Louise Taylor is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Brett O'Brien.
Like the other original core characters, the show explores Louise's life after completing her GCSE studies and how she navigates towards her future aspirations.
Writers developed a friendship group between Louise, Natasha Andersen (Shebah Ronay), Maddie Parker (Yasmin Bannerman) and Dawn Cunningham (Lisa Williamson).
"[3] O'Brien lived in London and accommodated her filming schedule during weekdays by staying in Liverpool hotels where the show's production is based.
Louise is one of the original characters created by Phil Redmond, and she was introduced in the show's first episode, which was first broadcast on 23 October 1995.
"[1]Louise is introduced as one of the show's seven core characters also consisting of Maddie Parker (Yasmin Bannerman), Natasha Andersen (Shebah Ronay), Dawn Cunningham (Lisa Williamson) and the male collective of Kurt Benson (Jeremy Edwards), Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) and Jambo Bolton (Will Mellor).
[11] The character's outline publicised in British media ahead of her debut revealed that Louise is portrayed as a good friend.
[7] In the book, Phil Redmond's Hollyoaks: The Official Companion, Matthew Evans described Louise as an "Earth mother" and a "hopeless romantic, causing her friends no end of trouble in her pursuit of the 'perfect' man."
[3] O'Brien plays Louise using her own Dublin accent and she told Murphy that "I think producers were keen to have an Irish person in the cast.
[14] In another storyline, writers introduced a "handsome guy", Dermot Ashton (Lauren Beales), who offers to help Louise organise the college revue and she develops an interest in him.
She told an All About Soap reporter that "it wasn't quite running away with a new-age traveller like Louise did when she left Hollyoaks, but maybe she planted the idea in my head.
"[17] In December 1995, Peter Grant from Liverpool Echo predicted that the popularity of the show's "magnificent seven" core characters would continue to rise in 1996.
Grant noted there was "plenty more fun in store" and a "very happy new year in Hollyoaks" judging by storylines such as "Louise plunges into the world of amateur dramatics.
"[20] Of the original cast and characters, Maggie Brown from The Guardian opined "the seven stars of Hollyoaks are good looking, bright eyed and cheerful, the sort of youngsters whose mothers made sure they went to the dentist.
"[23] Greg Taylor from Daily Mirror branded the core seven characters a group of "smart teenagers" that the show "revolves around".
[24] Kyle O'Sullivan, also from Daily Mirror called her a "kooky character" and a "hopeless romantic" who had a "troubled relationship with cheating and rough boyfriend Joe".
[29] Stephanie Colderick writing for Wales Online stated Louise "loved her horoscopes" and was portrayed as a "more free-spirited character" than her fellow original counterparts.
[31] A writer from The Courier observed the female friendship group and decided that Natasha and Dawn "often have to cringe at the antics of fashion fanatic Maddie" and "to wonder at their supernatural obsessed friend Louise.
"[32] Of her departure episode, a Sutton Coldfield Observer critic assessed that the character is "behaving in a fashion that is increasingly disturbing.
"[33] Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy stated that Louise had a "short shelf life" and that she received "a rather kooky exit storyline".
"[34] Francesca Babb from All About Soap believed that O'Brien "was great" in the role of Louise and subsequently was surprised the actress did not rise to prominence after she left the show.
Steeples branded the writing "pure Mills & Boon" and quipped that the executive producer, Redmond had been taking tablets that transformed him into the romance writer Barbara Cartland.
[38] Their colleague, Cole Morton minimised the importance of the original characters because they were written as "glamorous young things who live in leafy suburbs rather than urban mean streets, and have only to worry about their spots and mobile phones.