks, Johnno was generally a tolerant and patient man, and it was rare for him to lose his temper. However, on occasions that he did so, the results were often explosive - early examples of this side of Johnno's personality included his confrontation of Ellie Hunter about her false testimony that landed her brother - and his daughter Debbie Dean's boyfriend - Dan Hunter in jail for a series of attacks actually committed by Ellie's husband Toby Mills, including an attack on his daughter Steph, or when he caught Steph unleashing a cruel physical attack Dan and Ellie's sister Lisa Hunter and had to pull Steph off her victim, before publicly reprimanding her for her behaviour.

The ever-loyal, Elvis-loving father, Johnno was very much a family man, and was devoted to his wife and children, although he expected to receive respect and obedience in return, which his four children occasionally resented. Somewhat naive and reckless by nature, Johnno was nevertheless extremely protective of his children, and tried to make up for his recklessness by helping and supporting them as much as he could, particularly by giving his daughter Debbie Dean help with her problems with her boyfriend Dan Hunter and helping his son Craig Dean through his school troubles and the break-up of his short-lived relationship with Natalie Osborne.

However, in 2003 family troubles began to appear. His daughter Steph Dean was attacked by serial killer Toby Mills, and the family became heavily in debt after Johnno lost his job when his workplace collapsed and the Deans had to move homes; this series of events caused Johnno to have a midlife crisis, and led to a number of arguments between Johnno and Frankie that almost led to the collapse of their marriage. Initially unable to handle the strain, for a short time Johnno turned to drink as a coping mechanism; but, after first realising how much he felt alienated from Frankie and then seeing how distressed Steph had been left by her having been diagnosed as an epileptic as a result of the attack, he soon cut down on drink and began staying on the wagon as he realised how badly his family needed him throughout this crisis.

After losing their house, Johnno and Frankie patched up their differences and began renting the empty house next door to the Burton/Taylor family and Johnno began working for Richard Taylor, who took him on at his fitness club, Body Boost; however, this did not last long as a rivalry started between the two families with Craig and Steph regularly causing misery for Craig's future girlfriend Darlene Taylor with their numerous money-making schemes, which ultimately led to Richard eventually terminating Johnno's job contract when Craig accidentally set fire to Darlene's dress after a bonfire got out of control. Despite tough times, Johnno continued to support his family through the aftermath of all of these issues, especially by helping Steph cope with her epilepsy, his elder son Jake Dean come to terms with his failed relationship with Jodie Nash, and Debbie with her career as a singer.

Following their financial problems in 2003, things became more settled the following year, and for a while life began to look up for Johnno and his family after Richard decided to give Johnno another chance by re-employing him at Body Boost; with help from Jake, who took out a mortgage in his own name, Johnno began trying to clear the massive debts that the family had accumulated. However, Johnno still felt alienated from Frankie, and things took a turn for the worse when Johnno began an affair with a 19-year-old student named Michelle. Initially, Johnno had only intended for this to be a one-off; however, Johnno soon began to fall for Michelle and before long the affair became a habit for Johnno, as some nights he never came home and his wife and family saw less of him. Eventually in November 2004 his wife Frankie Osborne discovered Johnno’s affair and confronted him. Although this in itself was a massive shock for Frankie, she still tried to save the marriage and begged Johnno to return home; however, Johnno then revealed another, even more crushing blow when he told her that although he had wanted to end the affair from the outset, the reason he could not do so was that Michelle was also seven months pregnant - with Johnno's baby. This left Frankie shattered and she immediately filed for a divorce, ending their 24-year marriage and leaving Johnno with the difficult task of telling his children. When Johnno told his family the truth, they all found it hard to deal with. None of his children wanted to have contact with their father as a devastated Johnno left. With nowhere else to go, Johnno was forced to move in with Michelle and her mother, leaving Jake to try and keep the Dean family together in Johnno's absence.

After a six month absence, Johnno briefly returned in July 2005 for a failed attempt to reconcile with his family. He claimed that Michelle had left him for someone else closer to her own age and that she had told him that her baby was not his after all, and also said that he had realised he missed his family and wanted a chance to make things up to them. By this time, Debbie had left Hollyoaks to start a new career as a singer on board a cruise ship; but, initially after some reservation, Steph and Jake decided they were prepared to give Johnno another chance. However, Craig was unconvinced by Johnno's story, and after tricking Johnno into letting him borrow his phone, Craig rang Michelle and found out that Johnno was lying and that, although he did genuinely miss his four children, he had in fact left Michelle and their newborn son Presley out of desperation after he realised that he could not handle being a father again at his age.

Johnno's family then told him they were disgusted by his behaviour, with Jake in particular rebuking him for walking out on his family all over again, and all of them criticised him and told him that he shouldn't leave his child without a father, or his girlfriend without financial support. Frankie nevertheless told Johnno that she had decided to forgive him for his affair as she felt life was too short to remain hostile towards the father of her children; however, she also said that she was far happier with her new partner Jack Osborne, and there was no hope of salvaging their marriage. Johnno tried to make amends, but then realised that Michelle and Presley needed him more than Frankie and his other children did, and he decided to go back home and make up with Michelle. Johnno then left Hollyoaks for good.

Shortly after his departure, when their divorce was finalised, Frankie revealed to Jack that Johnno and Michelle had got married. In July 2006, he mailed Craig a card for his 18th birthday, however, Craig did not to open up to him and he told his step father Jack Osborne that he was a better father than Johnno had ever been. Little is now known about Johnno. He was last mentioned in July 2008 at Steph's wedding to Max Cunningham, when Steph told Jack she had forgiven Johnno for what he had done after Johnno was unable to attend the wedding.

See also

• List of past characters from Hollyoaks