| Finn O'Connor | |||||||||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Connor Wilkinson | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Paul Marquess | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2010— | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 1 September 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 January 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Student | ||||||||||||
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Finn O'Connor is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Connor Wilkinson. The character was introduced during a "shake-up" of the show by new series producer Paul Marquess during 2010 as a member of the O'Connor family, and has since been at the centre of an underage sex and pregnancy storyline with Amber Sharpe (Lydia Lloyd-Henry).
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In January 2010, Hollyoaks series producer Lucy Allan quit her role and was replaced by Paul Marquess, who immediately began a revamp of the series.[1] Several characters were axed and new signings were revealed. The O'Connor family were the third new family to be announced, with former Brookside actress Alexandra Fletcher being cast as the stepmother of the Liverpudlian family.[2][3] Marquess commented on the family: "We're very excited about the arrival of the O'Connors who burst onto screens in August with a very dramatic storyline. And I'm personally very excited to work with the fantastic Alex Fletcher again."[2]
Stephanie Davis who portrays Finn's sister Sinead O'Connor described her character and Finn's relationship, saying: "Well, obviously it's a brother and sister relationship so she is sometimes quite moody with him! But she loves him loads, and you'll see in one of the first scenes that Amber Sharpe is being a bit nasty to him, so Sinead goes over to have it out with her! But then they end up really good friends. After that, when Sinead's at home, she's nice to him — but when she's with her friends, she's a bit horrible to him!"[4]
After his arrival, it was announced that he and Amber Sharpe would be involved in an underage sex storyline. Hollyoaks, teaming up with Channel 4 Education's Battlefront, would explore sex involving two 12 year-olds, which would lead to Amber's pregnancy.[5][6][7]
Lucy Willis, the executive producer for Battlefront explained, "Battlefront gives young people an opportunity to run campaigns about subjects they feel passionately about. Abbie Louise’s campaign Where Is The Love tackles an incredibly important issue which affects many young people today, who feel huge peer pressure to have sex before they are ready, often without the help and advice of adequate sex education at school."[7]
Of the storyline, Marquess said: "Hollyoaks has long been credited for tackling difficult issues that affect young people in a sensitive and intelligent way. I am very proud that we are once again bringing to the forefront a subject for our young audience that many parents, politicians and schools struggle to address. The storyline very clearly communicates to the audience that Amber and Finn were not emotionally or physically ready to engage in any sexual activity. And make no mistake, there will be no fairytale ending for Amber; she is faced with the most difficult situation she could ever imagine. On July 12th 2011, Finn receives a text message of Amber with a photo attached of their baby girl, Bella. He shows Sinead the message and when she asks whether he wants to see the baby, Finn says no, and deletes the photo."[7]
Finn first appears as a new student at Hollyoaks High. Finn tries to befriend other new student Amber. However, this backfires when Amber refuses to be friends. The next day, Finn and his stepmother Diane have an argument, regarding the fact that she is desperate for a baby of her own. Finn argues that he and his sister Sinead are not enough for Diane, and that she will forget them if she does get pregnant. After Diane steals a baby from a local hospital, Finn and Amber take the child, but are caught by Anita Roy (Saira Choudhry). Amber later confides in Finn, as the pair discuss their troubled home lives. They eventually discuss sex. Amber proposes she and Finn have sex, to which he agrees.[8]
Amber asks Finn to buy her a pregnancy test, which laters confirms her to be pregnant. Whilst discussing what to do in Ambers room, a fire spreads from the restaurant below. Amber and Finn discover they are trapped and are forced to escape through the skylight. Amber claims that Rob is the father of her baby as a result the Sharpe's move away. As a result of Amber's allegations it is revealed Diane was a former student of Robs. Rob soon moves away leaving Finn and Sinead with Diane.
A few months later Finn receives news that Amber has given birth to a daughter named Bella but he decides not to go see her.
A poll ran on the E4 website asked viewers which member of the O'Connor family was their favourite. Finn received the fewest votes, with only 837 (19.03%) people voting for him.[9]
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