Malachy Fisher
Encyclopedia
Malachy "Mal" Fisher is a fictional character
from the British Channel 4
soap opera
Hollyoaks
, played by Glen Wallace
. Malachy first appeared in 2007 on a recurring basis and became a permanent character in 2008. The character has been noted for being at the centre of a HIV plot. In July 2010, it was announced that the character was to leave the show.
, as they had known each other since they were teenagers. He said producers were "keen" on his work and brought him back for another nine episodes to see if he could be integrated into the canvas. After an absence of several months, they gave him a year-long contract.
. Wallace said he was "taken aback" when he heard about the story, but felt the storyline was very important, as national TV had not covered the topic since EastEnders
character Mark Fowler
. He knew many people never believed they could get HIV, and hoped his character's own ignorance might make some of them change their minds.
Malachy's main love interest was Mercedes McQueen
. Wallace described Mercedes and Malachy as "very alike, they are two alpha characters and everything is about them – that sounds a bit harsh!" Their relationship was jeopardised when he exposed her to HIV, but they married in the final episode of the first series of Hollyoaks Later.
In May 2009, Wallace revealed his contract had been extended, which he appreciated, he stated: "I think there's a lot more to be got from the HIV storyline and to have someone come in and die off straight away is unrealistic anyway."
. Kris hides his bisexuality and cross dressing from Malachy, who sleeps with Kris' girlfriend Jessica Harris
. Malachy finds Kris kissing a man and shows his homophobia
towards him. He then leaves, before returning later in 2007 where he befriends Jake Dean
and continues to be homophobic towards Kris. Malachy leaves for a second time and is not seen again until July 2008. Malachy returns to Hollyoaks to find his father Eamon. He and Kris make up and begin to build up their relationship.
Malachy meets Mercedes McQueen
. The pair begin a casual relationship and start to fall in love. Malachy and Kris go to donate blood and Kris is angered after he discovers he cannot give blood due to his sexual orientation. Later, Malachy gets results from the doctor, revealing he is HIV
positive. Malachy is shocked and cannot come to terms with the diagnosis. Despite his condition, Malachy continues his relationship with Mercedes and involves in unprotected sex with her. Malachy leaves and turns to alcohol. During this time, Mercedes sleeps with Kris. Malachy returns and admits the truth to Kris, who realises he and Mercedes could now be infected. Mercedes is devastated and attacks Malachy. Malachy and Kris are horrified when they discover Eamon is dead and attack Darren Osborne
for pretending Jack Osborne
was Eamon in order to claim on life insurance.
Mercedes struggles to cope with the death of her sister Tina and the prospect of having HIV. Malachy and Mercedes are united in grief for the loss of loved ones. Kris and Malachy head off back to Ireland with their fathers ashes. While there, Mercedes pushes Malachy to admit to his family about his condition, he eventually does and the pair get back together and marry.
Malachy and Mercedes return in January 2009 from their honeymoon without any money or a home. Their marriage is strained when Mercedes gets her HIV test results back and reveals she does not have it. Malachy thinks Mercedes will leave him, however she reassures him. They move in to the McQueen household. Myra McQueen
struggles to live with Malachy and believes she will catch HIV, this angers him and Mercedes. Mercedes becomes worried about Malachy's health when he catches the flu. She urges him to see a doctor, thinking it is his HIV. After seeing the doctor, Malachy is given the all clear and told it is not the HIV. During this time, Malachy's ex-girlfriend Cheryl Brady
turns up in the village and continues to taunt Mercedes and flirt with Malachy. She later tells them she is over Malachy.
When Malachy was helping rebuild The Loft with Calvin Valentine
and Spencer Gray. Malachy saw Spencer playing with a metal saw and rushed down to stop him, but ended up cutting his arm. Mercedes saw this and rushed to his side.
To stop Malachy and Mercedes suing for the accident Calvin gave them both jobs at the loft. Malachy also resumed his friendship with Jake Dean when he was released from a mental institute. On December 18th, Malachy walked in on Mercedes and Calvin about to have sex he runs out devastated and keeps the truth to himself. Kris also finds out about the affair. During a drunken evening Malachy kisses Cheryl but won't go any further. When Calvin can't find a best man for his wedding to Mercedes sister Carmel Valentine he asks Malachy. During the wedding, Malachy confronts Mercedes and Calvin separately telling Mercedes their marriage is over. Malachy intended to shoot Calvin however couldn't go through with it. When Calvin is shot dead by Mercedes' cousin Theresa McQueen
, Malachy blames Mercedes. When Mercedes is questioned by the police Malachy tells them it was him,however he is released as they know he is only trying to save Mercedes.
