| Joanne Cardsley | |||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||
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| Portrayed by | Rachel Leskovac | ||||||
| Duration | 2015–2016 | ||||||
| First appearance | 17 September 2015 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 5 December 2016 | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Introduced by | Bryan Kirkwood | ||||||
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Joanne Cardsley is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Rachel Leskovac. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 17 September 2015. Joanne's arrival on-screen was not announced prior to broadcast. It was later reported she had joined the show as a regular cast member. Producer Bryan Kirkwood was glad to cast Leskovac because he admired her previous work as Natasha Blakeman on Coronation Street. Joanne is introduced as an old friend of Simone Loveday (Jacqueline Boatswain). She is characterised as an intelligent and successful solicitor but has a troubled personal life. Driven by loneliness she concocts schemes and behaves in a manipulative manner. The character made her final appearance on 5 December 2016 at the end of Leskovac's one-year contract.
Her main storyline has seen her become fixated on stealing Simone's husband Louis Loveday (Karl Collins). The pair had an affair fourteen years earlier which was depicted during flashback scenes. However, Joanne wants to resume the relationship despite Louis being adamant that he wants nothing to do with her. Since her introduction, Joanne has tried to seduce Louis on numerous occasions, blackmailed him and thrown herself in-front of his moving car. She has locked Simone in a van, sabotages her relationship and manages to move into her home. In addition, Joanne has sex with their son Zack Loveday (Duayne Boachie) and manipulates their "daughter" Sonia Albright (Kiza Deen) to secure her place in the Loveday household. Writers continued to develop the character's presence as a homewrecker and played her trying to snare Joe Roscoe (Ayden Callaghan) from his girlfriend Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe). Hollyoaks also formed an on-screen friendship with James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan). The character's actions have led to critics of the genre branding her as scheming, devious and a bunny boiler. Hollyoaks press team even released a statement claiming Joanne is "one of the most talked-about bunny boilers in soaps."