Archie Carpenter
Encyclopedia
Archie Carpenter is a fictional character
from the long-running Channel 4
soap opera
Hollyoaks
, played by Stephen Beard
. The character first appeared on-screen on 3 November 2008 until his exit on 28 May 2010. He was introduced as the younger brother of then established Zoe Carpenter
, when he moved into the college halls of residence. In March 2010, series producer Paul Marquess
axed the character as part of his cast cull and major revamp of the series.
. It has been mentioned on and off screen that the two character experienced different upbringings from their parents.
in the United Kingdom called Living on the Edge
, which focused on teenagers living their lives in the wealthy village of Alderley Edge
in the UK. During series two only one cast member returned to the series, Stephen Beard. Whilst the second season was airing Beard was seen auditioning for various roles and documented the whole audition process for the character of Archie. He was later offered the part on a six month contract, later being offered another contract for the same period of time.
In early 2010 it was announced that Allan had stepped down from the position of executive producer
, with Paul Marquess taking over the role. It was soon revealed that he planned revamp Hollyoaks, changing the productions team, then began a cast cull starting with the axing of three established characters. Stephanie Waring (who plays Cindy Hutchinson) then revealed that all remaining cast members feared their characters would be next to depart from the series. One month later the cast cull continued as Marquess announced his plans to axe a further 11 characters, including Archie at the end of Beard's contract. He finished filming in early 2010
he said of his character: "He's definitely a wild one. People who have watched Living On The Edge may draw some comparisons. I go to a certain point in life, but Archie's definitely got bigger balls - he'll take things all the way. He's got no fear. At the same time, though, he has a sensitive side. He's like the big class clown but when he gets a knock, he really feels it. I think Archie's intended to bring a bit of light-hearted humour to the show." He has also been described as a wannabe entrepreneur coming up with wild ideas of how to make money fast. The character's promiscuous ways have been clearly portrayed on-screen through his many one night stands with characters including: Sarah Barnes
, Hayley Ramsey
, India Longford
and Myra McQueen
.
accused him of stealing chocolates from her advent calendar however it was later revealed she had been sleepwalking and stole them herself. He kissed Sarah Barnes
who later saw Archie kissing another girl. Archie tried to win her back, however she continuously rejected him. In a final attempt to regain her affection he posted a billboard of himself half naked. In February 2009, he tried it on with Sarah again. In March, Sarah gave in and began a relationship with him however Sarah ended the relationship when she caught him trying it on with her lesbian friend Lydia Hart
. Sarah began dancing with Lydia to get back at him. In June, Archie tried to stop his parents finding out about Zoe's failed college course by "collapsing". Myra McQueen
gave him mouth-to-mouth and he got up calling her a "troll" leading to Myra and Mercedes Fisher trying to attack him. Later, Archie was naked in bed, kissing an unseen person. He lay back down and revealed he had slept with Myra.
Archie along with Kris Fisher
, Elliot Bevan
and Zak Ramsey
moved into Warren Fox
's old flat after his death. While clearing out the attic the boys found £100,000 of Warrens money and they all agreed to keep the money in a safe for a few months. If no one came looking for it they would split it four ways. However, things got dangerous when Archie got greedy. He called his friend Jed to help pretend to kidnap him so that the other boys would give Jed the money so that Archie could run away with it. However Kris had run to Nancy Hayton
's with the money and planned to go to the police with it. Jed then kidnapped Archie for real and planned to throw him over a roof if he did not get the money. Elliot, Zak, Kris and Nancy came to his rescue but, fed up of how the money affected their friendship, Kris threw the money over the roof. After this everyone turned their back on Archie, mad at him for trying to betray them. During freshers week Archie sleeps with India Longford
and then humiliates her by ignoring her in front of everyone. In October 2009, Archie receives a call in which he does not identify on screen. The unknown caller informs him that Zoe is charged with the murder of her best friend and Archie's ex girlfriend Sarah Barnes
who has just died in a skydiving accident when her parachute failed to deploy which resulted in her death. Unbeknown to everyone, Lydia Hart
Sarah's girlfriend has framed Zoe for Sarah's death as she was the culprit who sabotaged Sarah's parachute that was intended to kill Zoe. Archie is keen to support his sister. During an argument with Lydia, Archie realises Lydia was the saboteur and accuses her during Sarah's wake. Zoe is found not guilty with everyone believing Sarah committed suicide.
Archie develops a drug habit and drops an ecstasy tablet in Nancy's flat which is then nearly taken by her young nephew Charlie Dean. Elliot also gets the blame as he had let Archie in. Neither Nancy nor Elliot want to speak to Archie again. On a night out with Kris and Zak, Archie makes comments about Zak's dead brother Caleb who was killed on patrol in Afghanistan. These comments offended Zak and he punches Archie. This leaves Archie with no friends in the village. Archie leaves after Elliot is taken into hospital having taken Archie's pills.
criticised Archie stating: "Zoe’s generic lairy student brother serves no purpose, essentially being an even more obnoxious version of Zak, whilst Zak is still on the show. And there’s no believability about his relationship with Zoe whatsoever."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the long-running Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
, played by Stephen Beard
Stephen Beard
Stephen David T. Beard is a reality TV participant and actor, playing Archie Carpenter in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.-Living on the Edge:...
