Eric Foster

Character Profile

Eric Foster (né Hutchinson) is the son of Charlotte and Edward Hutchinson, the brother of Verity Hutchinson, the half-brother of Tony and Eva Hutchinson, and the adoptive half-brother of Dominic Reilly.

Biography[]

Until 2022: Early Life[]

Eric was the only son of Charlotte Hutchinson, with Edward Hutchinson neglecting to tell Eric and his sister Verity that he had fathered another son - Tony - with his first wife Victoria in 1977. At some point prior to 2021, Eric estranged himself from Edward and Verity.

2022: Arrival[]

Eric arrived in Hollyoaks in March 2022 in search of Verity. He arrived at The Dog in the Pond and asked after her, but quickly left before Verity emerged from the bathrooms. Verity managed to find him outside of the pub, but Eric did not share Verity's excitement of seeing her after several years. Eric explained that he had wanted to see where Edward died in December 2020, but quickly left.

In April 2022, Eric returned after being evicted from his flat share. He lied about the reason behind his eviction, with Tony and Verity allowing him to move into 1 Stockton Lane. After befriending Cleo McQueen after meeting through Verity, Eric met and bonded with Charlie Dean over Combat Raiders. After Charlie got the wrong idea from Eric's advice and made an inappropriately edited image of teacher Olivia Bradshaw, Eric used a USB stick to wipe Charlie's computer.

After developing an obsession with Cleo, Eric ended up making an enemy out of her boyfriend Joel Dexter after locking him in The Loft office. Verity grew concerned by Eric's behaviour and decided to rent a caravan from the McQueen family for Eric to reside in. Eric successfully applied for a caretaker's job at Hollyoaks High School and continued to lead Charlie astray, until his aunt Nancy Osborne made him see the effects of his behaviours and Charlie stopped speaking to Eric. Eric then began befriending Mason Chen-Williams, struggling to handle being rejected by his crush, Charlie's girlfriend Ella Richardson. Eric then also began leading Mason astray.

2022-2023: Incel Behaviours and Imprisonment[]

Verity attempted to help Eric settle into the village by convincing him to befriend Romeo Nightingale. Romeo believed that Eric had feelings for Maxine Minniver and he and Theresa McQueen set them up on a date, but Eric turned nasty. He then began targeting Maxine and posting his misogynistic thoughts to forum site Men First. After an argument with his employer Sally St. Claire, Eric exploded and trashed the school corridor, resulting in his firing. He then began working at The Love Boat, spiking the drinks of several women. Maxine suspected him of being the spiker and caught him out when she made him drink a drink he had spiked, but nobody believed her.

After Verity's death in December 2022, Eric began to significantly spiral. Learning that Verity's fiancée Shaq Qureshi had shared a kiss with Peri Lomax, and that Nancy's late sister Becca Dean had an affair with a student (which Nancy tried to excuse), he began plotting drastic action. He purchased a weapon and after finding Maxine searching his caravan for evidence, he locked her in and drove away with the caravan attached. Trapping Maxine in his family's old holiday home, Eric returned to The Dog in the Pond during Verity's wake - armed with a crossbow - and shot Tony's wife Diane Hutchinson before holding the attendees hostage. Armed police eventually stormed the pub and Eric was shot as Maxine grabbed onto his ankles, tripping him over.

After the siege, Eric was taken to Dee Valley University Hospital, handcuffed to his hospital bed. Maxine confronted him and told him that his reign of terror brought little effect on her life and she would easily move on. The next day, Tony was haunted by a vision of Eric as he entered The Dog in the Pond for the first time since the siege. A couple weeks later, Mason made plans to visit Eric but his mother - prison psychologist Honour Chen-Williams - visited instead. Honour ended up hitting Eric during the confrontation, with Eric making a complaint against her. In March 2023, Eric pleaded guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment. Furious at his sentence, Eric blackmailed Verity's colleague, solicitor James Nightingale, into helping getting his sentence reduced.

James planned to get Maxine to visit Eric so Eric could convince her that he was reformed, but this went disastrously as James's co-worker Lacey Lloyd learned of the plan and informed Maxine. During the meeting, Eric ended up attacking Maxine and was dragged away by guards. Eric reported James's supposed-theft of Verity's necklace but Maxine convinced D.S. Zoe Anderson to drop the investigation. In one last plea, Eric attempted to convince Tony to visit him, but Tony refused after seeing Maxine's injury and Eric returned to his lonely cell.

Kill Count[]

Murders[]

None

Attempted Murders[]

Maxine Minniver, 11th January 2023 - Struck with a plank of wood as she tried to escape from him.
Diane Hutchinson, 11th January 2023 - Shot with an arrow from a crossbow.
Maxine Minniver, 11th January 2023 - Shot with an arrow from a crossbow.
Cindy Cunningham, 11th January 2023 - Attempted to shoot her with an arrow from a crossbow, but was attacked by Zara Morgan.

Appendices[]

Residences[]

Address	Duration
1 Stockton Lane	8th April 2022 to 12th May 2022
McQueens' caravan	12th May 2022 to 12th January 2023
Prison	Since 12th January 2023

Employment History[]

Job	Duration
Hollyoaks High School caretaker	10th June 2022 to 19th October 2022
The Love Boat waiter	20th October 2022 to 2022

Background Information[]

In March 2022 - a week before his first appearance - it was announced that Angus Castle-Doughty had been cast as Tony and Verity Hutchinson's brother Eric.

Introduction Sequence[]

Despite being a regular character, Eric did not appear in the introduction sequence.

Quotes[]

“	Verity Hutchinson.	”
	— First line, to Theresa McQueen.

“	Yeah, I'm, um... I'm stuck at this place. And I'm doing my time. Look, Tony, I don't want any trouble, I don't. I just want my family. No, you, I want you. I want you to understand what happened. I wanna explain how I got like this. Aren't you curious?	”
	— Final line, to Tony.