| Character Profile | List of appearances |
David "Dave" Chen-Williams (né Williams) is the half-brother of Ethan Williams, the estranged husband of Honour Chen-Williams, the ex-husband of Flora Williams, the father of Maxine Minniver, and Sam, and Mason Chen-Williams, the adoptive father of Lizzie Chen-Williams, and the grandfather of Minnie Minniver. He fathered Maxine, born to Trish Minniver, before abandoning the pair in the late 1980s.
Biography[]
Until 2021: Life Before Hollyoaks[]
Dave's parents split after his birth and his father went on to have a son, Ethan, with another woman when Dave was eighteen or nineteen years old. In the 1980s, a married Dave had an affair with Trish Minniver, which ruined his marriage. Trish fell pregnant and gave birth to their daughter Maxine. Dave ended up abandoning the pair, and Maxine was raised to believe that Mick Minniver - her adoptive father - was her biological father.
Dave had two children - Sam and Lizzie (with Lizzie sharing the same mother as Sam but being adopted by Dave) - by the time he met Honour Chen. The pair married on 15th September 2006 and Dave acquired a stepdaughter, Serena. However, Flora was hellbent on not getting a divorce, rendering Honour and Dave's marriage bigamous. Flora's death sometime later concealed Dave's secret until 2022.
Dave originally had aspirations to start up a logistics company. However, after the birth of his and Honour's son Mason in 2007, Dave opted for more 'casual' work as a postman to allow for Honour to return to her job as a psychologist sooner.
2021-2023: Arrival and Family Bombshells[]
Dave's family learn about Maxine.
Dave arrived in the village with his family in December 2021, having purchased 3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 4 from Tony Hutchinson. This caused problems with the tenants - the McQueen family - who faced homelessness due to the eviction. Dave and Honour befriended Tony and his wife Diane, having a family Christmas at their pub The Dog in the Pond. Celebrating New Year's at the pub, Dave encountered Maxine for the first time in decades, panicking and lying to his family about who she was. The pair would meet in secret but sick of covering for him, Maxine revealed that she was Dave's first child. The family took the revelation badly but eventually came around one-by-one, with Lizzie and Serena even convincing Maxine to give Dave a chance.
The family then began to focus on settling into the village, with Dave and Honour making various attempts to befriend the other couples in the village. Dave and Honour were left thrilled upon discovering that Serena had been chosen to represent England in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. However, tragedy soon struck when she fell from the roof of the Park Café. Her surgery was performed by unqualified doctor Ali Shahzad, resulting in his firing and Serena being unable to compete. Upon learning of Maxine's involvement in Serena's fall, he asked for her to give the family space. He came to regret the decision, attempting to make things up to her a few weeks later
Sam discovers the restraining order.
Later in the year, Dave and Honour's marriage started having problems when Sam discovered Flora's restraining order. Honour's sister Mei Lian Chen and brother-in-law Meng Chye Leong - who flew to England from Malaysia to help Mason who was struggling with his identity - convinced the pair to talk. After Dave told Honour that Flora manipulated the court to obtain the order, Mei Lian confessed to Meng Chye that she had lost most of their savings in a scam, so the pair left their daughter Shing Lin Leong in Dave and Honour's care whilst they sorted things out.
In January 2023, Dave and Honour discovered Mason's associations with extreme misogynist Eric Foster, the brother of Tony, when Mason awoke in hospital after being attacked and discovered that Eric was holding Verity Hutchinson's funeral attendees hostage at The Dog in the Pond. Looking through his phone, Honour discovered an inappropriate photograph of Leah Barnes, as well as several hate-filled comments. This caused a rift between the family, especially as Eric had taken Serena and Lizzie hostage. Serena ended up giving Mason's computer to the police against Dave's advice, before telling the family that she wasn't ready to forgive Mason and leaving for Shanghai.
2023-: Continued Troubles and Relationship with Cindy Cunningham[]
Dave and Honour's marriage hit a rough patch over the handling of Mason's behaviour, escalated by Honour being fired from Longmere Prison after hitting Eric. Dave proposed to Honour but, after having doubts, changed her mind and said no - wondering if she could remain with Dave through all of his lies and secrets. Whilst being confronted, Dave revealed that Flora had manipulated the courts into getting a restraining order out on him, meaning that he couldn't get a divorce from her and that his marriage to Honour was bigamous. Honour struggled to forgive Dave and ended up him in April 2023, to which he responded with a barrage of hateful texts.
