Leila Roy
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Leila Roy 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 ...
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
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 Lena Kaur. The character made her first appearance in June 2008. In November 2009, it was announced that Kaur had decided to leave Hollyoaks. Lena made her last appearance as Leila in January 2010.


Character creation


Backstory

Leila was born in 1989 to
Govinda Govinda (, ), also rendered Govind, Gobinda, and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu and his avatars, such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in the ''Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addressed to ...
and Bel Roy. She is their eldest daughter and sister to Ash,
Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (rapper) (born 1993), a Sou ...
and Anita. Leila, a keen artist, had told her father that she was at college studying a law course in order to retrieve his dream of her becoming a lawyer. When Leila was four, Gov and Bel adopted Anita, who Leila grew up believing to be her sister.


Casting

Regular role auditions were held for the part of Leila with actress Lena Kaur securing the role. In November 2009, it was announced that Kaur would leave the soap. Speaking of her decision, Kaur stated: "I decided to leave a while ago because I wanted to do something else. It's the same with every soap - you don't get time to rehearse, there are ups and down and it's so quick to film. You learn all the technical side of things, which is fabulous but for me, I want to move on. It seems like a good time to go as projects are being commissioned that are big for Asian actors - the casting world is moving forward. Young Asian actors are being cast in lead roles in which the characters are who they are regardless of their skin colour. Casting's definitely on a turn compared to what it was five or ten years ago."


Development


Personality and identity

Leila is kind, generous and forgiving. She is a firm believer in the spirit world,
karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...
and
horoscopes A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an astr ...
and on several occasions, has used her horoscope to envision her life. In August 2008, Lena Kaur praised ''Hollyoaks'' producer Bryan Kirkwood for not stereotyping
Asians "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...
on the programme. Speaking to ''Take 5'' magazine, she stated, "The storylines for me and
Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
(
Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (rapper) (born 1993), a Sou ...
) aren't being dictated by the colour of our skin. We're both British Asians in real life as well as in the show. We are both totally westernised. We've been brought up in Britain, so the storylines will reflect people like Stephen and me."


