Mike Barnes (Hollyoaks)
| Mike Barnes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||
| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Tony Hirst | ||||||||
| Duration | 2006–2010, 2016–2017 | ||||||||
| First appearance | 9 January 2006 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 8 September 2017 | ||||||||
| Introduced by |
David Hanson (2006) Bryan Kirkwood (2016) |
||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Occupation | Student | ||||||||
| Home | Manchester | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Wife | Kathy Barnes (until 2008) |
|---|---|
| Daughters |
Sarah Barnes Amy Barnes |
| Grandsons | Lucas Hay |
| Granddaughters | Leah Barnes |
Michael "Mike" Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Tony Hirst. He first appeared on 9 January 2006. In 2010, soap opera magazine Inside Soap reported that the character would leave in late January with love interest Zoe Carpenter (Zoë Lister). This was later confirmed. The character briefly returned in August 2016 and again in March 2017, where his youngest daughter Amy Barnes (Ashley Slanina-Davies) was killed-off in a "whodunit" storyline. He returned again in September 2017 giving evidence against Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) during Amy's murder trial.
In 2010, it was announced that Hirst had decided to leave the show. Speaking about his decision to quit to Digital Spy, Hirst said: "I've been there four years, I've had a great time, I love the place and I love the people dearly — but I need to freshen up. I need a new challenge, I need to play different characters, and it would be very easy for me to stay there for a long period of time and I don't think that would be any good to anybody. It also fitted in with the timing of the storyline of Sarah's death and Kathy being continually sectioned and Amy growing up. It would be difficult for them to shoehorn [any more] storylines in for Mike."
When asked whether his decision was based on lack of storylines, Hirst stated: "I'd be lying if that wasn't part of the reason but in fairness I always said to Bryan [Kirkwood] and to Lucy [Alan] that I'd rather have quality than quantity. I've been lucky to be involved in some really great storylines and I'm really grateful. That's always been the nature of the show and it's probably right for that. We can hold our heads up against any of the other soaps but what's the point in doing another adult-oriented show? One of its strengths is its youth and vitality. In terms of the adult storyline, I've always known the score really and I've always trusted Bryan and Lucy in their intent."
...
Wikipedia