| Brendan Brady | |||||||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Emmett J. Scanlan | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Paul Marquess | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2010— | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 5 August 2010 | ||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Home | 2 Oakdale Drive | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Club manager (2010-11) Club owner (2011—) |
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Brendan Brady is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Emmett J. Scanlan. The character was introduced in 2010 by series producer Paul Marquess during part of the show's overhaul, and has become incredibly popular and liked.
He is the older half-brother of already established character Cheryl Brady (Bronagh Waugh). Following the announcement of Brendan's casting, he was quickly billed as the show's new 'bad boy' character. The character is currently a part of a high-profile homosexual domestic abuse storyline with Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson). Scanlan has received both positive and negative reception from various news publications since his first appearance as the character in August 2010.
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Irish actor Emmett J. Scanlan was cast as Brendan by series producer Paul Marquess after being put forward for the role by casting director Dorothy Andrews.[1] Scanlan previously auditioned for the roles of Kieron Hobbs and Des Townsend, but was asked by producers to drop his accent.[2] Brendan was originally to be from Belfast, Northern Ireland, like sister Cheryl Brady. This detail was however changed to make Cheryl and Brendan half-siblings and Brendan's backstory was changed so he comes from Dublin, Ireland, to avoid confusion with Scanlan's accent.[1]
Details of the character of Brendan were first hinted in April 2010, when Marquess referred to Brendan as a "very nasty man" appearing from Cheryl's past.[3] Later in April, Brendan's casting was officially announced.[4][5]
At the same time of his casting, the characters of Lynsey Nolan (Karen Hassan) and Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke) were also signed to appear in the show. Marquess spoke of the characters' arrivals, saying: "This is a really exciting time for Hollyoaks and Brendan, Lynsey and Bart bring more fun, drama and sexiness to the show."[5] Scanlan commented on his new role, saying: "I'm a bad-ass in it. I play a bad guy with a dark secret who goes by [the] name of Brendan. It's a good healthy stint of six to seven months and I can't wait to get started. It's all about new experiences and Hollyoaks has a very impressive history. It's great to be part of it."[4] Scanlan originally signed a six-month contract, which was later extended.[6]
The main focal point of Brendan's characteristics was his 'villain' persona. Scanlan described Brendan's personality, saying: "I don't know how to describe him in five words. I don't think he is either good or bad. Brendan's a man who defines his own moral code and principles, and lives with the consequences. He's the type of dude that will hit you as quick as look at you, but never touch a girl. His principles may be different to yours or mine but he's not good or bad, he's just... Brendan."[7] A Hollyoaks spokesperson has said that Brendan "loves having power over people."[8]
Actress Bronagh Waugh, who plays Brendan's sister Cheryl, has claimed that Brendan is "one of the most evil soap villains ever", stating: "Brendan is the nastiest bad boy I've ever seen — I'm talking worse than EastEnders' Dirty Den. If you think he's been mean so far, you haven't seen anything yet! The thing is that he does care for Cheryl and has good intentions towards her. But events won't turn out the way he planned."[9]
During an interview in May 2010, Marquess was asked about Brendan and if he was a bad boy. He replied: "Oh, definitely — he's an absolute bastard! I think people are going to think, 'Here's the next Warren', but they'll be surprised when they find out what the real story is. He is Cheryl's half-brother… and Cheryl won't hear a bad word against him..."[10]
In a further interview with Press Association, Scanlan said: "I have never had the opportunity to play somebody as complex and as damaged as Brendan. He is without doubt a sociopathic, self-loathing, homophobic gay man and that in itself is a fascinating attraction for any actor to play. I think any actor would love a challenge, when you're doing a role if it pushes your boundaries and takes you out of yourself and allows you to experience different things. I think that's great. So coming up to do the part was exciting for me."[11]
Scanlan later spoke about his character and said: "Brendan is a king manipulator. He lulls people into a false sense of security — it's like a fly being drawn to the spider. Because he's such a king manipulator, he can talk the underwear off this fella [Ste] and he's very confident. So yeah, he definitely knows. He sees Stephen as a young, vulnerable guy who has no male friends, who hasn't had a father figure, and who — like Brendan — is a father himself. So Brendan can play with that."[12] He also called Brendan "unpredictable" and "complex".[12]