The last straw comes for Malachy when Carmel reveals that Theresa killed Calvin and Mercedes has been has been hiding the truth all along.
Malachy leaves for Belfast but Mercedes catches up with him and tells him she wants them to start a fresh.
Malachy comes back to Hollyoaks still not over Mercedes' affair. After pouring his heart out to a girl named Veronica he takes her back to his place where they begin to undress. Veronica ties Malachy to the bed, thinking it's some kind of game however, she leaves him there whilst she robs the house and Evissa. After this Malachy tells Mercedes he's leaving her for good.
Malachy moves in with Cheryl, her brother Brendan Brady
and best friend Lynsey Nolan
. Malachy clashes with Brenden on numerous occasions, especially after catching him stealing from Cheryl's club Chez Chez. As Lynsey is an ex of Kris's, she and Malachy get on well and it soon becomes clear that they have feelings for each other. Neither of them wants to do anything about it because of Cheryl, however eventually they begin a secret relationship.
Lynsey is fed up of having to keep their a secret. Malachy consoles her by kissing her in the middle of the village unbeknownst to them Mercedes is watching. Mercedes, jealous that Malachy's moving on,lies that he has infected with HIV
making him realise how much he still loves her. When Lynsey finds out that Mercedes and Malachy plan on getting back together, she goes through Mercedes medical records to find she has lied. Lynsey breaks the news to Malachy who punches Mercedes. Lynsey is shocked by his aggression and wants nothing more to do with him.
Malachy decides to leave, but is tricked into having dinner with Mercedes by Myra. He wants to apologise to Mercedes because he feels bad about hitting her. Mercedes tells him that he only hit her because she pushed him to it, and that she pushed him so hard because she still loves him. After spending the night babysitting Angel, they decide to get back together, get a house and have a baby of their own. As Malachy and Mercedes celebrate, walking through the village, an explosion in II Gnosh throws them both to the ground. Malachy pushes Mercedes out the way just in time but he is badly injured by the blast and is rushed to hospital. He is in a stable condition at first, but when Mercedes was dreaming that Malachy is discharged and talks to him that she wants to have a family, she is interrupted by Cheryl who says that she heard the news. When Mercedes is confused, she turns around and is horrified to see that Malachy is still lying in his hospital bed, but only for him to fall into a coma, causing him to be on a life support machine.
The doctors tell Mercedes and Lynsey that there is nothing more they can do. Kris arrives and tells Mercedes that there is no way that she is switching off the life support machine. Malachy appears to Mercedes, helping her to make the decision to switch off his life-support machine. Kris and Mercedes decide to allow the life-support machine to be switched off. Cheryl, Lynsey, Mercedes and Kris say goodbye to Malachy as the machine is turned off. Afterwards, still in the hospital, Malachy appears to Mercedes one last time to tell her that he loves her, signalling that he is truly moving on.
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 British 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 Glen Wallace
Glen Wallace
Glen Wallace is an Northern Irish actor, born in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.He is most notable for playing Malachy Fisher on popular Channel 4 teen soap opera, Hollyoaks from 2007 onwards. He also played Mr Michaels in Wire in the Blood in 2006. He appeared in Casualty, playing Bill...
. Malachy first appeared in 2007 on a recurring basis and became a permanent character in 2008. The character has been noted for being at the centre of a HIV plot. In July 2010, it was announced that the character was to leave the show.
Character creation
Malachy initially appeared in only three episodes, a gruff builder who was appalled to learn his brother was a bisexual cross dresser. Actor Glen Wallace got on well with Gerard McCarthyGerard McCarthy
Gerard McCarthy is an actor, best known to television viewers for his award-winning performance as Kris Fisher on the British soap opera Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2010, to theatres-goers for his performances on the West End and at Shakespeare's Globe, and to film geeks for his role in Belonging to...
, as they had known each other since they were teenagers. He said producers were "keen" on his work and brought him back for another nine episodes to see if he could be integrated into the canvas. After an absence of several months, they gave him a year-long contract.
HIV
A central part of Malachy's character was his discovery in September 2008 that he had HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
. Wallace said he was "taken aback" when he heard about the story, but felt the storyline was very important, as national TV had not covered the topic since EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
character Mark Fowler
Mark Fowler
Mark Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark was an original regular character in the series starting February 1985 but became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made...
