John Paul McQueen

Hollyoaks Character
John Paul McQueen
Played by	James Sutton
Duration	2006-
Date of Birth	1989
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Student
Family	Ricky, Myra, Jacqui, Tina, Mercedes, Carmel, Michaela

John Paul McQueen is a fictional character in the long-running British Channel 4 television soap opera Hollyoaks who first appeared in September 2006. He is played by actor James Sutton. John Paul is the only male in the McQueen family. Most of his storylines have revolved around his sexuality and have evolved from his uncertainty in a heterosexual relationship with Hannah, through to homosexual relationships with Spike and a pursuit of his best friend Craig Dean. John Paul is a part-time DJ who plays in The Loft and is a fan of football and Liverpool F.C. in particular.

Character history

John Paul made his début in September 2006 when the McQueen family moved to Hollyoaks. At school he became friends with Craig Dean but did not get on with Sonny Valentine. He began dating schoolmate Hannah Ashworth and somewhat reluctantly on John Paul's part, the pair eventually ended up sleeping together. They split up when John Paul revealed he was harbouring affections for someone else, which was mistakenly believed to be Craig's girlfriend Sarah Barnes.

Coming out

After John Paul struggled with the truth for some time, it was eventually revealed to viewers that John Paul had strong romantic feelings for Craig. John Paul initially tried to hide his feelings for Craig and slept with his ex-girlfriend Hannah again, before telling Craig that he was in love with him at Hannah's 18th birthday party. On reflection John Paul was horrified at what he confessed and told Craig he was sorry and would leave him alone, Craig however refuted this idea, telling him he was the best friend he had ever had and didn’t want that friendship to end. John Paul and Craig shared a drunken kiss at a school dance-off competition which was seen by Hannah, who, in shock, told everyone at the dance. The next day Hannah went to confront John Paul. He finally told her that he was gay and had feelings for Craig; this has the added effect of ending Sarah and Craig's relationship. John Paul then came out to his family, receiving support from all of his sisters except Mercedes and reluctant support from his mother. After a confrontation with Sonny over his sexuality, John Paul formally came out to his classmates and informed them that if they had a problem with his sexuality they could take it up with him. However following this event, during a 5-a-side football practice with Sonny and Craig, John Paul was teased and bullied by Craig who eventually attacked John Paul physically. John Paul punched Craig and, after a violent threat to anyone else who wished to bully him, ran off. Later Craig felt remorse for how he treated John Paul and wanted to talk it through with him. John Paul made it clear that Craig was no longer his friend and did not accept his apology.

Relationship with Spike

Spike kisses John Paul

John Paul embarked on a relationship with a DJ who is simply known as Spike, after a first date together at the Dog. However, Hannah, still believing herself to be in love with John Paul, purposefully sabotaged the date. Spike and John Paul shared their first kiss after a DJ competition in The Dog and gradually their relationship looked to be becoming sexual, as well as being strengthened by Spike meeting (and getting on well with) John Paul's family. John Paul and Spike's relationship was the source of much jealousy from Craig Dean. He immediately took a disliking to Spike and grew furious when John Paul tried to speak about his fears about having sex with Spike. On May 15th, Craig had trouble concentrating during an exam, as all he could think about was John Paul and Spike. Craig stormed out of the exam and went to John Paul's house. After having a conversation in which each revealed their true feelings for the other, the couple slept together. However, in the morning, Craig got out of the bed and shouted obscenities before storming out - his anger at his own actions taken out on John Paul.

Relationship with Craig becomes sexual

Subsequently, Craig's relationship with Sarah began to deteriorate, as Craig struggled with his apparent homosexual tendencies. Unwilling to come out, Craig denied to himself that he was gay, believing instead that he only had feelings for John Paul rather than actually being gay. Craig negotiated an uneasy few months with Sarah, at times crazed by the situation he is in and at times a functional happy couple. This situation was further exacerbated by Sarah's modelling career, the source of even more jealousy from Craig. Eventually John-Paul convinced Craig to leave Sarah whilst in the Dog, and in turn he promises to leave Spike. Whilst John- Paul and Spike did break up, Craig and Sarah did not, leaving John-Paul frustrated and furious. Craig and Sarah left to go on holiday together, unbeknownst to John Paul until the last minute. Angry and upset, John Paul wrote a letter to Frankie Osborne saying that he had been sleeping with her son and that he was sorry that she had to hear about it from him. However, realising his mistake, he managed to retrieve it with Spike's help (Spike being unaware of the letter's true contents).in John Paul's bedroom the next day, he and Spike shared a kiss. However, when lying on the bed together after spotting the picture of him and Craig together, John Paul realised he no longer had feelings for Spike despite Craig's betrayal and told him to leave. When he had gone he got the picture of him and Craig out of the bin and stared at it longingly. Craig returned from his holiday, and made it clear that he still had feelings for John Paul, insisting that he thought about him all the time while on holiday. John-Paul snapped back that he'd had enough and intended to end it with Craig for good, however, Craig couldn't stay away, and they are both continuing their relationship, unable to resist each other.