Marquess revealed in December 2010 that 2011 would explore more of the character's background and the reasons for his "twisted" personality: "What we've played in 2010 in introducing Brendan is this very dark and twisted character. One thing we want to do in 2011 is to explain why he's like that. The whole domestic violence angle does continues to play but in really quite an unexpected way. The safest thing I can say is everyone should remember it was Ste who hit Amy [Barnes] first. So it's a dark and interwoven story made all the more complicated by the introduction of a new love interest for Ste."[13]
In September 2010, Kieron Richardson announced an upcoming gay plot featuring his character Ste Hay and Brendan, claiming the pair would embark on an "unusual friendship".[14] However, Brendan and Ste's relationship will become violent, touching on domestic abuse.[14] After the announcement, Paul Marquess said: "This is a long running storyline and while it is dark to begin with, the lessons that Ste learns are ultimately positive and life affirming. This story is about not being afraid to be who you are and while this is something Brendan struggles with, Ste is refreshingly accepting of his feelings towards another man. I hope viewers will be glued throughout the twists and turns as we unravel how Brendan came to be the twisted person we have been watching on screen."[14]
Meanwhile, Scanlan admitted he was glad Brendan is becoming "a complex character" and "not a gratuitous soap villain, but a multi-layered character with depth, a troubled past and an unsure future".[15] He continued: "I hope that as the storyline develops, viewers will be able to understand why Brendan has become the villain they see today. Brendan is compelled to manipulate and control everyone who crosses his path. At the moment this makes him dangerous but when we identify why he behaves this way, we will discover his vulnerabilities and this is exciting..."[14]
Scanlan later explained: "Because Hollyoaks is a 6.30pm show we had to find different ways to tell the story in a convincing way and leave most of it to the imagination of the audience. And in more cases than not, your own imagination is much more visual and more horrific than what you see on screen, so we tried to push things, drop little things, without actually showing anything explicit, but it was an incredible experience. Brendan's an extraordinary character to play."[11]
A spokesperson for Hollyoaks described the storyline in October 2010, saying: "Ste doesn't realise how much power and control Brendan is wielding over him. He's still coming to terms with his sexuality. Brendan is the only man he's ever slept with so he feels a connection he’s never felt before. Even when Brendan beat him up he somehow managed to turn it all on Ste so he was the one that ended up apologising. And sadly, once they've slept together things are only going to get worse. This storyline is one of the darkest in the soap's history and viewers will be shocked at the lengths Brendan goes to over the next few months."[16]
""I think that the Brendan and Ste storyline has been fantastic — they're both brilliant and, God, you couldn't have asked for stronger chemistry than what they've got on screen"[1]
Scanlan, in an interview with Digital Spy, explained the research he put into the abuse storyline: "The thing about it is that every case is different and every story is different. The principles are the same, but it's always different. With this, the writers give you your homework, so to speak — you explore it and you research it, because you want to give it the best truthfulness that you can. Obviously it's your work that's going out on screen, and your credibility goes with that. So you definitely need to do your homework."[17] After asked about what kind of impact and response he wanted the storyline to have, Scanlan replied: "I've always wanted the storyline to be subtle. I didn't want it to be thrown into this violent, sociopathic gay relationship straight away as that would lose its credibility — and credit to the writers and Paul Marquess because it has been very subtle and it's built over the weeks," he continued, "I also want the story to evoke emotion — not just in the cast around me, but in the crew, the writers, the producers and the people who are investing half an hour of their lives into watching Hollyoaks each night. Whether those emotions are hatred, disgust or love or anything — I just want it to evoke something. I want it to touch on things, and I hope people are affected by it. But things like this are completely outside of the actors' control - we just have to give some truth to the storyline and try to make it as interesting as possible. We can't leave people short-changed. You never know, Brendan might become the most hated guy in England soon - that'd be a nice thing to have on the resumé!"[17]
Brendan is the older half-brother of Cheryl Brady (Bronagh Waugh). Before arriving in Hollyoaks village, Brendan was married to Eileen Brady (Rachel Doherty), who he had two children to; Declan, the eldest who has severe health issues, and Paddy. He also lost a daughter Niamh before Declan. Brendan had numerous affairs with other men, including Eileen's nephew Macca (Drew Dilon). He however ended his relationship with Macca to stop Eileen finding out. Eventually, Eileen discovered Brendan's cheating and ended their marriage, with Brendan telling Cheryl that Eileen had been having an affair.
