Sinead O'Connor (Hollyoaks)

Creation and casting

In 2010, Davis appeared as a contestant on BBC talent contest Over the Rainbow. When she departed the competition Hollyoaks contacted her agent requesting that she audition for the show. Davis gave up her pursuit of stage work to star as Sinéad. She later told Dawn Collinson from the Liverpool Echo that "I definitely, 100% made the right decision, it’s Hollyoaks all the way". Sinead was created during producer Paul Marquess's "radical makeover" of Hollyoaks. Marquess first mentioned the family during a May 2010 interview with Kris Green from Digital Spy. He revealed that "something shocking happens to them really early on". Davis' casting was publicised in June 2010, alongside the announcement of the O'Connor family. Green reported that Davis was joined by Gary Cargill and Alex Fletcher playing Sinead's father Rob and step-mother Diane O'Connor respectively, while the role of sibling Finn O'Connor had been given to Connor Wilkinson. Green added that the family would be under threat from Diane's desire to conceive a child via IVF. Marquess was excited about the family because they would bring a "dramatic storyline" to the show.

Development

In July 2012, Hollyoaks teamed up with L'Oréal Paris to promote their "Feria hair colour" brand and in exchange give Sinead a make-over. The cosmetic company announced the news via their website stating that they had transformed Sinéad's hair "from glossy brunette into fiery red". The character was shown wanting a new look prior to a trip to Abersoch to "give herself an extra boost of confidence". Hollyoaks also released a video to profile Davis having the treatment applied to her hair.

Davis later told a reporter from K9 magazine that she liked Sinéad's "feisty nature" but felt she became quieter in 2012.

Sinead begins a romance with Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke) but Diane does not approve. They decide that the only solution to be together is running away. Davis told Collinson that Diane does not want Bart in Sinead's life so they go to Wales. To begin with they find excitement in staying in a bed and breakfast but "then obviously as time goes on it gets a lot harder". As the money runs out they start struggling. She stated that the only good thing for Bart and Sinead is that they have each other, forming a "Romeo and Juliet" pairing. They take jobs at a fairground but they find themselves in a predicament as they "bicker" but ultimately reconcile due to love. Diane tracks them down and attempts to convince Sinead to return home. Davis explained that the duo have "got no money, they’re hungry, Sinead just wants a bath and to see her friends. It's a cliffhanger whether she goes home and has all those luxuries and doesn’t get to be with Bart, or she stays with nothing." Davis sympathised with her character because she understood the feeling of wanting to be with someone who may not be suitable. Off-screen she had formed a good rapport with Clarke, claimed to know him "inside out" and therefore did not find their kissing scenes weird to film. She added that extras working on the show believe their on-screen chemistry so much that they suggested they should be together in reality.

Departure

On 16 July 2015, it was reported by Digital Spy that Stephanie Davis would not be filming any further scenes in her role as Sinead O'Connor after show bosses decided to terminate her contract. A Hollyoaks spokesperson told Digital Spy: "Stephanie Davis will no longer be filming Hollyoaks. Her contract has been terminated with immediate effect.

"Stephanie's contract was terminated following warnings for lateness, attendance and after a final incident in which she turned up to set unfit to work because of alcohol consumption". Her final scenes aired on 18 September 2015.

Storylines

Sinead befriends Amber Sharpe (Lydia Lloyd-Henry) and her father, Rob, is promoted to headmaster when they accidentally knock Mr Forsyth unconscious. Sinead's stepmother, Diane, asks Sinead to inject her with her IVF drugs and it begins to affect their relationship. Finn tells Sinead that he is worried Diane may forget about her step-children if she has a child of her own. Diane takes a pregnancy test which is negative but finds an abandoned baby at the hospital and brings him home. She tells Sinead she wants to keep him but is forced to ask Lynsey Nolan (Karen Hassan) for medical advice when he falls ill. Lynsey threatens to contact the authorities, but Anita tells Lynsey to back off. Initially unimpressed, Sinead later develops an attraction to Taylor Sharpe (Shaun Blackstock), despite distraction from Taylor's brother Arlo Davenport (Travis Yates) they begin dating. Sinead reads Amber's diary and she claims that Rob has fathered the baby she is carrying. Sinead and Diane later uncover that Finn is the father of Amber's baby and she ends her relationship with Taylor. Rob's disgruntled ex-employee, Eva Strong (Sheree Murphy), steals Amber's diary and Sinead convinces Rob to reinstate Eva in exchange for the diary. Eva, however, keeps pages and with the evidence, imprisons Rob. It is later revealed that Rob's relationship with Diane started when she was his pupil and Sinead's mother is still alive. Sinead and Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) tease Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks) after she pretends Sinead is her girlfriend.