Storylines

Leila arrives as a student at Hollyoaks Community College, where she moves into the halls of residence. Shortly after arriving, Leila begins to develop feelings for
Justin Burton Justin Burton is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Chris Fountain. Justin arrived in 2003 and departed on 3 June 2009. Justin arrived in a family of six, however by September 2006, the Burton fam ...
, which she tells friend
Nancy Hayton Nancy Osborne (also Hayton and Dean) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Jessica Fox (actress), Jessica Fox. The character first appeared on 6 July 2005. Since ...
. Leila accidentally knocks Justin over. He hits his head and is knocked unconscious. One of the nurses at the hospital tells Leila that Justin has lost his memory. Leila then pretends to be Justin's girlfriend when he leaves hospital. At a party, Justin's friend
Ste Hay Ste Hay (also McQueen) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Kieron Richardson. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 10 February 2006. Ste was created by David Hanson and was originally inten ...
tells him that Leila is making their relationship up. Justin decides to go along with it and gets back at her by making her do housework. Justin then proposes to a shocked Leila, he then admits to knowing she is lying and reveals he has not lost his memory. Leila has fun with
Gilly Roach Gilly Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Anthony Quinlan. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 6 October 2005. Gilly was created in 2005 by executive p ...
and they share a kiss, which makes Justin jealous. Gilly and Leila go on date, but are forced to take Archie Carpenter and
Rhys Ashworth Rhys Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Andrew Moss. He made his first on-screen appearance in September 2005. Rhys was killed off in the Enjoy The Ride storyline in an episode airin ...
with them. Leila then turns down Gilly and starts a relationship with Justin, who finally realises feelings towards Leila. Leila begins to sleepwalk, which is discovered when she is caught on camera eating her own chocolates from an advent calendar. The novelty of Leila and Justin's relationship begins to ware off when Justin realises his true feelings for
Hannah Ashworth Hannah Ashworth (also Osborne) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Emma Rigby. Hannah first appeared on-screen on 27 September 2005 and her last appearance was on 12 February 2010. It was annou ...
. During
Sasha Valentine Sasha Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Nathalie Emmanuel. Sasha first appeared on-screen on 17 July 2006 as part of the newly introduced Valentine family. Sasha has been at the cent ...
and
Josh Ashworth Josh Ashworth, played by Sonny Flood, is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, ''Hollyoaks.'' His first appearance was on 3 October 2005. Josh's storylines have included attempted murder, underage sex, drugs, drinking a ...
's joint birthday party, Justin kisses Hannah and is seen by Hannah's boyfriend Ash and
Elliot Bevan Elliot Bevan is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Garnon Davies. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 9 January 2007. Elliot was introduced into the series as a new student charac ...
, who has developed feelings for Leila. Leila and Elliot kiss outside and are seen by Ash. Elliot tells Leila he wants to start a relationship, as Justin does with Hannah, however Leila feels guilty and continues her relationship with Justin. Justin the splits up with Leila, who then helps him ask out Hannah. Leila and Elliot share a kiss, their love for each other and begin a relationship. Leila begins feeling ill. When Elliot takes her for a romantic picnic, Leila, who is still ill, appears uninterested, prompting Elliot to believe she has lost interest in their relationship. After a confrontation, Leila tells Elliot she thinks she may be pregnant. Elliot runs off, worrying he would be a bad father like his own. He tries to avoid Leila, who claims to have taken a pregnancy test. Elliot returns and she reveals she is in fact pregnant. Elliot then runs out again. Leila tracks him down and tells him she never took the test and wanted to see how Elliot would react. With a strain already on their relationship, Leila takes a test and discovers she is not pregnant, to the relief of the pair. Leila contacts Elliot's father
Gareth Gareth (; Old French: ''Guerehet'', ''Guerrehet'', etc.) is a Knights of the Round Table">Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He is the youngest son of King Lot and Morgause, Queen Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making hi ...
, however
Kris Fisher Kris Fisher is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Gerard McCarthy. The character first appeared on-screen in September 2006 and left in August 2010 after McCarthy quit the show. He is noted for hi ...
tells her that Elliot does not want anything to do with his father. Leila then gets Elliot and Kris to take some of her art to a gallery, in order for her to tell Gareth to leave when he arrives. Gareth turns up just as Elliot prepares to leave for the gallery, however he assumes Gareth is a delivery man. Finally the truth comes out and Elliot is angry at Leila for interfering. Leila grows suspicious of Gareth, whose relationship with Elliot has grown. She discovers Elliot's half brother Maynard is in fact the same age as Elliot and not fourteen as Gareth had said. Realising Gareth is lying to Elliot and had obviously cheated on Elliot's mother
Bonnie Bonnie is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean or Bonnie Dundee about John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse. It comes from the Scots language word "bon ...
, Leila calls her. After Gareth leaves, Elliot rejects Leila. Leila,
Bel Bel can mean: Mythology * Belenus or Bel, a Celtic deity * Bel (mythology), a title (meaning "lord" or "master") for various gods in Babylonian religion People * Bel (name) * Annabel Linquist, known as Bel, American artist, musician, and entrepr ...
,
Loretta Loretta is a female given name, the masculine version being Lauro. The name is a diminutive form of Lora, itself a form of Laura, which refers to the laurel tree, a symbol of victory. This name is Italian in origin; it was popularized in the Unite ...
, Kris and Anita discover
Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (rapper) (born 1993), a Sou ...
is involved in an illegal fight, which could cause his
aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...
to rupture. Angry Ravi taunts Ash, who then punches him. Ravi falls into a coma and Leila blames Ash, who tries to apologise. Ash tells Anita that she is adopted and manipulates her into keeping quiet. When Anita tells Gov she knows, Leila is shocked that her family lied to her and Anita. The Roys then disown Ash. Leila tells Gilly that Ash had hidden food in
Hannah Ashworth Hannah Ashworth (also Osborne) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Emma Rigby. Hannah first appeared on-screen on 27 September 2005 and her last appearance was on 12 February 2010. It was annou ...
's room to make it look like her eating disorder had returned, Ash then leaves Hollyoaks. Leila ends her relationship with Elliot and has a one-night stand with Archie Carpenter, who later asks her out but she declines. When Bel and Gov move away to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
, Leila, Ravi and Anita move into a smaller flat, previously occupied by the Cunningham family. Leila begins to worry Anita has an eating disorder after a confrontation from Hannah. However, Anita is pretending for attention. Leila overhears Anita and
Theresa McQueen Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance on 24 November 2008. The character was introduced as an extensio ...
talking, and believes Anita has lost her virginity. Anita then pretends she has, due to Leila treating her more like an adult. When Anita collapses due to taking
MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy (tablet form), and molly (crystal form), is an empathogen–entactogenic drug with stimulant and minor Psychedelic drug, psychedelic properties. In studies, it has been used ...
, Leila and Ravi believe
Dave Colburn David Colburn is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, ''Hollyoaks'', played by Elliot James Langridge. He first appeared in ''Hollyoaks'' online spin-off '' Hollyoaks: The Morning After the Night Before'', which explored ...
spiked her drink. However, Anita admits she took it herself to impress him. Leila creates a sculpture as part of an exhibition. During an interview for a job with artist Jack Welsh, she is told the job is in Paris. Not knowing whether to take the opportunity, Leila confides in Elliot, and the pair grow close again, much to the dislike of his girlfriend Sheila Buxton. Anita accidentally smashes Leila's sculpture during a party, possibly ruining her chance for the job. However, Anita and
Ravi Roy Ravi Roy is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Stephen Uppal. He first appeared in an episode airing on 20 May 2008, introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood ...
reconstruct her sculpture and she is then offered the job. Initially she is reluctant because of her feelings for Elliot, however he persuades her to move on, and she decides to leave. After a tearful farewell with Ravi and Anita, Leila leaves.


References


External links


Character profile
on th

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Leila Hollyoaks characters Television characters introduced in 2008 Fictional artists in soap operas British female characters in soap operas Indian female characters in soap operas