Brendan first arrives during a fight between Mercedes Fisher (Jennifer Metcalfe) and Cheryl. He holds Cheryl back, and introduces himself. He then catches up with Cheryl and reveals he caught his wife Eileen in bed with another man, and so he left his wife and kids behind in Ireland. Cheryl is sympathetic towards him. Whilst staying with Cheryl, Brendan steals £20 from her wallet. Later on in The Dog in the Pond, Cheryl mentions how she was unable to buy The Loft nightclub. Brendan tells her he has a friend called Danny Houston (Darren Day) who could help out. Barman Carl Costello (Paul Opacic) recognises the name and warns Malachy Fisher (Glen Wallace) that Danny is shady and potentially dangerous. Malachy confronts Brendan about this, but Brendan warns him to mind his own business. The McQueen home is robbed by Veronica (Lynsey McLaren), an accomplice of Brendan's. Brendan begins working as a manager at ChezChez after Cheryl goes into partnership with Danny. Brendan then robs the club, but is recognised by Malachy. Cheryl does not believe that Brendan is responsible for the theft of the club's takings. To cover his tracks, Brendan later frames Veronica, who is arrested.
Brendan befriends Carmel Valentine (Gemma Merna), and plans to use her to smuggle drugs into the country from Barcelona. Ste convinces Carmel not to go, but when Brendan decides to take Ste's ex-girlfriend Amy Barnes (Ashley Slanina-Davies), Ste convinces Carmel to go ahead with the holiday after all. The student halls of residence is burgled by Doug Carter (PJ Brennan), who gives Brendan the money for drugs. Brendan's wife Eileen turns up at ChezChez unexpected. She reveals that their son Declan is ill and needs money for specialist treatment. Brendan accidentally mugs Cheryl, believing it was Rhys Ashworth (Andrew Moss). He then pays Eileen the money. As she leaves, Ste tells Malachy he believes Brendan was responsible for Cheryl's mugging, after seeing Brendan give Eileen the money. Malachy and Lynsey Nolan (Karen Hassan) confront Cheryl, who again refuses to believe Brendan would do such a thing.
When Rae Wilson (Alice Barlow) returns, Brendan is jealous of her and Ste's relationship. Veronica arrives at ChezChez and ends up kissing Ste, following Brendan's orders, as Rae walks in. When Ste overhears Brendan talking to Veronica, he confronts him as to why he was trying to end Ste and Rae's relationship. Brendan invites Jacqui McQueen (Claire Cooper) to lunch with him and Danny. He assumes that he and Jacqui have a relationship, however seems angered when Jacqui does not show interest. Ste overhears a phone conversation between Brendan and Macca, whom he is shouting at. Brendan violently begins trashing the office when Macca ends the phone call and when he notices Ste, he tells him to leave. After Brendan returns from a business trip, he is furious to discover Macca has arrived in Hollyoaks and has been given a job by Cheryl. Brendan later threatens Macca, who is not seen again. Jacqui finds Brendan with bloody hands, suggesting he beat Macca up. After a night out, Brendan and Ste return to Brendan's home, where they eventually kiss. Brendan reacts by throwing a confused Ste out. The next day, Ste is worried when Brendan confronts him. However, they kiss again. Ste questions whether Brendan is avoiding him, however Brendan tells him to lock the door to the cellar so they are alone. As Ste tries to kiss Brendan, Brendan punches Ste, and he falls to the floor. Brendan later manipulates Ste into telling Cheryl that he was mugged.
Brendan later tells Ste that it was all his fault and manages to get Ste into bed yet again. Amy finds out about Ste and Brendan and Brendan's abuse of Ste. Brendan continually threatens her to keep quiet. On the same night, Il Gnosh is set fire to whilst Amy is babysitting in the flat above and she is almost killed. At hospital, Macca reappears following his beating from Brendan, who he tells he wants back. Brendan threatens Macca, telling him to leave for Northern Ireland once again. Cheryl then invites Macca to stay with her and Brendan. Amy tells Ste that she thinks Brendan started the fire and decides to move away for her own safety. Macca tells Rae about Ste and Brendan's relationship. Rae confronts Ste over the affair and later tells Cheryl that Brendan is gay, which he denies. Brendan begins a brief relationship with India Longford (Beth Kingston).
