| Character Profile | List of appearances |
Carl Costello was the husband of Heidi Costello and the father of Riley, Jem, Jason and Seth Costello.
Biography[]
1975-2010: Early Life[]
A celebrity footballer, Carl landed in the public eye by playing in the Premier League. He slept with a woman who fell pregnant and gave birth to their first daughter Jem. When Jem was of a young age, her mother died and she ended up living with Carl. Carl went on to date Trish Minniver before marrying her niece Heidi Blissett. He went on to have three children with Heidi: Riley in 1992, and twins Seth and Jasmine in 1995.
Carl proved to be a controversial figure in his family: during a match against Jem's boyfriend Liam McAllister, Carl performed a tackle that broke Liam's leg and ended his career. Carl and Jem had a falling out over the incident, and she ended up moving to Thailand around 2007. Carl was also unfaithful during his marriage to Heidi, having an affair with her cousin Mitzeee Minniver, which Heidi would not learn of until 2010.
2010: Arrival and Family Troubles[]
Carl arrived in Hollyoaks in July 2010 with his family, having purchased The Dog in the Pond on a whim as a surprise for Heidi. Jem - who had moved to the village in March - was greatly unimpressed at seeing her father for the first time in years and initially gave him the cold shoulder until she later forgave him. Trouble arose with the arrival of Mitzeee, leaving Carl greatly uncomfortable. After disallowing Jasmine from dating Bart McQueen, Jem accused Carl of being controlling, triggering him to decide to change his behaviours for his family.
Heidi and Jem are furious at Carl for sleeping with Mitzeee.
Sticking to his word, Carl rejected Mitzeee when she made a move on him. A furious Mitzeee then decided to reveal their affair during Heidi's fashion show in the SU Bar. Heidi was left devastated, but she ultimately decided to forgive him. Jem ended up reconciling with Liam, unaware of Liam and his brother Nathan's revenge plan. Carl ended up being lured to their mansion where he was kidnapped and had a rope tied around his neck. He was freed by Nathan and Liam's associate Sami, and Carl managed to help his family escape. Seth ended up pushing Nathan from the roof to his death.
Jem, Jasmine and Mitzeee ended up turning against Carl after a visit from Liam. Jem planned to have Carl and Mitzeee caught out in a compromising position, but the plan failed as Carl showed no interest in Mitzeee, so she decided to leave the village. After Jasmine told her family that she was "Jason" and wanted to become a boy, Carl took the news badly and ignored the matter. However, he had a change of heart following a meeting with Hollyoaks High School headmaster Rob O'Connor about Jason's decision.
2010-2011: Affair with Mercedes and Departure[]
Carl and Mercedes get steamy in The Dog's back room.
Carl was left unimpressed by Riley's girlfriend Mercedes Fisher, especially when Riley tricked manager Jack Osborne into giving her a job at The Dog in the Pond. Carl tried to pay her to leave the village, but Mercedes said that she would only leave if Riley joined her. After the pair shared a kiss, Carl jealously attempted to split up Mercedes and Riley. His plan failed to work and Mercedes accepted Riley's marriage proposal, despite having slept with Carl merely days before. Carl became suspicious that Heidi was also having an affair, initially accusing Doug Carter. Heidi ended up admitting that she was having an affair with Gaz Bennett and Carl forgave her.
Seth ended up learning of the affair and held a threatening presence over Mercedes. Mercedes announced that she was pregnant and Carl became panicked as Mercedes was unaware as to if Carl or Riley was the baby's father. Mercedes's sister Jacqui also learned of the affair, so Carl re-hired her husband Rhys at The Dog in the Pond to bribe her into keeping quiet. Gangster Warren Fox also learned of the affair from Seth and attempted to blackmail Carl, but Mercedes confessed to Riley at the altar on their wedding day.
Carl and Jason leave Hollyoaks for California.
After being exposed, Riley and Heidi threw Carl out of 1 Stockton Lane: Riley disowned him and Heidi decided to file for divorce. After Heidi was murdered on Halloween 2011, Carl attempted to reconcile with his family by supporting them. Heidi's father Silas Blissett was exposed as a serial killer and revealed to be Heidi's killer, so Carl decided to move to California. Jason decided to join him but Seth refused, so Carl (having put things right with Riley) and Jason left together in December 2011.
2012-2013: Riley's Death[]
Carl and Mitzeee grieve for Riley.
Carl returned to the village in September 2012 after learning of Riley's intention to remarry Mercedes. He attempted to change Riley's mind, but both were unaware of Mercedes's manipulation of Riley. Carl comforted Riley after his son Bobby Costello went missing, but Mercedes was revealed to be his kidnapper. As Riley finally turned on Mercedes, he was fatally shot during a scuffle between Brendan Brady and Simon Walker. A devastated Carl left the village returned to America.
After being contacted by Mitzeee's sister Maxine, Carl returned to the village in January 2013. Carl attempted to avenge Riley's death: first by hiring a hitman to kill Walker (but Mitzeee paid him off), then planning to stab Walker to death himself (until being talked down by Mitzeee, who revealed that she was pregnant with Riley's baby). With Mercedes being held in custody, Carl refused to let Bobby stay with the McQueens and Mercedes's mother Myra allowed Carl to take Bobby away. He then left for America with Mitzeee.
2018: Death[]
After visiting Bobby in July 2018, Mitzeee gave him to Mercedes to take back to Chester as Carl had become an alcoholic. Carl returned to the village to confront the McQueens. After they repeatedly attempted to get rid of him, Carl decided to take drastic action by kidnapping Goldie McQueen in retaliation. The McQueens tricked Carl into thinking that Cleo McQueen was Bobby, securing Goldie's release without handing Bobby over.
Carl gets a glimpse of the person about to kill him.
Maxine - unaware of the situation - helped sneak Bobby from the McQueens to Carl. Carl and Bobby hid in the woods as they attempted to make their escape, but Bobby ran off. Carl attempted to find him and ended up tripping over. However, he was found and beaten to death with a rock. In November 2018, his assailant was revealed as serial killer Breda McQueen.
Kill Count[]
Murders[]
None
Attempted Murders[]
- Simon Walker, 15th February 2013 - Prepared to stab Walker with a knife to avenge the death of Riley Costello, but aborted his plan.
Appendices[]
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 Stockton Lane | 20th July 2010 to 1st December 2011 |
| California | 1st December 2011 to 11th July 2018 |
Employment History[]
| Job | Duration |
|---|---|
| Footballer | Until prior to July 2010 |
| The Dog in the Pond landholder | 20th July 2010 to 1st December 2011 |
Background Information[]
- Actor Paul Opacic quit the role of Carl in September 2011. He reprised the role for brief stints in 2012, 2013 and 2018.
Introduction Sequence[]
Despite being a regular character, Carl does not appear in the introduction sequence.
Quotes[]
| “ | Wow, wasn't expecting such a welcoming committee. I'm Carl. | ” |
— First line, to Cheryl Brady.
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| “ | Bobby, come back! | ” |
— Final line before being killed by Breda McQueen.
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