. He knew many people never believed they could get HIV, and hoped his character's own ignorance might make some of them change their minds.
Malachy's main love interest was Mercedes McQueen
Mercedes McQueen
Mercedes Fisher is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jennifer Metcalfe. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 as the first character to be introduced to the serial by series producer, Bryan Kirkwood...
. Wallace described Mercedes and Malachy as "very alike, they are two alpha characters and everything is about them – that sounds a bit harsh!" Their relationship was jeopardised when he exposed her to HIV, but they married in the final episode of the first series of Hollyoaks Later.
In May 2009, Wallace revealed his contract had been extended, which he appreciated, he stated: "I think there's a lot more to be got from the HIV storyline and to have someone come in and die off straight away is unrealistic anyway."
Storylines
Malachy first appears in 2007 for a surprise visit to his brother KrisKris 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...
. Kris hides his bisexuality and cross dressing from Malachy, who sleeps with Kris' girlfriend Jessica Harris
Jessica Harris
Jessica Florida Harris is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jennifer Biddall. She debuted on-screen during episodes airing in October 2005. Biddal decided to leave the serial in 2007, Jessica last appeared in 2008 and Biddall has since admitted she...
. Malachy finds Kris kissing a man and shows his homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
towards him. He then leaves, before returning later in 2007 where he befriends Jake Dean
Jake Dean
Jake Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kevin Sacre. Sacre portrayed the character between 2002 and 2008, before making a return on 5 October 2009. In March 2010, Sacre was axed from the series by Paul Marquess during his major revamp and cast...
and continues to be homophobic towards Kris. Malachy leaves for a second time and is not seen again until July 2008. Malachy returns to Hollyoaks to find his father Eamon. He and Kris make up and begin to build up their relationship.
Malachy meets Mercedes McQueen
Mercedes McQueen
Mercedes Fisher is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jennifer Metcalfe. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 19 June 2006 as the first character to be introduced to the serial by series producer, Bryan Kirkwood...
. The pair begin a casual relationship and start to fall in love. Malachy and Kris go to donate blood and Kris is angered after he discovers he cannot give blood due to his sexual orientation. Later, Malachy gets results from the doctor, revealing he is HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
positive. Malachy is shocked and cannot come to terms with the diagnosis. Despite his condition, Malachy continues his relationship with Mercedes and involves in unprotected sex with her. Malachy leaves and turns to alcohol. During this time, Mercedes sleeps with Kris. Malachy returns and admits the truth to Kris, who realises he and Mercedes could now be infected. Mercedes is devastated and attacks Malachy. Malachy and Kris are horrified when they discover Eamon is dead and attack Darren Osborne
Darren Osborne
Darren Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. Darren was introduced by executive producer Phil Redmond as part of the Osborne family. Darren made his first on-screen appearance on 18 November 1996 and was initially played by Adam Booth, before the Booth...
for pretending Jack Osborne
Jack Osborne
Jack William Osborne is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jimmy McKenna. He first appeared on 18 November 1996 and is the second longest serving character although Cindy Longford and Mandy Richardson both appeared before him both have taken...
was Eamon in order to claim on life insurance.
Mercedes struggles to cope with the death of her sister Tina and the prospect of having HIV. Malachy and Mercedes are united in grief for the loss of loved ones. Kris and Malachy head off back to Ireland with their fathers ashes. While there, Mercedes pushes Malachy to admit to his family about his condition, he eventually does and the pair get back together and marry.
Malachy and Mercedes return in January 2009 from their honeymoon without any money or a home. Their marriage is strained when Mercedes gets her HIV test results back and reveals she does not have it. Malachy thinks Mercedes will leave him, however she reassures him. They move in to the McQueen household. 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...
struggles to live with Malachy and believes she will catch HIV, this angers him and Mercedes. Mercedes becomes worried about Malachy's health when he catches the flu. She urges him to see a doctor, thinking it is his HIV. After seeing the doctor, Malachy is given the all clear and told it is not the HIV. During this time, Malachy's ex-girlfriend Cheryl Brady
Cheryl Brady
Cheryl Brady is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Bronagh Waugh. The character first appeared on-screen on 25 November 2008, during the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off, Hollyoaks Later, as the former love interest of Malachy Fisher...
turns up in the village and continues to taunt Mercedes and flirt with Malachy. She later tells them she is over Malachy.
