Carol Groves
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Carol Groves is a fictional character from the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
television soap opera ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'', played by
Natalie Casey Natalie Casey (born 15 April 1980) is a British actress, presenter, narrator and singer. She portrayed Carol Groves in the television show ''Hollyoaks'' (1996–2000) and Donna Henshaw in '' Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' (2001– ...
. Carol first appeared in the serial on 22 January 1996. In August 2000 it was announced that Casey had quit the role and would film her final scenes at the end of the month. Carol remained with the serial until 11 December 2000 when she left the village to never return.


Development


Casting

Casey went through three auditions before she was cast as Carol. She won the role ahead of 250 other actors who also went up for it. After six months in the role, Casey was offered a new, year-long contract.


Characterisation

Carol was introduced as
Lucy Benson Lucy Benson is a fictional character from the British 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 January 2000 ...
's (
Kerrie Taylor Kerrie Taylor (born 1973) is a British actress from Romsey, Hampshire. Career Taylor is best known for the role of Beth Enright/Beresford on the ITV family drama '' Where the Heart Is'', a role she played for four years, leaving in 2005. Sh ...
) "very loyal" best friend. She is "hopelessly" and obsessively in love with Lucy's brother Kurt (
Jeremy Edwards Jeremy Edwards (born 17 February 1971) is an English actor, known for his roles as Kurt Benson in ''Hollyoaks'', Danny Shaughnessy in ''Holby City'' and Mike Taylor in ''Millie Inbetween'', as well as being a regular panellist and guest host ...
), who does not reciprocate her feelings at all. Casey disliked her character's infatuation with Kurt, saying "I'd be hitting her! If she was 13, yes, but at 17 she shouldn't channel all her emotions into one lad who doesn't even like her." Tim Davey of the ''
Bristol Evening Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...
'' described the character as wanting to be popular and admired. Casey told him that she would never be friends with Carol because she is "pathetically sad". She thought Carol did not understand how she came across, explaining that the girls like her, but the guys find her "scary" as she is too nice. The ''
Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St. Paul's Square, Liverpool, England. It is published Monday through Sunday, and is Liverpool's da ...
'' described Carol as "Weird and wacky" before describing her time on the show saying: "Carol enjoyed dalliances with characters Kurt, Tony and Finn. Singing at The Loft, she was spotted and offered a cruise ship job".


Departure

In August 2000, Casey announced that she had quit and was filming her final scenes with the series at the end of the month. She departed on 23 October 2000.


Storylines

Carol first appeared on in Hollyoaks when she was on a double date with her friend
Lucy Benson Lucy Benson is a fictional character from the British 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 January 2000 ...
. She was a keen musician, who started The Crazy Bazz Studs with Lucy and Bazil "Bazz FM" McCourtey, she had a life changing moment when she was involved the crash that resulted in Dermot Ashton's death. Carol's near death experience initiated her belief that she was psychic. Almost instantly, Carol allegedly had a gift for reading people's auras and an all seeing eye, which helped her predict what was to come and alert her when there was trouble in the air. Undoubtedly Carol's spookiest moment was when she returned from Ireland and had a sinister premonition that something unwelcome was coming into their midst. Within moments, Lucy got a call telling her that Kurt had died. Carol's kookiness continued throughout the rest of her time on the show and, whilst she had a brief attachment to Kurt, Carol seemed destined never to find a guy she genuinely liked, despite the odd dalliance with the likes of
Tony Hutchinson Tony Hutchinson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Nick Pickard. His first appearance on-screen occurred on 23 October 1995, the inaugural episode of the programme, and is the longest-serving ...
in
Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...
. That was until she met Rory "Finn" Finnigan and almost instantly fell head over heels in love. Of course, the path of true love never ran smoothly, and this tempestuous and often passionate relationship saw its fair share of ups and downs. Carol was also a loyal and trusted friend to Lucy, helping her get through the worst of her drug addiction. Her friendship with Lucy caused her to put her own life in jeopardy with Rob Hawthorne, but ultimately served to demonstrate just how dependable Carol was to those she loved. After Lucy left, while she continued to get into scrapes with Tony and Finn, Carol missed having her best friend around. She soon turned her attentions to herself and became preoccupied with having a breast enlargement. Just before her operation, she read her tarot cards and discovered that she was destined to meet a man in a white suit. Assuming this was a doctor, she was dismayed to find him dressed in green and made a quick getaway! Still feeling disillusioned, Carol agreed to help Finn and Lewis Richardson by singing at the opening of The Loft. During her performance, she was spotted by a talent scout, who offered her a job singing on a cruise ship. After much soul searching, Carol agreed to take the job. She arrived at the boat and was greeted by a uniformed officer, her man in white. Carol returned briefly to Hollyoaks to appear in the Barcelona special, Hollyoaks: Boys Do Barca and heartstrings were pulled yet again as she and Tony realised that they had feelings for each other. Carol returned to her boat, but promised Tony that she would come back to him. Carol later phoned Finn, telling him to break the news to Tony that she has met someone else and would no longer return.


Reception

In 1999, Carol was nominated for Funniest Character at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards. Lorna Cooper of
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TV listed Carol of one of Soap Opera's "forgotten characters".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groves, Carol Hollyoaks characters Television characters introduced in 1996 British female characters in soap operas English female characters in television Fictional singers in soap operas