| Sarah Barnes | |||||||||||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Loui Batley | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2005–2009 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 6 October 2005 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 23 October 2009 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | David Hanson | ||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Hollyoaks Later (2008–2009) | ||||||||||||||
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Sarah Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Loui Batley. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 6 October 2005. Sarah was introduced by executive producer David Hanson as part of the Barnes family. In 2009, Batley quit the serial in order to pursue other projects. The character has been central to many key storylines, one of the earliest the high-profile gay storyline involving supercouple John Paul McQueen and Craig Dean.
The theme of sexuality was further explored through Sarah, seeing her have a one-night stand with Zoe Carpenter and a serious relationship with Lydia Hart, which Batley initially found strange to portray because of Sarah's many relationships with male characters. Other storylines include a modelling career, competing in swimming competitions and her many relationships. According to Batley, Sarah relies on people too much for support and was "man-crazy" in her early years. Sarah's final storyline is her death in a skydiving accident, which was a first for a British soap opera. The storyline aired in the second series of Hollyoaks Later and was devised by producer Bryan Kirkwood. Sarah's death won "Spectacular Scene Of The Year" at the British Soap Awards in 2010 and the scenes have been praised by certain critics.