Sinead is later attracted to Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke) and he convinces her to contact her mother. She meets Morag (Lisa Coleman) who reveals that she walked out on her family because of stress. She reveals that Sinead had leukaemia and Finn was a planned child to act as a saviour sibling. Sinead accepts Morag's offer to move to New York but changes her mind when she realises Morag does not want to see Finn. Sinead finally seals the deal with Bart and Diane disapproves as she believes that he will distract her from her education. Sinead travels to Abersoch with her friends and is jealous of Bart's ex-girlfriend Maddie Morrison (Scarlett Bowman). Sinead, soon after, almost drowns in the sea after getting increasingly drunk. Upon hearing of Sinead's near-death experience, she attempts to end Sinead's involvement with Bart. Tired of Diane's intervention, the pair prepare to leave Hollyoaks. Their new life starts by seeking somewhere to live and jobs at fairgrounds and caravan parks but ultimately sleep on the streets. In need of cash, Bart contacts Jason Costello (Victoria Atkin), his transgender ex-girlfriend, angering Sinead because of Bart's relationship with Jason before he identified himself as transgender. Sinead's jealousy grows, leaving them to face an armed farmer, who owns the house they were stealing from. Sinead saves Bart and Jason despite learning that they have kissed momentarily but later attacks Jason and mocks his transgender status.

She returns to Hollyoaks and dumps Bart. Sinead starts sixth form college and originally upsets Maddie by locking lips with Toby (Alex Roe). Maddie pretends to be Sinead's friend and manipulates her. She realises that Sinead and Bart are growing close again and convinces her to date Gaz Bennett (Joel Goonan) instead. She later does and Maddie encourages her to consummate her relationship with Gaz and convinces Bart to plant stolen goods on Gaz, but Sinead is arrested. Maddie attempts to tell Sinead about Gaz's unexpected move on her, but Sinead refuses to believe her. While Gaz is about to leave Sinead, he and Sinead learn that they have jobs, selling concert merchandise in London, but only as a couple. At a Wretch 32 concert, Bart invades the stage and sings a song for Sinead. This convinces her to get back with him and Gaz leaves. Bart is caught growing cannabis in his attic and he decides to run away. Sinead tries to leave with him but he gets away with it. She soon becomes annoyed with his cannabis habit and tells him to stop or she will end their relationship. He goes to Amsterdam and tells Sinead he is leaving her but returns and she forgives him. Sinead joins Maddie in a bullying campaign against Esther and they play a series of pranks and turn everyone against her. When Bart refuses to stop smoking cannabis, she ends their relationship. She attends a party and has a one-night stand with a mystery man but later reunites with Bart. Sinead joins her friends in a stolen van driving Ruby and Jono to their wedding. Bart and Esther chase the van to stop the wedding, but the vans breaks fail and they crash into a separate wedding venue. Jono (Dylan Llewellyn) saves Ruby but he, Maddie and Neil Cooper (Tosin Cole) die in the explosion.

After being hospitalised, Sinead falls pregnant and her baby is safe despite the trauma from the crash. She steals a photograph of Rhys Ashworth (Andrew Moss) who also died in the crash, giving the impression he is the father of her baby. Shortly after the crash, Jono dies in Ruby's arms from a blood clot. Sinead and Bart decide to raise the baby together so, along with Ruby, pressure Esther in to keeping her and Bart's involvement in the crash secret. Sinead and Ruby's mistreatment of Esther escalates and worsens when Esther attempts suicide which leads her to require a liver transplant. Sinead and Ruby make a pact to agree that they had nothing to do with the bullying. However, Ruby feels guilty and admits her involvement to Esther's family. Meanwhile, Diane asks Sinead if she was involved in the bullying but she denies everything. Diane, however, checks Sinead's laptop and smashes it when she finds the images Sinead posted. Initially angry, Diane convinces Sinead to blame it all on Ruby but Ruby reveals everything at a gathering. The morning after the event, headmaster Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) calls Sinead into his office. Sinead shows no remorse and is promptly expelled. She later gets a job at Price Slice and after falling off a ladder, learns that she is having a girl. Sinead decides she no longer wants to keep her baby and plans to get rid of it but after talking to Cindy, she decides to give the baby to Diane who initially refuses to raise the baby but later changes her mind.