The following month, Dave continues to take Honour's departure badly first by opting to stay with Ethan for some time as he can't deal with staying in his home as everything continues to remind him of Honour, leaving Lizzie to look after Mason and the house despite this, Dave still attempts to try and spend time with his children who are often too busy this leads Dave to go down on a midlife crisis saga by drinking, clubbing and taking cocaine however after seeing how much its upset his children, Dave decides enough is enough and pulls himself together.
But despite getting back on track seemingly, Dave continues to take cocaine. He is seen encouraging Ethan to get over Sienna when the two 'split up'. Dave then begins to take a liking towards, Cindy Cunningham however Dave doesn't realise that Cindy is currently in the middle of a bipolar relapse until he's confronted over it by Cindy's younger brother, Tom and Tony. Dave visits Cindy's after she's sectioned and vows to support her after she gets better. When Cindy returns, Dave supports her and the two begin to have a number of flings. Weeks go by and Dave turns back to cocaine after he loses the house he and Honour resided in. This prompts Dave to move in with the Osborne family along with Mason and Shing Lin.
Dave's stresses mount up prompting to take more cocaine however one night while at The Loft, Dave misplaces his cocaine leading to Beau Ramsey getting the blame for the possession of the drug which lead to a suspension for Beau at Hollyoaks High. Dave keeps quiet but hopeful that Beau gets off on the charge however Dave is caught out by Tony who furiously confronts Dave. Dave comes clean with both Beau and Maxine however after nearly getting into a physical fight with Tony and newly appointed headteacher Carter Shepherd, Dave takes drugs once more and is seen by Maxine and Cindy at the children's play park and with it being evident that Dave took drugs, Cindy ends their relationship.
Dave decides enough is enough and begins to strive to start a business with a work van Cindy brought him. He enlists Charlie however things take an awkward turn when Dave is unable to pay Charlie and £200 of Dave's money goes missing. However Dave discovers it was Darren who took the money but Dave over hears Charlie order Darren to throw him out. Dave writes a note at the pretence he's gone to stay with a friend however he stays in the back of his work van at The Dog car park. He's later seen by Darren who gets Cindy to have Dave move in with her. Dave then agrees and moves in with Cindy along with Mason and Shing Lin.
Appendices[]
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| 3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 4 | December 2021 to 2nd October 2023 |
| 17 Basswood Road | Since 2nd October 2023 |
Employment History[]
| Job | Duration |
|---|---|
| Parcel Patrons deliveryman | Since prior to December 2021 |
Background Information[]
- In November 2021, it was announced that Dominic Power would play new regular character Dave.
Introduction Sequence[]
- 2022-2023: Dave meets with the family outside of The Cunningham Grande Bazaar.
- 2023-: Dave stands next to Ethan on the City Wall.
Quotes[]
| “ | Well, it can be tricky nowadays, but if the... 'tache fits. | ” |
— First line to Theresa McQueen after being asked if she looked like Tony Hutchinson.
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See Also[]
Gallery[]
| Current Characters |
|---|
| Tony Hutchinson • Cindy Cunningham • Jack Osborne • Darren Osborne • Tom Cunningham • Nancy Osborne • Suzanne Ashworth • Ste Hay • Mercedes McQueen • Warren Fox • John Paul McQueen • Charlie Dean • Leah Barnes • Nana McQueen • Theresa McQueen • Lucas Hay • Diane Hutchinson • Liberty Savage • JJ Osborne • Frankie Osborne • Joel Dexter • Marie Fielding • Maxine Minniver • Sienna Blake • Freddie Roscoe • Peri Lomax • Leela Lomax • Cleo McQueen • Scott Drinkwell • Sally St. Claire • James Nightingale • Goldie McQueen • Hunter McQueen • Prince McQueen • Misbah Maalik • Sharon Bailey • Pearl Anderson • Ethan Williams • Dave Chen-Williams • Lizzie Chen-Williams • Mason Chen-Williams • Zoe Anderson • Zain Rizwaan • Freya Calder • Norma Crow • Vicky Grant • Beau Ramsey • Dillon Ray • Dilly Harcourt • Carter Shepherd • Andre Clark • Kitty Draper • Abe Fielding • Donny Clark |