Gilly Roach

Gilly Roach

Gilbert "Gilly" Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Anthony Quinlan. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 4 October 2005. Gilly was created in 2005 by executive producer David Hanson. Gilly has often been portrayed as a push-over and has a double act partnership with fellow character Rhys Ashworth. His main character traits have been his "nice attitude", with Quinlan branding Gilly in his first five years as a "push-over". He has been labelled a loser and unlucky in love after failed relationships with Jessica Harris, Beth Clement, Cheryl Brady and Jem Costello. In 2009, executive producer Lucy Alan made changes to the character and reached a mutual agreement with Quinlan to shave off his hair, which has characterised Gilly during his early years.

In 2010 he was paired with Steph Cunningham, who was later killed on-screen after Stenson quit her role. This resulted in a long-running storyline for Gilly in which he was seen taking a "dark journey" unable to cope with grief. Another big storyline for the character occurs in 2011 when Jacqui McQueen accuses him of rape; the storyline subsequently received media attention. A fictional jury consisting of viewers is to decide if he is guilty or innocent. Other storylines have involved the effects of binge drinking, which was portrayed during an online spin-off drama. Gilly has sometimes proved unpopular with television critics, with one branding him a "dampy drizzle of a character". Quinlan has also been nominated for minor awards for his portrayal. In 2011, it was announced that Quinlan would be leaving the serial to pursue other projects and would leave at the end of the rape storyline.