Soon while working at price slice she is held at gunpoint by Robbie Roscoe (Charlie Wernham) and her brother Finn but she doesn't know its them because they are wearing masks. But just in time Callum walks in the shop and attacks Robbie who accidentally shoots him. Eventually an ambulance is called and Sinead finds out her baby is okay. She is then horrified when she finds out her brother Finn was involved in holding her at gunpoint. She then slaps Finn, but then is horrified when she finds out she's in labour. She then gives birth in the back of a burnt out car and is supported by Esther while giving birth. She is then taken to the hospital where the baby is checked to see if it's alright. Diane decides to call the baby Katy and when the baby is taken home Diane looks after the baby, Sinead decides she can't watch Diane look after the baby and moves out of Diane's house by herself. She is then offered by Ste to move in with him. Then she arranges a holiday with Esther and Tilly but doesn't like their idea for the holiday so backs out altogether. She then returns to working at Price Slice but later decides that she doesn't want to work there anymore so tells Holly Cunningham (Wallis Day; Amanda Clapham) that she's walking out of the job. She then quits but after angrily attacking and arguing with Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) she gets offered a Job at Chez Chez by Mercedes. Ste gets her into drug dealing, however, as Sinead is struggling for money and she starts drug dealing at Chez Chez. When she gives a man the wrong drugs, he angrily attacks her. Soon she gets arrested for drug dealing but then gets set free from the police station as it's a first offence. But when Diane finds out about her drug dealing, she goes mad and makes Sinead move in with her which she does. But after staying with her for a couple of days and looking after Katy, Sinead decides to move out again with Katy. She is also fired from Chez Chez. After Holly calls her a drug dealing skank and tells her she's not fit to look after a baby, Sinead throws water over her and Cindy. She also falls out with Myra McQueen (Nicole Barber-Lane), when Myra finds out Bart isn't the father of Sinead's baby.

Sinead was recently propositioned by a man called Frank for sex. He offered her £200 but she walks away. The next day, she rings him and says she'll do it - if he ups it to £500 and he agrees. She then goes to his apartment and he tells her he's going to get her some whiskey. But while he's out the room, Sinead steals his purse and runs from his apartment. She then throws a party to celebrate and she invites some mates. But she is horrified to find out that the money's been stolen. She accuses her best friend Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) of taking it. Soon she starts going off the rails and starts working as a prostitute. But while working in prostitution she falls in love with police officer, DS Trent. However while investigating the case of villain Trevor Royle (Greg Wood) he gets murdered by Trevor. A heartbroken Sinead then continues to going off the rails and goes back to prostitution but this time works as a prostitute for Trevor. Sinead steals a bag from Trevor thinking that there's loads of cash in it so decides to give it to Ste and Doug as a leaving present but unaware to Sinead it is actually a bomb set up by Clare to kill the McQueens, and she brings it back home to the party. While the party is still going on, Sinead goes to open the bag and sees the bomb and screams Ste's name but before she can go and tell everyone to get out the bomb explodes. Being the first one to gain consciousness Sinead gets up and as Doug wakes up he gets Sinead out and goes back in for Ste but Sinead tells him he is bleeding but he goes back in anyway.

