Diane was introduced with her husband, Rob (Gary Cargill) and stepchildren, Sinead (Stephanie Davis) and Finn O'Connor (Connor Wilkinson).

[8] Of her role, Fletcher said, "I am delighted to be back filming at Lime Pictures where I started my career on Brookside – then Mersey TV.

[11] Fletcher told Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy that Diane is a good person because she has looked after two children who are not biologically hers.

[9] The storyline looks at how Sinead and Finn cope with the pressure and disappointment of IVF and the potential arrival of a new baby brother or sister.

[20] Fletcher explained that Diane takes the baby home rather than into the hospital because she believes that "she's doing the right thing and that she'll get in touch with social services.

[21] Diane's exit storyline saw herself and Tony forced to sell their restaurant to Marnie Nightingale (Lysette Anthony) following months of her scheming to ruin the business.

[23] Announced on 8 April 2021 and promoted as an issue-based storyline, it was confirmed that Diane would develop the common mental health condition.

[23] The pandemic and constant government advice regarding hygiene and precautions made Fletcher unsure whether viewers needed to see such a story.

[24] Fletcher told Sarah Ellis from Inside Soap that Diane suffered minor OCD symptoms when she was young and that this was added into the character's backstory.

[25] Hollyoaks decided to portray Diane's obsessive thoughts via voice overs, which was rare in televised OCD stories.

[26] Writers used the aftermath of Diane's abusive relationship with Edward Hutchinson (Joe McGann) and her pregnancy to bring on her initial symptoms.

Her behaviour worries Tony and her sister-in-law Verity Hutchinson (Eva O'Hara), who then seeks medical advice from doctor Misbah Maalik (Harvey Virdi).

Diane wraps her furniture in plastic to stop guests contaminating her home, but Verity recognises her symptoms as OCD.

Eva Strong (Sheree Murphy) wrongly reports Rob to the police for a suspected inappropriate relationship with her daughter, Anita.

Diane begins teaching at Hollyoaks College and is completely unaware that Sinead and Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) are bullying Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks) following the bus crash.

Diane and Sinead agree to keep her involvement in the bullying secret but they are exposed via a video taken by Dylan Shaw's (Mikey Riddington-Smith).

Diane and Tony prepare to marry, but during the wedding, she is arrested for drug possession, which belong to Trevor Royle (Greg Wood).

Diane returns from the police station to find Katy convulsing in her cot, and is attacked by Sinead in the street for not believing her.

Lockie's wife Porsche McQueen (Twinnie-Lee Moore) discovers the affair whilst decorating Diane's room.

Diane and Tony are later offered a job in France and sell the Hutch to Marnie (Lysette Anthony) and James Nightingale (Gregory Finnigan).

Diane and Tony prepare to leave but her stays behind to help his son, Harry deal with his drug addict boyfriend, Ste.

Head teacher Sally St. Claire (Annie Wallace) is suspicious that one of three girls Lily, Peri Lomax (Ruby O Donnell) and Yasmine Maalik (Haeisha Mistry) are self-harming.

She calls Diane, Leela Lomax (Kirsty Leigh Porter) and Misbah Maalik (Harvey Virdi) to the school to discuss the situation.

Diane has a fight with Leela when she discovers that Lily's boyfriend Prince McQueen (Malique Thompson-Dwyer) has had sex with her daughter, Peri.

For her portrayal of Diane, Fletcher was nominated for "Best Soap Actor (Female)" at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; she came in tenth place with 3.4% of the total votes.

[12] A writer from Holy Soap recalled Diane's most memorable moment as "getting her step-daughter Sinead to administer her IVF injection when husband Rob was tied up at work.

[32] In another poll run by the website, readers were tasked with deciding who was the best mum out of Diane, Myra McQueen (Nicole Barber-Lane) and Martha Kane (Carli Norris).

[35] In 2021, prior to Diane's pregnancy being confirmed, Chris Edwards from Digital Spy reported on how fans had speculated that the character was pregnant due to her "strange behaviour".

[36] Sarah Wall from Digital Spy praised Diane's OCD storyline for showing "the reality of the condition and for thinking outside the box.

Wall also praised the decision to have Diane, a "strong female character" portray the illness, adding "Hollyoaks has demonstrated how mental health disorders can affect anyone at any time in their lives.