Gilly Roach

Template:Infobox Hollyoaks character Gilbert "Gilly" Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Anthony Quinlan. The character fisrt appeared on-screen on 4 October 2005. He is most recognisable for the on-screen double-act with Rhys Ashworth and his many failed romances.

Character development

E4 publicity describe Gilly as fun-loving and always trying to woo females but hardly manages to impress them and has also been described as unlucky-in-love after his failed relationships. Initially he failed to impress females and didn't have much in common with them. Gilly has been portrayed as a strong supporter of Manchester City F.C., it was this single thing that drew him and Beth Clement (Sinead Moynihan) together Gilly was later made a fool of by Beth and his best friend Rhys Ashworth (Andrew Moss) after they continued an affair despite the fact they were siblings, they split, Beth subsequently died and due to Gilly's forgiving personality he later forgave Rhys. Another storyline showing his timid personality was when he was mugged by a group of teenagers and left fearing for his safety and even let them pick on him in the streets. In a further twist Gilly was left feeling so ashamed of the attack he pretended it was adult attackers fearing what people would think of him. Five.tv commented on the scene's being the stand out moments of the character's duration.

During a spin-off series titled Hollyoaks: The Morning After The Night Before, Gilly and Josh Ashworth head to Manchester. The series explored the dangers of bringe drinking and was funded by the Home Office. This was the start of changes implemented to the character that would continue into the main series. During the spin-off he was portrayed having negative experiences with excessive alcohol consumption, of this Quinlan said: "Gilly and Josh had a little fight over Ruby (Nika McGuigan), so the character did change due to all the drink consumed. His mood changed further when he attempted to run after Josh after the scuffle, and fell down a set of stairs in the nightclub, losing some of his teeth. After the incident he couldn't wait to get back home to the village."

File:GillyRoach.jpg

Gilly as he appeared during his early years in the series

He then stated that he wanted viewers to learn from his character's scenario and be responsible while drinking, stating: "It will make people think twice about binge drinking and make people aware of the consequences if you do." When the character lost his teeth it made the character's low confidence worsen, Quinlan made comment of this saying: "Gilly's confidence was always low really - self-confidence, self-belief. But having no teeth isn't good to look at - not a good look. It's going to draw attention to him and not do him any favours." To enable continuity the character was scripted a slight speech impediment, behind the scenes Quinlan had a special palette fitted, it was a real one fitted by real life dentists and paid for by the show, it would black the character's front teeth and leave a chipped one at the side. Quinlan also revealed it was quite difficult to speak when wearing it, but praised it as being realistic to have some form of speech impediment having teeth knocked out. Talking of his character's changes and lessons learnt during the special episodes Quinlan said: "I think Gilly's learnt to chill out a little, not to follow the crowd and be a sheep. Everyone was drinking loads, he got caught up in it and he came out on the wrong side of it. So, I think there is a lesson learned there - Gilly will do his own thing and not drink as much." Gilly was later seen using his new look in attempt to get the affections of Steph Cunningham (Carley Stenson), after failing he acted out of character and struck up a scam date with Cheryl Brady (Bronagh Waugh) to make Steph jealous, it back-fired when his false tooth came loose in Cheryl's mouth. They later started a relationship.

Another change implemented during this period was a dramatic change to the character's appearance after new series producer Lucy Allan and Quinlan came to a mutual decision to transform his hairstyle by shaving it all off, a stark contrast as during the his early years he was constantly seen with long hair.

Storylines

2005-

Gilly is originally from Manchester. When the Ashworths moved to Hollyoaks, Gilly decided to move with them. After sneaking into a Halloween party at HCC, Gilly kisses Jessica Harris (Jennifer Biddall) and assumes the role of her wannabe boyfriend. This leads to him pretending to be a philosophy student just to get close to her and found a rival in Mark, Jessica's real boyfriend. The two battled for affections but Jessica could not decide between them and ended both relationships. Neville (Jim Millea) buys Drive 'n' Buy and Gilly becomes an employee, mainly so he can become close to Sarah Barnes (Loui Batley). The pair start going on dates, however, Sarah is not too interested. Any chance of a relationship is ended when Gilly reveals Rhys slept with her mother, Kathy Barnes (Sarah Jane Buckley). Rhys had become jealous over Gilly and Sarah and had kicked him out of the home. During this time, Gilly moves into the student halls with Zak Ramsey (Kent Riley), Kris Fisher (Gerard McCarthy), Will Hackett (Oliver Farnworth), Zoe Carpenter (Zoë Lister) and ex-girlfriend, Jess. After Gilly defends Zak after he is accused of stealing Zoë's belongings, he is forced out of the flat, he then makes up he and Rhys's friendship and moves back into the Ashworths'. Gilly finds out Rhys is an escort and decides to be one himself, unaware the job involves nothing sexual.

