Siobhan Marsden is a fictional character

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...

 in the British soap opera Emmerdale

Emmerdale

Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...

, played by Abigail Fisher

Abigail Fisher

Abigail Fisher is an English actress who played the role of nurse Siobhan Marsden on ITV's Emmerdale.She has also played roles in a number of other shows including: Hollyoaks, and Heartbeat.-External links:...

. She made her first appearance on 10 March 2003.

Character creation and development

In March 2003, a new family, the Marsdens, were introduced to the village. Their moving van broke down, but the residents rallied round to help them settle in. Headstrong Siobhan and husband Paul Marsden

Paul Marsden (Emmerdale)

Paul Marsden is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale. He was played by Matthew Booth and made his first appearance on 10 March 2003. The character was killed off in July 2004.-Character creation and development:...

 had gotten married in Vegas, and mother Frances did not approve of their relationship. They were the only survivors when the family was axed at the end of 2003. Producer Steve Frost said, "However, Paul and Siobhan Marsden will be staying on and the young couple have got some trying times ahead." After Paul was killed, Siobhan left the village for good.

Storylines

After arriving in town, Siobhan soon found a job as a nurse, although she repeatedly clashed with locals, most notably when Victoria Sugden

Victoria Sugden

Victoria Anne Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale originally played by Jessica Heywood, then Hannah Midgley and currently Isabel Hodgins.-1994–:...

 faked an illness. When Victoria actually became sick, Siobhan didn't believe her, causing a clash with Jack Sugden

Jack Sugden

John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1974 with a brief return in 1976, when he left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby...

. When Paul's family left the village in December 2003, the couple moved into Victoria Cottage.

In July 2004, married life ended in a horrific manner. Paul went to fix the gutters on a roof with Carl King. Carl playfully tossed him some tools, but when Paul tried to catch them, he fell to his death. Carl and Paul had only recently made up after a fight, and Carl was terrified people would think he'd deliberately killed Paul. Carl called his brothers Jimmy King

Jimmy King (Emmerdale)

James Frederick "Jimmy" King is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Nick Miles. He made his first appearance on 19 February 2004 and has appeared on the show ever since.-Backstory:...

 and Matthew King and they moved Paul's body to his garden. After returning home from the pub with best mate Chloe Atkinson

Chloe Atkinson

Chloe Atkinson is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Amy Nuttall. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 4 December 2000. Nuttal quit the serial in order to pursue a singing career after performing at a football event.-Character casting and...

, Siobhan found Paul's body, cradling him in her arms. Siobhan had no desire to stay in the village, and Matthew, happy to get rid of her as soon as possible, bought Victoria Cottage. Days before her departure, Siobhan learned she was pregnant -- a bittersweet irony, as Paul had wanted nothing more than to be a father. Siobhan considered staying in the village, but Matthew refused to let her rent. She left a few days later, never knowing the true circumstances of her husband's death.

Reception

Lorna Cooper of MSN TV

MSN

MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...

listed Siobhan of one of Soap Opera's "forgotten characters" and noted that during her time in the serial she managed to clash with all of the locals.