The affair is revealed

JP and Craig are caught in the act by Sarah

When Spike found out about John-Paul and Craig's secret relationship, he teased and mocked Craig about it. When Craig confronted him, Sarah overheard and thought he was having an affair. In an attempt to convince her that he loved her, Craig proposed to Sarah asking her to keep the engagement a secret. Throughout his engagement, Craig continued to see John-Paul and gave him an expensive watch, once belonging to his grandmother. John Paul eventually discovered Craig and Sarah's engagement and became convinced Craig would never leave Sarah for him. At an impromptu engagement party thrown by Craig's mother, John Paul and Craig hid upstairs and began to kiss. Secretly, John-Paul texted Sarah on Craig's phone and told her to come upstairs. Sarah walked in on the two of them kissing. Sarah then outed Craig to the party-goers in the Dog, leaving John Paul to face the wrath of the Dean family and Mike Barnes, before being ordered to leave by Frankie. He left with Mercedes but later tried to apologise to Sarah. She demanded to know the details of the affair. After telling her, Sarah said she could never forgive him. John Paul waited outside the Dog until Craig came out to confront him. Craig demanded to know why he done it. John Paul responded he was sorry he sent the text but had no sympathy for Craig, calling him a coward for not accepting his sexuality. Craig's mother reacted by attempting to reconcile his relationship with Sarah. Sarah too made attempts to win back Craig, before Craig finally announced to his family that he was in love with John Paul. Craig's announcement led to a show-down style confrontation between the McQueen family and the Dean family, from which John Paul and Craig ran away and discussed their feelings for each other. Craig told John Paul he loved him, but denied being 'gay' with the words that 'it's not about being gay, its about who you fall in love with'; before asking John Paul to come with him to Dublin, an offer which John Paul accepted.

Departure for Ireland

At Liverpool John Lennon Airport, as John Paul and Craig were about to leave for Dublin, Craig's brother arrived and Craig claimed to him that he was not gay and only the only man he had ever felt for was John Paul. John Paul heard this and expressed concern at Craig's reluctance to come out. This was further exacerbated by Craig's not being able to bring himself to kiss or hold John Paul in public. John Paul decided that although he loved Craig with all his heart, he deserved more than being with a man who could not even display mere affection towards him in public. So, in tears, he returned home, leaving Craig to go to Dublin alone. He tried to explain this to Sarah when he went to Hannah's house to see how she was feeling, but she kicked him out after Hannah fainted. Since this, he has not attempted to rekindle his friendship with either Sarah or Hannah.

College life

Despite turning the place down originally, John Paul decided to enrol at HCC. After a brief mishap, he found a kindred spirit in Katy Fox, who he accompanied to the Fresher's Ball. After seeing new girl, Summer, on the phone to her mother, John Paul realised he wasn't the only one with a possessive mother. Later, while in Il Gnosh with Katy, John Paul timidly returned a pair of Summer's knickers, which had fallen out of her bag earlier. They quickly became friends, although Katy did point out that she was a bit "full on". Due to his mother's suffocating behaviour at home, John Paul decided to go and study at the SU Bar. While studying there, John Paul caught the eye of Jay, who was visiting from Birmingham. Summer convinced him to talk to him. They hit it off and Jay went back to John Paul's. However they walked in on Tina and Dom in his bed. At the same time, Myra walked in, adding to everyone's embarrassment. This was all too overwhelming for Jay, who promptly left. John Paul accused Myra of being too possessive and expecting more from him while he is doing and acting the same as his sisters. He told his mother that he had decided to move out. Following this, he bumped into Jess at college, and she offered him Elliot's room until he returned from America, which John Paul accepted. However, it would appear that Jess is up to her old tricks, and has told him not to tell anyone about him paying her for the room. At the house warming party for John Paul in the halls, he gives Jess the rent in front of Zoe. When Zoe questions why John Paul is giving her money, she claims he owes her money, which Zoe finds surprising as she knows Jessica has no money to be lending. The carbon monoxide leak from the faulty boiler renders John Paul unconscious. When Danny and Mercedes return to the party after a call from Justin, Mercedes is worried about her brother and pushes Danny and Justin to carry him outside. He recovers fairly quickly after a short time with an oxygen mask, with a worried Mercedes by his side. However, he has no time to celebrate his recovery as he bursts into tears over the fact that his sister Carmel and friend Katy were still unconscious from the fumes. Carmel fell into a coma but both Katy and Carmel survived the carbon monoxide poisoning and later discharged from hospital. John Paul moved back into his family home when Elliot unexpectedly came home and claimed his room at halls back, which Jess had been sub-letting to John Paul illegally. Katy reconciled with Justin, leaving John Paul on the sidelines, and Summer became friends with Sarah. John Paul therefore had no friends and began hanging out with Elliot. John Paul was infuriated by advice Kris Fisher gave on his radio show to a sexually confused teenager. When John Paul called in and objected to the idea that the teenager should just stop whining and get a life, Kris attacked him personally. John Paul and Elliot went to confront Kris directly, but a temporary blackout ended the conversation. John Paul and Elliot then decided to interrupt Kris' show with their own pirate radio program. Hannah returned from the eating disorder unit in late November 2007. John Paul had felt guilty after she and Nancy had blamed him for Hannah's eating disorder. When Hannah ran into him soon after her return, she told him that he wasn't responsible for what had happened to her, and while he had hurt her, he had also been the only person she could talk to at one point. She asked him if he would like to be friends again, and he agreed. John Paul got a text from Craig on Christmas Day, wishing him a Merry Christmas, asking him to visit Dublin sometime and that he misses him.

Family

• Father: Ricky Bowen
• Mother: Myra McQueen
• Sisters: Carmel McQueen, Michaela McQueen
• Half sisters: Mercedes Owen, Jacqui Malota, Tina Reilly
• Half Brother: Niall Rafferty
• Grandmother: Marlena McQueen
• Brother in law: Dominic Reilly

Relationships

• Ex-girlfriend: Hannah Ashworth
• Ex-boyfriend: Spike
• Ex-boyfriend: Craig Dean

External links

• John Paul McQueen on the Hollyoaks website
• Green, Kris. "Gay relationship for Hollyoaks' John Paul and Craig", DigitalSpy, 2007-03-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.