Carmel Valentine (also McQueen) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gemma Merna. She debuted on-screen during episodes airing on 22 August 2006 and was introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of the McQueen family. Carmel has proved popular with fans with her comedic personality and has become notable for her "dumb blonde" appearance. Carmel was killed-off as she saved her cousin, Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter) from Sonny Valentine (Aaron Fontaine) during the "End of the Line" storyline. Her most prominent storylines include her marriage and divorce from Sonny's brother Calvin Valentine (Ricky Whittle), her facial disfigurement after a tanning machine explodes in her face, remarrying Calvin which ends in tragedy after he was shot dead by Theresa, her relationship with Jim McGinn (Dan Tetsell), her feud with Theresa and infatuation with Theresa and Calvin's daughter Kathleen-Angel McQueen, beginning a relationship with Sonny and being killed in an explosion following a train crash at her cousin Porsche McQueen's (Twinnie Lee Moore) wedding reception.
Character creation and casting
Carmel was created as part of the McQueen family by Bryan Kirkwood in 2006. Actress Gemma Merna successfully auditioned for the part and Carmel was subsequently created around Merna, of this Kirkwood stated: "Gemma Merna, I remember back to the audition when she turned up looking like a dog's breakfast in what she believed the character would wear. It was instant. From there we created a character around her."
Development
In June 2012, it was revealed that Carmel will reportedly suffer "horrific injuries" after an accident with a tanning machine. Carmel decides to use the machine to look her best in order to become the face of new gym Atrwell's but the plan backfires when the machine explodes in her face, with a source saying "Carmel's life is on the line because she is desperate to get a tan." Merna later revealed the details of the struggles that lie ahead for Carmel as the storyline begins. Discussing Carmel's consequences, Merna said that Carmel has spent years working in the beauty trade and stated that image is everything to her, so she is devastated. Speaking to TV Times, Merna added: "She feels ugly and thinks other people will think she's ugly too. She's always had this dream of meeting her Prince Charming, but she feels that's never going to happen now and she's going to be stuck on her own." Merna later said that Carmel can't see a future for herself so she goes up onto the hospital roof with a view of jumping off. The scenes aired on 15 June 2012. Merna praised her scarring storyline, describing it as "absolutely fantastic". Speaking on This Morning, Merna said "She is a comedy character to start off with, but I'm quite lucky at Hollyoaks because they do give me the serious storylines to get your teeth into." She said that after her on-screen husband got shot, the writers didn't know where to take the character. She continued "[Carmel] just doesn't know what to do, because she's always wanted a perfect life, a gorgeous husband, lovely children – and the thing that hits her now is [the fear that] no-one will fancy her anymore, no-one will want to be with her. So it took her to the point that we saw last week where she went to the top of the roof to possibly jump off and commit suicide." Merna confessed that she did cry real tears when filming her first hospital scenes following the accident and said that it was fantastic for the scene.
Departure and death
On 24 August 2014, Merna announced that she would be leaving the role. Carmel was killed off in the train explosion in November after being a hero, saving cousin Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter) from the hands of Sonny Valentine (Aaron Fontaine). "Yours" by Ella Henderson was played in the background as Carmel calmly died with her family around her. The episode in which Carmel died was broadcast on Channel 4 on 12 November 2014, with cast members and television critics praising Merna's performance in her final scenes.