When Malachy was helping rebuild The Loft with Calvin Valentine
Calvin Valentine
Calvin Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ricky Whittle. He arrived in July 2006 as a police officer with his mother and younger siblings and made his final appearance on 21 May 2010 after he was murdered by Theresa McQueen. Whittle...
and Spencer Gray. Malachy saw Spencer playing with a metal saw and rushed down to stop him, but ended up cutting his arm. Mercedes saw this and rushed to his side.
To stop Malachy and Mercedes suing for the accident Calvin gave them both jobs at the loft. Malachy also resumed his friendship with Jake Dean when he was released from a mental institute. On December 18th, Malachy walked in on Mercedes and Calvin about to have sex he runs out devastated and keeps the truth to himself. Kris also finds out about the affair. During a drunken evening Malachy kisses Cheryl but won't go any further. When Calvin can't find a best man for his wedding to Mercedes sister Carmel Valentine he asks Malachy. During the wedding, Malachy confronts Mercedes and Calvin separately telling Mercedes their marriage is over. Malachy intended to shoot Calvin however couldn't go through with it. When Calvin is shot dead by Mercedes' cousin Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance in November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQueen family...
, Malachy blames Mercedes. When Mercedes is questioned by the police Malachy tells them it was him,however he is released as they know he is only trying to save Mercedes.
The last straw comes for Malachy when Carmel reveals that Theresa killed Calvin and Mercedes has been has been hiding the truth all along.
Malachy leaves for Belfast but Mercedes catches up with him and tells him she wants them to start a fresh.
Malachy comes back to Hollyoaks still not over Mercedes' affair. After pouring his heart out to a girl named Veronica he takes her back to his place where they begin to undress. Veronica ties Malachy to the bed, thinking it's some kind of game however, she leaves him there whilst she robs the house and Evissa. After this Malachy tells Mercedes he's leaving her for good.
Malachy moves in with Cheryl, her brother Brendan Brady
Brendan Brady
Brendan Brady is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Emmett J. Scanlan. The character was introduced in 2010 by series producer Paul Marquess during part of the show's overhaul the character has become incredibly popular and liked.He is the older half...
and best friend Lynsey Nolan
Lynsey Nolan
Lynsey Nolan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Karen Hassan. The character originally appeared in the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off, Hollyoaks Later, as the former girlfriend of Kris Fisher...
. Malachy clashes with Brenden on numerous occasions, especially after catching him stealing from Cheryl's club Chez Chez. As Lynsey is an ex of Kris's, she and Malachy get on well and it soon becomes clear that they have feelings for each other. Neither of them wants to do anything about it because of Cheryl, however eventually they begin a secret relationship.
Lynsey is fed up of having to keep their a secret. Malachy consoles her by kissing her in the middle of the village unbeknownst to them Mercedes is watching. Mercedes, jealous that Malachy's moving on,lies that he has infected with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
making him realise how much he still loves her. When Lynsey finds out that Mercedes and Malachy plan on getting back together, she goes through Mercedes medical records to find she has lied. Lynsey breaks the news to Malachy who punches Mercedes. Lynsey is shocked by his aggression and wants nothing more to do with him.
Malachy decides to leave, but is tricked into having dinner with Mercedes by Myra. He wants to apologise to Mercedes because he feels bad about hitting her. Mercedes tells him that he only hit her because she pushed him to it, and that she pushed him so hard because she still loves him. After spending the night babysitting Angel, they decide to get back together, get a house and have a baby of their own. As Malachy and Mercedes celebrate, walking through the village, an explosion in II Gnosh throws them both to the ground. Malachy pushes Mercedes out the way just in time but he is badly injured by the blast and is rushed to hospital. He is in a stable condition at first, but when Mercedes was dreaming that Malachy is discharged and talks to him that she wants to have a family, she is interrupted by Cheryl who says that she heard the news. When Mercedes is confused, she turns around and is horrified to see that Malachy is still lying in his hospital bed, but only for him to fall into a coma, causing him to be on a life support machine.
The doctors tell Mercedes and Lynsey that there is nothing more they can do. Kris arrives and tells Mercedes that there is no way that she is switching off the life support machine. Malachy appears to Mercedes, helping her to make the decision to switch off his life-support machine. Kris and Mercedes decide to allow the life-support machine to be switched off. Cheryl, Lynsey, Mercedes and Kris say goodbye to Malachy as the machine is turned off. Afterwards, still in the hospital, Malachy appears to Mercedes one last time to tell her that he loves her, signalling that he is truly moving on.
External links
- Character profile on the E4 website