Soon she starts a relationship with Freddie Roscoe (Charlie Clapham) but they fall out after she realises that he loves Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin) even though she is in a relationship with Joe Roscoe (Ayden Callaghan). Soon when Lindsey and Joe marry, Freddie tries to stop them going on their honeymoon but it doesn't work. On Christmas Day when Sinead sees Freddie and Lindsey hugging, she gets the wrong end idea and thinks that Freddie is cheating on her. For revenge she writes a Christmas card to Joe telling him about Freddie being in love with Lindsey. She sends it but Robbie finds it before Joe reads it, he then blackmails Sinead into sleeping with him, but he backs down when he realizes that she doesn't want to. Freddie then propose and she says yes and helps to organise the wedding with Freddie. Lindsey doesn't approve of Freddie marrying Sinead and when Sinead sees them hugging again she gets the wrong idea again and sleeps with Robbie. When Freddie finds out, he attacks Robbie and falls out with Sinead. However the pair then make up and they marry. Sinead is worried when baby Katy falls ill and takes her to the hospital. Lindsey accuses Sinead of lying about Katy being ill for attention and misdiagnoses her, discharging the infant from the hospital. Infuriated, Sinead puts blood in Katy's nappy which had come from a cut on Sinead's finger to ensure that she is diagnosed properly by a doctor, but later admits the truth to Diane. Social services take Katy away from Sinead because of this, but Diane fosters Katy and does not allow Sinead near Katy. However, when Diane is arrested for possession of drugs during her wedding to Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard), Sinead is allowed by Finn to see Katy whilst he is out of the room. Shortly after Sinead leaves, Diane returns and discovers Katy convulsing in her cot. Katy is rushed to hospital whilst Sinead is arrested for assaulting Diane, and Freddie informs Sinead that Katy is in intensive care.

Sinead steals a car after being cautioned at the police station in order to get to the hospital, but Fraser Black (Jesse Birdsall) crashes into Sinead and leaves her trapped inside her car. Luckily Sinead is found and is taken to the hospital, but Freddie then informs her that Katy has died. Sinead is put on a physiactric ward as Finn confesses that Sinead was alone with Katy before she was rushed to hospital and everybody, including Diane, believes Sinead poisoned Katy in a bid for attention however it is revealed at Katy's funeral that Katy really was ill and Sinead had nothing to do with her death. Sinead and Freddie soon separate on the grounds that Sinead can't live with Freddie after he didn't believe that she didn't hurt Katy. In May, she finds out about Sonny Valentine's (Aaron Fontaine) part in the death of Superintendent Marlow (Paul Clayton). She threatened to tell the police about this unless Sonny helps her get her own back on Lindsey. After injuring herself, she goes to the hospital with Sonny where she is treated by Lindsey. Lindsay tries to sympathize with Sinead while treating her, but only causes her to get more angry. Sinead slaps Lindsey, then pushes her over, causing a syringe to enter her. Sinead then announces she is HIV positive. Believing her claims, Carmel McQueen (Gemma Merna) organizes an AIDS charity event during which Joe arrives and reveals Sinead has been lying in order to make Lindsey suffer. Sinead decides that she needs to punish Lindsey and make her pay for "killing her baby". Sinead steals a car from Freddie's work and kidnaps Lindsey, handcuffing her to the door. She drives to a canal and threatens to drive into it unless Lindsey and Freddie (who is in the car) admit they had an affair. Lindsey, scared for her life, admits that she loved Freddie because she was lonely and briefly wanted them to run away together and bring up a baby. Sinead unties her and lets her go, then reveals to them that she had a phone which she phoned Joe on, and he overheard everything. Sinead, in an attempt to punish her mother Diane for believing she could hurt her daughter Katy, starts an affair with her stepfather Tony Hutchinson. Originally Sinead only wanted to bed Tony so she could inform Diane and hurt her, but it turns out Sinead has actually fallen for Tony and the affair is more than just getting back at Diane.

A few weeks into Sinead's 'relationship' with Tony, they decide to go for a weekend away together. Diane is suspicious, though, and manages to track Tony down. She finds out that he is having an affair, as she finds another woman's underwear in his washing, and somebody that works at the hotel tells her that Tony was with a younger woman. Diane does not find out, though, that it was Sinead that Tony was seeing. Sinead drunkenly sleeps with Ste, and a few weeks later discovers she's pregnant, but believes it is with Tony's child. Diane and Tony plan to marry again, but on the hen night, Diane discovers Sinead is pregnant and confronts her about the father. Sinead lies and informs her it was a fling with Darryl, but when Diane invites Darryl to the wedding so Sinead can inform him about her baby, he tells Diane him and Sinead never actually slept together. Diane realizes Sinead and Tony's deceit and publicly embarrasses the pair of them. Sinead tells Diane the following day that the affair was because Diane didn't believe her about baby Katy's death, but Diane cannot bring herself to forgive Sinead and throws her out.

