April saw the arrivals of Reenie McQueen (Zöe Lucker), mother of Porsche, Celine and Cleo and younger half-sister of Myra (Nicole Barber-Lane); brothers Aiden (Joseph Cocklin) and Kyle Bigsby (Mitchell Hunt); Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams), cousin of Sinead O'Connor (Stephanie Davis) and nephew of Diane O'Connor (Alex Fletcher); and the younger sister of Lindsey (Sophie Austin) and Kim Butterfield (Daisy Wood-Davis), Kath (Mikaela Newton).
Dylan's mother, Val Jenkins (Tanya Robb), made her first appearance in June, as did Reenie's sexually abusive ex-boyfriend, Pete Buchanan (Kai Owen), and Sonia Albright (Kiza Deen), the woman pretending to be the missing daughter of Simone and Louis, Lisa.
September saw the introductions of new villainess Ashley Davidson (Kierston Wareing), Derek Clough (Bruce Montague) – the abusive ex-partner of Nana McQueen (Diane Langton) and father of Porsche after raping Reenie, Jade Albright (Kassius Nelson), the sister of Sonia, and Joanne Cardsley (Rachel Leskovac), Louis' former mistress and Simone's former co-worker.
In November, Diego Salvador Hernandez Martinez De La Cruz (Juan Pablo Yepez), Myra's toyboy lover, arrived in Hollyoaks, following her return to the village.
[10] In an interview with Digital Spy, Fletcher discussed Dylan's cross-dressing storyline, stating how "a lack of a mother figure in his life at the moment" is behind his decision to crossdress.
Fletcher chose not to comment on his exit, but a Hollyoaks spokesperson said: "Dylan was a popular new addition with the show's young fans, so he definitely won't be leaving quietly.
Dylan swiftly joins Hollyoaks High School, making friends with Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell), Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) and Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson).
Whilst in hospital, nurse Kim Butterfield (Daisy Wood-Davis), who is stalking Grace, discovers his secret and blackmails him, threatening to tell Trevor if he does not put her camera back into the flat.
However, they are shocked to discover that a heavily pregnant Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks) and her friend, Sinead O'Connor (Stephanie Davis) have used the car for a trip to a spa.
Ben, who is currently trying to find evidence to send Trevor to prison after falsely believing that he murdered his daughter Carly Bradley (Sophie Wise), arrives at the flat for a drug search, following a tip-off from Robbie.
Cleo joined Hollyoaks High, and befriended Harry Thompson (Parry Glasspool), Holly Cunningham (Amanda Clapham), and Zack Loveday (Duayne Boachie).
In September 2016, Louis worries for his friend, Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox) when her leg freezes at the school, resulting in him taking her to the hospital, but she later leaves, insisting she is fine.
Reenie is devastated when Cleo orders her to stay away from court and that she wishes she wasn't her mother, and she contemplates drinking a bottle of wine outside The Dog after several months of being sober.
His attempts to keep his cousin happy may also cause trouble for Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and John Paul McQueen's (James Sutton) marriage.
Aiden and Kyle are introduced when they cross paths with Harry Thompson (Parry Glasspool) and Zack Loveday (Duayne Boachie) on the school football team.
[39] Aiden and Kyle subject Dylan Jenkins (James Fletcher) to a campaign of bullying and beat up Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) in a homophobic attack.
Months later, James pays Mac a visit, where he tears into his father for abusing him and making him sleep with a female prostitute on his sixteenth birthday "to turn him straight."
Her stepmother Diane thinks it is his, causing herself to separated with Tony, until Sinead reveals that Ste is the father during his and John-Paul's wedding, shocking the entire McQueens and her family.
A year later after her father leave the group due to Stuart death and Jonny arrested, Sinead allowed Ste to see her anytime he wants along with his other children upon learning that the two men used him to against her former fiancé Sami and his family.
[53] Further details were released about the character on 1 June 2015, and confirmed that she and her husband, Mark Brown (Ben Faulks), will wish to adopt Peri Lomax's (Ruby O'Donnell) baby.
When Esther slips into a coma before falling victim to the Gloved Hand Killer, her grandmother Frankie Osborne (Helen Pearson) takes full custody of the baby and renames him Stephan.
Wayne ruins the opening day for Lisa and Lockie Campbell's (Nick Rhys) new business, The Tug Boat, by poisoning her brother Zack's (Duyane Boachie) burger.
Peri decides to have Steph adopted before she is born, but Tom is against the idea, especially after losing both his parents Gordon (Bernard Latham) and Helen Cunningham (Kathryn George) in a car accident in 2004.
Dr. Charles S'avage (Andrew Greenough) witnesses Ashley descend into cardiac arrest and die, and realises that the Gloved Hand Killer has claimed yet another victim.
Kassius Nelson has said that Jade "arrives with an interesting past, but there are certain characters who won't want that past to be revealed..."[59] Jade's storylines include being embroiled in the sexual abuse storyline involving Pete Buchanan (Kai Owen) and Cleo McQueen (Nadine Mulkerrin), being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, her close relationship with fellow cancer patient Alfie Nightingale (Richard Linnell) and being bullied by Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) and Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson).
[79] She arrived in the village for the funeral of her stepdaughter, Carly (Sophie Wise) and tried to win back Ben, to the annoyance of his girlfriend Sienna Blake (Anna Passey).
Nathan is Mac Nightingale's (David Easter) son and has been said to be the "newest heartthrob in the Hollyoaks village" and is "honest, loyal and always happy to help anyone's problems go away with a big hug and lots of love."
Although angry at Holly, Nathan sees her convincing Reenie McQueen (Zöe Lucker) to support her daughter Cleo through paedophile Pete Buchanan's (Kai Owen) sexual abuse trial.
Alfie also shaves off his own hair and afterwards, he tells Jade that his form of cancer has returned, shocking Nathan's girlfriend Rachel Hardy (Jennifer Brooke), who comes in the house with Jack Osborne (Jimmy McKenna).
Alfie was later devastated when Jade lost her battle against cancer, Nathan's death and the discovery of Ellie being raped by Holly's boyfriend Nick Savage (Ben-Ryan Davies).