Zoe Carpenter, Hollyoaks

Zoe Carpenter (Zoë Lister)

On long-running British soap opera Hollyoaks, bubbly tomboy Zoe Carpenter had mainly been involved in storylines revolving around her failed relationships, including being stalked, entering a relationship with an older man, having sexual relations with her female best friend before being wrongfully imprisoned for her murder, and stabbed.

When it was announced that Lister wanted to leave the show, Loui Batley, the actress who played Zoe’s best friend Sarah Barnes also planned on leaving. The storyline that resulted started when Sarah was killed in a tragic skydiving incident, caused by a jealous Lydia Hart who wanted to have Sarah to herself. After the skydive and Sarah’s subsequent death, Lydia framed Zoe for the murder she committed, leading to her arrest.

When the character was ultimately found not guilty and was released, she set out to expose Lydia as Sarah’s killer. She befriended her and even seduced her in order to gain a confession. The culmination of the plot saw Lydia stab Zoe in a “brutal attack”, ultimately leading to the arrest of Lydia when the police arrive. She is later charged with the murder of Sarah and the attempted murder of Zoe. Several weeks after, Zoe decided to make a fresh start elsewhere, and went traveling with her former boyfriend Mike Barnes.

Speaking to entertainment news website Digital Spy about Sarah and Zoe’s relationship, Lister explained: “I don’t think they do have feelings for each other in that way. Last year happened and Zoe put it down to history and experience — one of those things that teenagers get up to occasionally and she was quite happy to leave it there. They’ve got through a lot and their relationship is really quite special. There’s a lot of love there but Zoe’s not got anything sexual for Sarah — it’s purely a deep friendship.”

Meanwhile, Batley said: “I think that for Sarah, Zoe’s the best friend she’s ever had — a lot of people in her life have let her down but Zoe’s her rock. Even though they’ve had their fall-outs, she’s always been there for her and she loves her as a friend. I think Zoe feels the same. But for Sarah it’s something more — she completely relies on her and that turns into love for her as well.”

Appearances:

• 209 episodes.

Female love interests:

• Lydia Hart (Lydia Kelly, main cast 2009-2010)
• Sarah Barnes 💀 (Loui Batley, main cast 2005-09)

Relationship story arc with a woman: No

Male love interests:

• Mike Barnes (Tony Hirst, main cast,120 episodes)
• Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson, main cast)
• Joe Spencer (Matt Milburn, recurring 12 episodes)
• William "Will" Hackett (Oliver Farnworth, main cast 2006-2007)
• Roger Kiddle (Quentin Tibble, 15 episodes, guest)
• Natty (Danny Tennant, guest, 21 episodes)

Relationship story arc with a man: Yes

Filter Relationship Arc:

• Male (Regular)

Storyline during sweeps? No

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.