| George Smith | |||||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Steven Roberts | ||||||||
| Duration | 2011–2014 | ||||||||
| First appearance | 5 September 2011 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 18 September 2014 | ||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Gareth Philips | ||||||||
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George Smith (also Andrew Palmer) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Steven Roberts. George debuted on-screen on 5 September 2011. George was introduced alongside the characters Neil Cooper (Tosin Cole) and Callum Kane (Laurie Duncan); forming a new group of sixth-form college students. George is homosexual and is characterised as a "sharp tongued fashionista" with an unusual dress sense. He is best friends with Maddie Morrison (Scarlett Bowman) and Tilly Evans (Lucy Dixon), Roberts has said that George acts like their "lap-dog". However, George lacks confidence around the series' male characters.
George was brought to the forefront of the series when he features in a homelessness storyline. Hollyoaks worked with the charities Centrepoint and Shelter to conduct research into the issue. Roberts said the storyline raised awareness of a taboo subject in the media. The storyline portrayed George dealing with various aspects of homelessness and offered viewers an insight to the character. He has an "unlikely" friendship with Callum and his dynamic with Phoebe Jackson (Mandip Gill) reveals that George puts up an act around others to fit in. Anthony D. Langford of AfterElton.com has praised the storyline for highlighting the issue of homeless gay teenagers, while a columnist for Soaplife has embraced George's openness about his sexuality.
Roberts left his role in 2014 and George made a surprise exit in the E4 episode on 17 September 2014.[1]
- ^ "Hollyoaks actor leaves George role". Digital Spy. 17 September 2014.