. The character first appeared on-screen on 3 November 2008 until his exit on 28 May 2010. He was introduced as the younger brother of then established Zoe Carpenter
Zoe Carpenter
Zoe Carpenter is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Zoë Lister. The character first appeared on-screen on 1 September 2006, as one of three new students at Hollyoaks Community College. It was announced in 2009 that Lister had quit her role in order to...
, when he moved into the college halls of residence. In March 2010, series producer Paul Marquess
Paul Marquess
Paul Marquess is a Northern Irish-born British television producer.-Television career:His credits include Brookside, The Bill and Family Affairs. He also originated the idea for the series Footballers' Wives...
axed the character as part of his cast cull and major revamp of the series.
Background
Archie's character was created to be a new student studying at Hollyoaks Community College and was given immediate links with other characters such as an on-screen sister, Zoe CarpenterZoe Carpenter
Zoe Carpenter is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Zoë Lister. The character first appeared on-screen on 1 September 2006, as one of three new students at Hollyoaks Community College. It was announced in 2009 that Lister had quit her role in order to...
. It has been mentioned on and off screen that the two character experienced different upbringings from their parents.
Casting
Auditions were held for the part of Archie Carpenter with the result of the auditions seen to be unique other castings within the series as the news of the actor to portray the character first surfaced on a reality television series. In 2007 a new reality television series was commissioned by MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in the United Kingdom called Living on the Edge
Living on the Edge (TV series)
Living On The Edge was a British reality television show that first aired on 14 October 2007 on MTV UK. It documented the lives of several teenagers in Alderley Edge in Cheshire, a wealthy village in the North West of England. It is noted for attempting, but often failing, to purvey 'drama all the...
, which focused on teenagers living their lives in the wealthy village of Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,409....
in the UK. During series two only one cast member returned to the series, Stephen Beard. Whilst the second season was airing Beard was seen auditioning for various roles and documented the whole audition process for the character of Archie. He was later offered the part on a six month contract, later being offered another contract for the same period of time.
In early 2010 it was announced that Allan had stepped down from the position of executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, with Paul Marquess taking over the role. It was soon revealed that he planned revamp Hollyoaks, changing the productions team, then began a cast cull starting with the axing of three established characters. Stephanie Waring (who plays Cindy Hutchinson) then revealed that all remaining cast members feared their characters would be next to depart from the series. One month later the cast cull continued as Marquess announced his plans to axe a further 11 characters, including Archie at the end of Beard's contract. He finished filming in early 2010
Personality and identity
Archie has been portrayed as a promiscuous character, one that doesn't think of the consequences of his hasty actions. At the time of joining the show, Beard said of his character: "He is a bit of a womaniser, he's constantly on the look out for new talent but he gets shot down a lot too, I think he thinks far too highly of himself! He'll go to the point that not many blokes will, he will never give up." In an interview with media website Digital SpyDigital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
he said of his character: "He's definitely a wild one. People who have watched Living On The Edge may draw some comparisons. I go to a certain point in life, but Archie's definitely got bigger balls - he'll take things all the way. He's got no fear. At the same time, though, he has a sensitive side. He's like the big class clown but when he gets a knock, he really feels it. I think Archie's intended to bring a bit of light-hearted humour to the show." He has also been described as a wannabe entrepreneur coming up with wild ideas of how to make money fast. The character's promiscuous ways have been clearly portrayed on-screen through his many one night stands with characters including: Sarah Barnes
Sarah 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...
, Hayley Ramsey
Hayley Ramsey
Hayley Ramsey is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kelly-Marie Stewart. She made her first on-screen appearance on 28 January 2009 as the sister of already established character Zak Ramsey . Hayley is notably the first prominent disabled character in...
, India Longford
India Longford
India Longford is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Beth Kingston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 September 2009 and was introduced by series producer Lucy Allan as a new student at Hollyoaks Community College...
and Myra McQueen
Myra McQueen
Myra McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nicole Barber-Lane. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 and was introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of the McQueen family.-Character development:The...
.