Brendan and Ste go on a date in public. However, Brendan is uncomfortable and leaves. Danny and Brendan decide to get rid of Warren. Brendan, however, double-crosses Danny after discovering he was responsible for the death of Brendan's former male lover. Danny agrees to sign over his half of Chez Chez, but tells Brendan he will be paying Ste a visit. Angered by Danny's threats, Brendan attacks and murders Danny by beating him with a hammer until he is killed. Warren and Brendan then dispose of Danny's body. Amy returns and confronts Brendan, telling him Rae is pregnant with Ste's child. Brendan later ends his relationship with Ste, giving him a final kiss as Mitzeee (Rachel Shenton) watches. Mitzeee confronts Brendan and agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend in exchange for him managing her modeling career, to which Brendan agrees.
When Rae goes to an abortion clinic, Brendan manages to stop her and reveals that his first child Niamh died at birth. He also reveals his father left his mother for Cheryl's mother. Brendan and Rae become friends, but he continues to sleep with Ste. Mitzeee causes Rae to discover the affair. Brendan and Rae argue, which causes Rae to miscarry her child. After this, Rae blames Brendan.
After Danny Houston's body is found, Warren is arrested after Brendan planted his credit card into Danny's dead body. Warren realises that Brendan has set him up and reveals to Ste that Brendan killed Danny Houston to protect him. After Ste confronts him, Brendan confirms that he killed Danny. Devastated, Ste tells them they're over. Brendan realises that Warren told Ste about Danny. Furious, he goes round to his and Mitzee's new flat where he catches her and Warren kissing. Fuming, they both storm outside and a huge fight erupts. Eventually, after fighting their way around the villiage, they decide to call a truce on their silly feud.
After pushing Ste too far Ste attacks Brendan then reveals to Cheryl he's gay. Cheryl also overhears Brendan telling old friend Pete Hamill (Peter Mitchell) he did steal from the club. Cheryl blames Brendan for her falling out with Malachy before his death and refuses to speak to Brendan. Brendan returns to Ireland but comes back two weeks later and hires Jenny (Daisy Turner) to scam Warren out of £200,000. After getting the money Warren threatens to tell everyone he is gay which leads to Brendan outing himself by kissing Ste in the middle of the club. With his £200,000 Brendan buys 49% of Chez Chez
Ste tells Brendan he has a new boyfriend Noah Baxter(Law Thompson). Brendan then goes out of his way to split them up, first by attempting to seduce Noah. Though the plan works briefly, and Ste and Noah split, they reunite quickly. Ste then decides to move away with Noah but later changes his mind, after witnessing Noah cheating once again. Ste contemplates reuniting with Brendan, but he finds out the man Noah was with had been hired by Brendan. However, Brendan goes out of his way to get Ste back, eventually telling Ste he loves him. The pair sleep together again, when Brendan's ex wife Eileen walks in on them and demands to know what is going on. Brendan revels it is a misunderstanding, and Eileen warns Brendan that if the children find out, she will ban him from seeing them. Eileen then tells Brendan he will have to look after Declan (Jay Duffy) while she is away. He agrees to do so. Desperate to keep Ste as well though, Brendan agrees to go to Paris with him, but at the last minute, bottles it, heading to Blackpool with Declan instead.
Brendan also supports Lynsey, after she believes Silas Blissett (Jeff Rawle) is out to get her. Ste returns, and soon reveals to Declan that he is gay. Having to suffer Declan's questions, Brendan is angered by this, and warns Ste to stay away. As Ste continues making sniping comment to Brendan, Brendan lashes out, as Declan walks in. Ste threatens to go to the police, and gets as far as the police station before Brendan stops him, telling him about life growing up with his father. Brendan reveals that his dad would often come home drunk, drag Brendan out of bed, wanting to fight, whilst calling him names, which are linked to sexuality, but also in Brendan's head as weakness. Ste tells Brendan to tell Declan the truth, and Brendan agrees to do so, but changes his mind later.
