| Rae Wilson | |||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||
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| Portrayed by | Alice Barlow | ||||||
| Duration | 2009–2011 | ||||||
| First appearance | 5 October 2009 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 13 September 2011 | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Created by | Lucy Allan | ||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Hollyoaks Later (2011) | ||||||
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Rae Wilson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Alice Barlow. She appeared in the series from 5 October 2009 until 13 September 2011. Actress Helen Russell-Clark – who went on to play Jem Costello – originally auditioned for the role, but the part was awarded to Barlow. Producer Lucy Allan said Barlow was her favourite addition to the cast during 2009. She made her final appearance on 13 September 2011.
Initially portrayed as an imaginary character in a schizophrenia storyline, Rae was later revealed to be real when she arrived to study in Hollyoaks. She was central to a controversial suicide storyline, and was part of a love triangle with Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and Brendan Brady (Emmett J. Scanlan), which left her pregnant by Ste. She miscarried during an argument with Brendan and subsequently feuded with him; Barlow praised her character for being one of the few who dared to oppose the Hollyoaks villain. Rae was originally characterised as a chav with a feisty persona, but underwent a transformation when she attempted to embrace domestic life with Ste. During series four of the post-watershed spin-off Hollyoaks Later, Rae was murdered by a serial killer, Silas Blissett (Jeff Rawle). The late broadcast slot allowed an explicit depiction of her death. Barlow hoped that Rae would be remembered for her strong-willed nature, and that her exit would be considered one of the best in the programme's history.
In 2011, Barlow won an All About Soap award for Rae's love-triangle storyline. AfterElton criticised the lack of character development Rae received, and along with the Sunday Mercury, bemoaned the dearth of realism exhibited in Rae staying with Ste despite knowing that he was homosexual. Readers of the soap opera magazine Inside Soap indicated that they did not want Silas to murder Rae.