| Gilly Roach | |||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||
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| Portrayed by | Anthony Quinlan | ||||||
| Duration | 2005–2011 | ||||||
| First appearance | 6 October 2005 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 22 November 2011 | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Introduced by | David Hanson | ||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Hollyoaks: The Morning After The Night Before | ||||||
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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 producer David Hanson. Gilly has often been portrayed as a push-over and has a double act partnership with fellow character Rhys Ashworth. His main character traits have been his "nice attitude", with Quinlan branding Gilly in his first five years as a "push-over". He has been labelled a loser and unlucky in love after failed relationships with Jessica Harris (Jennifer Biddall), Beth Clement (Sinéad Moynihan), Cheryl Brady (Bronagh Waugh) and Jem Costello (Helen Russell-Clark). In 2009, executive producer Lucy Alan made changes to the character and reached a mutual agreement with Quinlan to shave off his hair, which has characterised Gilly during his early years.
In 2010, he was paired with Steph Cunningham (Carley Stenson), who was later killed off after Stenson left her role. This resulted in a long-running storyline for Gilly in which he was seen taking a "dark journey" unable to cope with grief. Another big storyline for the character occurs in 2011 when Jacqui McQueen (Claire Cooper) accuses him of rape; the storyline subsequently received media attention. A fictional jury consisting of viewers is to decide if he is guilty or innocent. Other storylines have involved the effects of binge drinking, which was portrayed during an online spin-off drama. Gilly has sometimes proved unpopular with television critics, with one branding him a "dampy drizzle of a character". Quinlan has also been nominated for minor awards for his portrayal. In 2011, it was announced that Quinlan would be leaving the serial to pursue other projects and would leave at the end of the rape storyline.