Sarah Barnes
| Sarah Barnes | |||||||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Loui Batley | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2005–09 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 10 October 2005 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 23 October 2009 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | David Hanson | ||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances |
Hollyoaks Later (2008–09) | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Occupation | Student | ||||||||||
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| Father | Mike Barnes |
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| Mother | Kathy Barnes |
| Sisters | Amy Barnes |
| Nephews | Lucas Hay |
| Nieces | Leah Barnes |
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 10 October 2005. Sarah was created by executive producer David Hanson as part of the Barnes family. In 2009, Batley quit the serial in order to pursue other projects. Although the character is no longer part of current story lines, she has been central to many key story lines, 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 relations 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 story lines include her embarkment on 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.
Auditions were held for the part of Sarah, the eldest daughter of the Barnes family and actress Loui Batley secured the role. On 1 July 2009, Digital Spy reported that Loui Batley had quit the soap and would leave towards the end of the year. Loui's decision matched co-worker Zoë Lister (Zoë Carpenter). The Hollyoaks website officially announced on 23 July 2009 that both Batley and Lister would leave towards the end of that year. Their final storyline was described as a "A tragic curtain call for one of them", stating that either Sarah or Zoë would die. Batley wanted to quit the serial in December 2008 when her contract ran out. Kirkwood asked her to stay another six months with the promise of a good exit storyline. The plot also involved Zoe and Lydia Hart (Lydia Kelly). She made it clear to Kirkwood and new executive producer Lucy Allan that she would leave afterward. Allan then came up with the idea of writing Batley out of the serial in its sister show Hollyoaks Later. Upon hearing Kirkwood's ideas for her exit storyline, Batley said: "I've been there for quite a while and it was a great ending for the character - I couldn't have asked for a better way to go..."Hollyoaks Later producer Bryan Kirkwood said: "Loui's been brilliant in Hollyoaks and she's massively underrated. She's been at the centre of some of the biggest storylines on the main show. She never turned in a performance less than top-notch and I wish she had a little more recognition for that. She's a very strong actress and it's been fantastic to work with her - and great to be involved in her exit."
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