It truly is the end of an era, as Alex Fletcher, utterly adored by Hollyoaks fans as matriarch of the Hutchinson clan, Diane, has reportedly decided to quit the show.
Apparently, the filming of her exit scenes is imminent, and the tea is that she’ll be killed off.
Diane has been an absolutely integral part of the soap for 16 years, while she and Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) have survived affairs, cancer, serial killers, child deaths, baby swaps and an evil dad, arguably becoming the shows most beloved couple.
‘Alex is one of the show’s most popular characters both on and off screen – everyone just adores her,’ said a source, which, as a former Hollyoaks writer, I can absolutely confirm. She’s a true delight.
‘She has been at the heart of Hollyoaks alongside Nick for more than a decade and bosses are gutted she’s leaving, but they are doing everything they came to come up with a memorable and fitting exit for her much-loved character.’
Diane arrived in the village in 2010 alongside husband Rob (Gary Cargill) and stepchildren, Sinead (Stephanie Davis) and Finn (initially Connor Wilkinson, later Keith Rice), desperate for a baby of her own. After a spot of baby-pinching, she later fell pregnant with twins by Tony after splitting from Rob.
Realising that they’d met as children in Brighton, they named the children after their childhood nicknames, Ant and Dee, before, in true Hollyoaks style, Tony started an affair with Sinead.
After almost falling victim to the legendary ‘gloved hand killer’, Diane learned that Dee Dee was, in fact, the product of Tegan Lomax and local gang lord, Fraser Black (Jesse Birdsall), and had been switched at birth with their daughter, Rose. Though they initially agreed to keep the children they came home with, the ensuing deaths of both Tegan and Fraser meant Diane took Rose back and she reunited with Tony.
She remained steadfastly by her family’s side throughout the reveal of Finn’s rape of John-Paul McQueen’s (James Sutton), the death of her niece, Lily Drinkwell (Lauren McQueen), the depression and suicide attempt of nephew Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams) and discovering daughter Dee Dee’s autoimmune encephalitis.
The official Channel 4 website described our Di as a ‘professional racing horse’ at the time. The reason? Because ‘she never gets an easy ride’. Never was a truer word spoken.
…and it never really got easier.
When Tony was abducted by serial killer Breda McQueen (Moya Brady), she forged a relationship with his seriously sinister surgeon dad, Edward, ditching her trademark blonde locks for an auburn hue as he tried to mould her into his ex-wife. The arrival of Verity Hutchinson (Eva O’Hara) and the return of Tony saw Edward’s schemes reach new heights, with him even performing a fake brain operation on his son while spiking him with medication.
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Yes, really.
Though Edward ended up killing himself after trying to poison Tony over Christmas dinner, the effects of his reign of terror lingered when Diane discovered she was pregnant by him, later developing a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
When Rose came out as transgender, socially transitioning into Ro, Diane struggled and amid further marriage struggles with Tony, slowly descended into alcoholism.
Their marriage crumbled, though they later reconciled and planned to re-marry, with Diane, at the time, unaware that he’d fathered a child with Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox) and impregnated Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe), who he’d been having an affair with.
Their wedding, of course, coincided with a plane crashing into the village and a vengeful Mercedes shooting Tony.
Despite being embroiled in some of Hollyoaks’ most insane plots over her tenure, Diane was always one of the most ‘human’ characters among the insanity of the village.
A loving mother, a devoted wife and a warm, kind-hearted friend to many, Diane came to embody a strong maternal figure and a figure head within the community of Hollyoaks.
The rumours of an imminent death carry weight, as Diane leaving the village without Tony and her (many, many) children seems unlikely, but this is Soap Land, and we all know that means anything goes…