Brendan decides that he wants to be in a relationship with a woman, and sees a vulnerable Lynsey as the perfect one. He makes his move on her, but is quickly rebuffed, and as the pair argue over the coming days, are unaware they are being watched by a camera Silas has hidden in the flat. As Lynsey continues to think she is being manipulated by Silas, she decides to leave for a while, but Brendan witnesses Silas watching Lynsey depart and warns Silas that he is keeping an eye on him. A week later Lynsey returns from her trip and says she feels calmer. However Brendan confesses to Lynsey that she might be right about Silas and tells her that he saw Silas watching her as she left. Brendan then helps Lynsey and Cheryl with their friendship. Silas however keeps on breaking into the flat and keeps messing with Lynsey's mind. So Brendan confronts Silas and threatens to kill him if he ever goes near Lynsey again.
After confronting Silas, Brendan tells Ste to go and keep an eye on Lynsey. Rae is not happy by the way Brendan bosses around Ste. Shr calls Brendan selfish and a bully. Brendan then grabs Rae's arm and tells her to stay away from him. Silas then helps Rae by telling her she should stand up to Brendan more often, but really he is after revenge on Brendan after his threat. Rae then goes to Lynsey's flat and yells at Ste, accidentally admitting Brendan is gay in front of his son Declan. Brendan then confesses to his son that he is gay and that is why he left his mother. Declan however, takes the news well and the pair hug. But Brendan goes after Rae and puts his hands on her throat and tells her to stay away from Declan and his family, or he will kill her.
Rae is murdered by Silas and her body is planted in Brendan's car boot. Silas leaves a note on the car telling Brendan to go to the woods, and Brendan assumes this note is from Lynsey, who earlier told him she was meeting someone from an online chatroom. He then goes to the woods to look for her, but she is not there. A phone rings in the boot of the car, and Brendan opens the boot to find Rae's dead body. At that moment, the police arrive and arrest Brendan, having been tipped off by Silas and suspecting Brendan of Rae's murder and the murders of India Longford and Rebecca Massey previously. He is put in prison and refused bail. He is then visited by Cheryl and Warren, who say they will find a way to show the police that he is innocent. Lynsey tries to show the police her online chat with the stranger, but the stranger's account has been deleted. Warren visits Brendan in prison and threatens Brendan to try and get Brendan to give his share of the club to him. When Brendan refuses to hand over his part of the club, Warren orders his friends inside to beat Brendan up. However even after this, Brendan refused to hand over his share of the club.
Only one month after his first appearance on Hollyoaks, Emmett J. Scanlan was nominated for the award of 'Best Newcomer' at the 2011 National Television Awards,[18] but did not make the sh ortlist.[19] Scanlan was nominated in the categories of "Best Actor" and Brendan for "Villain of the Year" at the 2011 British Soap Awards as well as "Best Newcomer" and "Best Onscreen Partnership" with Kieron Richardson.[20] He went on to win "Best Newcomer" and "Villain of the Year".[21] At the All About Soap Bubble Awards Brendan, Ste and Rae won the award for "Best Love Triangle".[22] Scanlan won "Best Newcomer" at the 2011 Inside Soap Awards.[23] He was nominated in the category of "Serial Drama Performance" at the 2012 National Television Awards.[24]
A writer for the homosexual blog and news website AfterElton.com expressed his shock at the scene featuring Brendan hitting Ste and also called the story "compelling". He said, "I must say that even though I've been following this storyline since it began, and I knew what was coming, seeing Brendan hit Ste was quite shocking… and the storyline is just beginning. The show has said it's going to be a dark, long-running story arc so I can only imagine what's ahead. I admit that I find the storyline quite compelling, and I've been drawn into it. While some people have seen this as a romance, it's never played that way to me. Ste and Brendan's scenes do have an element of sexual allure since the actors have chemistry, but there's too much darkness and manipulation on the edges of every scene to make real romance even possible.[25] He also gave credit to the show for its slow build up over a few months.[26]
Inside Soap writer Laura-Jayne Tyler also praised Scanlan's character: "Ever since the moustache-twitching rogue rocked up in Chester, he's been pure dynamite. His criminal antics are so dodgy that I'm sure he's going to put the likes of Dirty Den to shame, and the gay domestic abuse plot involving him and Ste has got to be the biggest love shock of the year."[27]
Ruth Deller of lowculture.co.uk listed Brendan as her favourite character of soap opera during the second half of 2010.[28] She also commented on him, stating: "Twirling his comedy evil moustache, turning Ste into his sex slave, randomly bullying the weakest residents of the village just because he can, Brendan has made our forum users come over all unnecessary."[28]
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