Storylines
In December, Leila RoyLeila Roy
Leila Roy is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lena Kaur. The character made her first appearance in June 2008. In November 2009, it was announced that Kaur had quit the role and would leave in January 2010.-Backstory:Leila was born in 1989 to...
accused him of stealing chocolates from her advent calendar however it was later revealed she had been sleepwalking and stole them herself. He kissed Sarah Barnes
Sarah 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...
who later saw Archie kissing another girl. Archie tried to win her back, however she continuously rejected him. In a final attempt to regain her affection he posted a billboard of himself half naked. In February 2009, he tried it on with Sarah again. In March, Sarah gave in and began a relationship with him however Sarah ended the relationship when she caught him trying it on with her lesbian friend Lydia Hart
Lydia Hart
Lydia Hart is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, a long-running serial drama about life in a fictional suburb of Chester. The character is no longer part of current storylines. She was played by actress Lydia Kelly between 2009 and 2010. Lydia was created by...
. Sarah began dancing with Lydia to get back at him. In June, Archie tried to stop his parents finding out about Zoe's failed college course by "collapsing". Myra McQueen
Myra McQueen
Myra McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nicole Barber-Lane. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 and was introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of the McQueen family.-Character development:The...
gave him mouth-to-mouth and he got up calling her a "troll" leading to Myra and Mercedes Fisher trying to attack him. Later, Archie was naked in bed, kissing an unseen person. He lay back down and revealed he had slept with Myra.
Archie along with Kris Fisher
Kris Fisher
Francis "Kris" Fisher is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gerard McCarthy. The character first appeared on-screen in September 2006 and left in August 2010 after McCarthy quit the show...
, Elliot Bevan
Elliot Bevan
Elliot Bevan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Garnon Davies. He first appeared on 9 January 2007 as a new student. In July 2010, it was announced that Davies would be leaving the show. He made his final appearance on 15 November 2010...
and Zak Ramsey
Zak Ramsey
Zak Timothy Ramsey is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kent Riley. Zak first appeared in 2004, when he was credited as 'Zak Barnes'. After only four months, Riley was dropped from the programme. The character received a revival 18 months later...
moved into Warren Fox
Warren Fox
Warren Fox is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jamie Lomas. He first arrived in 2006 as an old acquaintance of Sean Kennedy and quickly became known as the show's main villain...
's old flat after his death. While clearing out the attic the boys found £100,000 of Warrens money and they all agreed to keep the money in a safe for a few months. If no one came looking for it they would split it four ways. However, things got dangerous when Archie got greedy. He called his friend Jed to help pretend to kidnap him so that the other boys would give Jed the money so that Archie could run away with it. However Kris had run to Nancy Hayton
Nancy Hayton
Nancy Anne Hayton is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jessica Fox. The character first appeared on 6 July 2005. Since the character's inception she has been involved in many notable storylines such as a three-way open relationship, drug taking,...
's with the money and planned to go to the police with it. Jed then kidnapped Archie for real and planned to throw him over a roof if he did not get the money. Elliot, Zak, Kris and Nancy came to his rescue but, fed up of how the money affected their friendship, Kris threw the money over the roof. After this everyone turned their back on Archie, mad at him for trying to betray them. During freshers week Archie sleeps with India Longford
India Longford
India Longford is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Beth Kingston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 September 2009 and was introduced by series producer Lucy Allan as a new student at Hollyoaks Community College...
and then humiliates her by ignoring her in front of everyone. In October 2009, Archie receives a call in which he does not identify on screen. The unknown caller informs him that Zoe is charged with the murder of her best friend and Archie's ex girlfriend Sarah Barnes
Sarah 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...
who has just died in a skydiving accident when her parachute failed to deploy which resulted in her death. Unbeknown to everyone, Lydia Hart
Lydia Hart
Lydia Hart is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, a long-running serial drama about life in a fictional suburb of Chester. The character is no longer part of current storylines. She was played by actress Lydia Kelly between 2009 and 2010. Lydia was created by...
Sarah's girlfriend has framed Zoe for Sarah's death as she was the culprit who sabotaged Sarah's parachute that was intended to kill Zoe. Archie is keen to support his sister. During an argument with Lydia, Archie realises Lydia was the saboteur and accuses her during Sarah's wake. Zoe is found not guilty with everyone believing Sarah committed suicide.
Archie develops a drug habit and drops an ecstasy tablet in Nancy's flat which is then nearly taken by her young nephew Charlie Dean. Elliot also gets the blame as he had let Archie in. Neither Nancy nor Elliot want to speak to Archie again. On a night out with Kris and Zak, Archie makes comments about Zak's dead brother Caleb who was killed on patrol in Afghanistan. These comments offended Zak and he punches Archie. This leaves Archie with no friends in the village. Archie leaves after Elliot is taken into hospital having taken Archie's pills.
Reception
In 2009 Ruth Deller of entertainment website LowcultureLowculture
lowculture.co.uk is a UK television website founded in January 2003 by Paul Lang, who currently works as the art director of Doctor Who Adventures.-Purpose:...
criticised Archie stating: "Zoe’s generic lairy student brother serves no purpose, essentially being an even more obnoxious version of Zak, whilst Zak is still on the show. And there’s no believability about his relationship with Zoe whatsoever."
External links
- Archie Carpenter on the E4 website