Gilly falls for a Danish woman named Tania. When she has to return to Copenhagen, he decides to go with her. Jealous Rhys tells Tania that Gilly is seeing another woman, Tania goes to The Dog and sees him with Suzanne Ashworth (Suzanne Hall) and assumes Rhys was telling the truth. She then leaves on her own. Rhys discovers Zak and Gilly are planning a strip show at The Loft. Rhys agrees to join, however, is replaced by Calvin Valentine (Ricky Whittle). During the strip show, Rhys tries to chat up a girl, who is only interested in Gilly. Gilly meets a young woman named Molly, who he is put off by when she mentions marriage. During her battle with anorexia, Hannah Ashworth (Emma Rigby) and friend, Melissa Hurst (Carla Chases), begin being horrible to Gilly. Hannah hits him, however, after returning from hospital, she apologises. After finding out his girlfriend Beth is his half-sister, Rhys begins being jealous after she and Gilly grow close. Gilly and Beth grow closer and kiss. They start a relationship and agree to take it slowly. Gilly decides to become a lifeguard. Whilst cleaning up, Gilly sees boss, Simon Crosby (Simon Lawson), leaving a cubicle with a crying child. Gilly automatically assumes he is a paedophile. Gilly breaks into Simon's house and finds pictures of children in their swimwear, one of whom is Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins). He also finds a boy's room with a lock on the door. Gilly shows various residents the proof. Angry parents begin to gather outside Simon's home. Simon's house is battered and the windows are smashed, realising his reputation is ruined, he attempts suicide. Simon's wife Gemma shows Gilly a picture of their son, who died. Gilly realises Simon is innocent and feels guilty. Gilly goes backpacking around Thailand. At this time, Beth and Rhys rekindle their romance and start an affair. Guilty, Beth leaves with Gilly and they return later in 2008. Gilly proposes to Beth, who agrees to make Rhys, who is in a relationship with Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe), jealous. Michaela McQueen (Hollie-Jay Bowes) catches Rhys and Beth kissing and tells Gilly, who refuses to believe. Later, Michaela tells Gilly to go home in an attempt to make him see the truth. Gilly does so and catches Rhys and Beth sleeping together. He begins to beat up Rhys and calls the police. Realising they face a prison sentence for incest, Rhys and Beth leave Hollyoaks, however, they are involved in a car crash which results in Beth's death. After time away, Rhys returns and he and Gilly decide to make up.

Gilly meets Leila Roy (Lena Kaur) and the pair begin a relationship. The romance is short as Leila tells Gilly they cannot be together. Gilly is gutted by the breakup. After a break of several months, Gilly returned. At the SU Bar, Gilly begins looking for a new girlfriend with Josh Ashworth (Sonny Flood). A drunken Hannah then throws herself at Gilly and tries to kiss him. Gilly tells her he sees her as a sister. She then apologises. In Hollyoaks: The Morning After the Night Before, Gilly goes to Manchester to party with Josh. Josh and Gilly begin a fight which ends with Gilly losing his front teeth. After returning to the village, Gilly begins to develop feelings for Steph and is jealous towards her relationship with Fernando Fernandez (Jeronimo Best). During a boot camping trip with Steph and Fernando, Steph believes Gilly has feelings for Sarah, and is unaware his feelings are for her. During the trip, after Steph Fernando and Gilly leave, Sarah is killed in a tragic parachute jump. Gilly writes a poem for Steph, and in it, offends Fernando. When Steph reads it she is angry at Gilly, who tells her it is Rhys who has the feelings for her. Fernando punches Rhys as Gilly convinces Steph he had nothing to do with the poem. In order to make Steph jealous, Gilly kisses Cheryl who is trying to make Calvin jealous. Despite using him, Cheryl develops true feelings for Gilly. Frankie Osborne (Helen Pearson) works out that Gilly is in love with Steph. However, Gilly denies it, saying that he loves Cheryl. Cheryl catches Gilly looking at an engagement ring, which Fernando has bought for Steph. She assumes the ring is for her and tells everyone in The Dog in the Pond that she and Gilly are getting married. Gilly reluctantly goes along, not wanting to hurt her feelings. Cheryl notices the growing closeness between Gilly and Steph and confronts him. On discovering he is in love with Steph, she breaks off their engagement, at the same time Steph and Fernando break up. Gilly goes travelling with Zoe and Mike Barnes (Tony Hirst). Steph, after being told about Gilly's feelings for her, rushes after him to admit her love just as Gilly leaves. Gilly returns on 5 March and turns up at Mobs to see Steph. Friday 5th March Gilly proposes to Jem Costello a girl he met on holiday she says yes which leaves Steph upset.Steph tell Gilly he loves her but he decides to stay with Jem. Rhys tells Jem that Gilly still loves Steph causing them to split.Gilly and Steph finally confess their true feelings to each other. They start a relationship however, unbeknown to Gilly Steph has recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer, but later finds out from Cheryl, when he feared that Steph was planning to dump him.

External links

• Gilly Roach on the E4 website