Sinead helps Diane get away so she can have Tony to herself which Tony realises after Diane's gone and Sinead gets him to forgive her. After a while Sinead reads Tony's mail and discovers that his cancer treatment left him infertile and realises that Ste is the father of her baby which doesn't take Esther long to realise. Tony confronts Sinead in front of Holly, Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins), Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring), Dirk Savage (David Kennedy) and Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson). Sinead then tries to get Tony to forgive her which he doesn't and kicks her out. Sinead then tells Ste on his wedding day that he is the father of her baby. Ste then locks Sinead in a room to shut her up. That night, Sinead confronts Ste in front of everyone before running out of The Hutch and getting hit by Dodger Savage's (Danny Mac) car, which knocks her to the floor. She needs an operation but refuses to give consent as it means her baby's life would be put in danger despite the fact that if she doesn't have it she will die. Diane and Ste however change her mind and both she and the baby survive. Diane then forgives Sinead for sleeping with Tony and lets her move back in. Ste promises to support her and the baby and she soon develops feelings for him.

In April 2015, Sinead's divorce from her husband Freddie comes through leaving him free to marry his fiancée Lindsey. Her step-cousin Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams) then arrives in Hollyoaks and helps her try to get Ste by meddling with his marriage to John Paul. She tries to use Harry to get together with John Paul but her plan fails and causes Ste to get attacked. When Sinead finds out that Harry was there she calls the police. She is shocked however when Harry under pressure from the real attackers and not wanting his sexuality to come out says he did it. She, John Paul, Ste and Scott all agree to keep quiet about Harry's sexuality until he feels he's ready to come out. On Freddie and Lindsey's wedding day Sinead becomes hysterical looking at her old wedding photos so Scott suggest gatecrashing the wedding which she agrees to. However, due to a fight between Freddie and Joe Roscoe Sinead is knocked to the floor and her waters break. However the baby takes a long time to arrive and Sinead is desperate not for the baby's birth to be tomorrow which was Katy's birthday. However the next day Sinead goes into labour at the Hutch giving birth to a girl Hannah with Ste arriving just in time to see the birth.

After Hannah's birth Sinead accidentally reveals to Ste that she's in love with him but when he rejects her she makes a cruel comment about his HIV causing him to have a relapse. However Ste cleans up his act and agrees to give things a try between them for Hannah's sake. Sinead later goes off on a spa day with Esther but due to the work of Grace Black, Dylan Jenkins Nico Blake and Kim Butterfield they are stranded in the middle of nowhere without their phones while Esther is in labour. Sinead then helps Esther give birth to Curtis. When Scott returns, Sinead becomes paranoid about him flirting with Ste so locks Harry and Ste mistaking him for Scott in a port-a-potty so Scott will leave Ste alone, unaware Harry is in love with Ste and tries to kiss him. Sinead then orders Scott out after he lied about having HIV and cost them the vicar and church for Hannah's christening. Scott however gets her to forgive him by convincing the vicar to do the christening.

Ste later proposes to Sinead and she accepts unaware that he kissed Harry twice. When at Hollyoaks High while helping Ste and Tony with a catering job Sinead almost walks in on Ste and Harry kissing but they manage to avoid her. Sinead then reads a message that Harry sent Ste and lets Ste see men on the side in the hope he'll still stick with her. However, Sinead retracts her message of Ste allowing to sleep with men due to them being two weeks into their engagement. Whilst getting ready on a night in with Ste, Sinead discovers an open packet of condoms in a bin used by Ste and Harry. Sinead later reads a text message Harry sent to Ste and discovers Ste slept with Harry. Angered, Sinead downs a glass of wine and storms out of the flat. Ste later discovers that Sinead has left the village and has taken Hannah with her. Despite Sinead's departure with her daughter Hannah, Ste begins to blame Harry for all of it. In December 2015, Sinead called John-Paul to get Ste back to him, in order to not be close to Harry's, which he'd agrees. John-Paul later calls her again, that he and Ste were no longer husbands, which devastated Sinead.

Reception

For her portrayal of Sinead, Davis received a "Serial Drama Performance" nomination at the 2012 National Television Awards. The Daily Mail's Jaci Stephen branded a drugs storyline involving Sinead, Esther and Ruby as boring. She stated her choice of drug would be sleeping pills to help her with the boredom. She was also nominated for the "Sexiest Female" award in the British Soap Awards but lost out to Michelle Keegan of Coronation Street. In 2014, Davis was nominated for the "Best Actress" award and "Best Dramatic Performance" at The British Soap Awards for her portrayal of Sinead.