| Character Profile | List of appearances |
Lucas "Luke" Morgan was the son of Sue and Andy Morgan, the brother of Adam, Beth and Zara Morgan, the ex-husband of Scarlett Morgan and Mandy Richardson, the father of Oliver Morgan and DJ Osborne, and the grandfather of Thierry.
Luke immediately turned the heads of the women in the village when he first arrived in March 1999, embarking on a short liaison with Ruth Benson before Mandy Richardson caught his attention, their relationship strengthened by Mandy's support during the marital issues between Luke's parents.
However, Luke's world came crashing down in March 2000 when he was raped by Mark Gibbs, with whom he had a rivalry after accidentally breaking Mark's leg, resulting in him being unable to play football professionally. Luke was tormented by Mark for months and decided to take his own life, but accidentally crashed into a skip whilst driving. Telling his brother Adam what happened, Adam and Luke's family stood by him and Mark was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Haunted by memories of the rape, Luke decided to accept a job offer in Canada and left in December 2001, returning in October 2002 for his parents remarriage. With a failed marriage to Scarlett and leaving behind his son, Luke reunited with Mandy and returned to Hollyoaks in 2017; but it was not to be as Mandy embarked on an affair with Luke's best friend Darren Osborne. Luke moved on, dating Mandy's step-sister Cindy Cunningham, who stood by Luke after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2019. On his stag do in Mallorca, Luke fell from a cliff and died in hospital, surrounded by his family and friends.
Biography[]
1999: Arrival[]
Ruth meets Luke at the local swimming pool.
Luke arrived in Hollyoaks with his family in 1999: his father Andy had purchased a business to turn into a café in an attempt to save his marriage with Luke's mother Sue, Luke's older brother Adam had been hired as a lifeguard for the local pool, and his youngest sister Zara had been enrolled at Hollyoaks Comprehensive after being expelled from a previous school.
Befriending Darren Osborne, Luke embarked on a brief fling with Darren's sister Ruth. Spotting Mandy Richardson in an advertisement for Cunningham Driving School, it was love at first sight for Luke and the pair began a relationship. During a football match, Luke had a series of disagreementments with Mark Gibbs. Luke tackled Mark and accidentally broke his leg, resulting in Mark being unable to play football professionally and ultimately igniting a feud between the pair.
1999-2000: Rape[]
Luke is attacked by Mark, Stephen and Kenneth.
Mark vowed to cause problems for Luke, with help from his brothers as well as friends Stephen MacGregor and Kenneth Boyd. Luke and Mandy ultimately became targets of harassment, which the pair struggled to ignore. In March 2000, Mark, Stephen and Kenneth followed Luke into the changing rooms of a sports ground, taunting him and threw his clothes into a toilet. This resulted in a confrontation which ended up getting physical. After being attacked by Mark and his friends, Luke ran after them; slamming Mark's leg in the car door, throwing a rock through the back window of Mark's car, and speeding off. Mark, Stephen and Kenny followed Luke and managed to catch him when his car got stuck in a pothole. The trio grabbed Luke pinned him to the car, and Mark ended up raping Luke to Stephen and Kenny's horror.
Luke became reclusive in the aftermath of the rape, refusing to speak to Sue and sister Beth Morgan after returning home covered in blood. Shutting himself away from everyone, his relationship with Mandy began to fall apart and Luke became easily angered: even almost getting violent towards Zara's friend Hannah after Zara and Hannah played a prank on him. Mandy believed that Luke had gone off her and broke up with him, and began dating Darren in an attempt to make Luke jealous. Mandy ended up turning against Luke, refusing to speak with him and threatening to get the police involved if he continued sending her letters and calling her.
Luke is involved in a car accident.
As Mark's threatening presence continued and Luke's feeling of isolation grew, Luke decided to take his own life at a nearby park. However, whilst driving to the park, Luke ended up crashing his car into a skip bin and was left hospitalised. Whilst in hospital, Adam managed to get Luke to open up to him, with Luke revealing all about the rape and suicide attempt. Adam tried to push Luke to report Mark to the police but Luke initially refused, setting fire to his clothes to destroy evidence. Adam managed to change Luke's mind and Luke reported the crime to D.S. Barnes, who arrested and later charged Mark, Stephen and Kenny.
The Morgans struggled to come to terms with the rape, with Zara warring with Steph Dean who bullied her over the rape and Andy feeling ashamed. Mark, Stephen and Kenny were released on bail, with Mark encountering Luke against his bail conditions. However, Mark was arrested after going missing and ended up being remanded in custody until the trial. The trio were found guilty; Mark was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, whilst Stephen and Kenny received a 3-and-a-half year jail sentence.
2000-2001: Aftermath and Departure[]
Due to Andy's lack of support throughout the trial, Luke ended up turning against his father. After selling his story to journalist Alan Hook, Luke used the money to rent an apartment to the upset of his mother who suffered a mental breakdown. However, when the money began to dry up, Luke agreed to return to working at Deva. Whilst on a shift at the same time as Andy, the pair ended up reconciling, but Luke was adamant that he wanted to continue living by himself.
Scott and his friends taunt Luke over the rape.
Luke ended up befriending Ben Davies. However, he later discovered that Ben had secretly begun dating Mandy and renounced their friendship. He then dated Mandy's best friend Laura Burns, who was adamant on keeping Mandy and Luke apart. However, Laura's obsessive behaviour brought a quick end to their relationship, and Luke and Ben returned to being friends after Ben and Mandy also broke up. After being targeted by footballer Scott Anderson over the rape, Luke realised that he wouldn't be able to move forward with his life whilst still in Hollyoaks. He was offered a job in Canada, but prepared to turn it down after discovering that Scott had raped Beth. Beth convinced Luke to take the job in Canada, and he left in December 2001.
2001-2017: Life Away From Hollyoaks[]
Luke quickly settled into life in Canada, but made a brief return to the village for Andy and Sue's remarriage in October 2002. He came face-to-face with Mandy again and Mandy pleaded with him to stay to give their relationship another chance, but he decided to return to Canada. He later met Scarlett Morgan and the pair had a son - Ollie - in April 2003. Luke and Scarlett married in July 2004, with Luke informing Mandy by letter (but neglecting to tell her about Ollie). In January 2005, Luke holidayed to London and Ben met up with him whilst he was there.
At some point afterwards, Luke began struggling with alcoholism, which caused Scarlett to take Ollie and leave him in circa 2008. His family informed him that Andy had fallen gravely ill and Luke prepared to fly to France to be with them, but ultimately ended up getting drunk and missed the flight. As a result, he ended up becoming estranged from his family. He later ended up reconciling with Mandy, who by then had a daughter named Ella, and the pair decided to return to Hollyoaks.
2017-2019: Battle with Alcoholism[]
Luke encounters Darren at Duke Street Social.
In July 2017, Darren encountered Luke at Duke Street Social Club. The pair had a catch-up, but Luke stole from Darren's wallet as he went to the bathroom. Darren ended up tracking Luke down to confront him, with Luke revealing that he was unemployed. Luke accepted Darren's job offer at his taxi firm, Daz Cabs, but was fired shortly afterwards after being caught drinking alcohol whilst working. Darren attempted to convince Luke to attend AA meetings, but Luke was insistent that he was not an alcoholic. After leaving Ella home alone to buy alcohol, Luke and Mandy's neighbours called social services. Ella was taken into care and after Luke returned home drunk again, Mandy decided to leave him.
Darren later discovered that Luke was living in his car, and Luke admitted to Darren that he was right about him being an alcoholic. Darren invited Luke to stay with his family at 17 Basswood Road, and Luke ended up getting a job trial at Hollyoaks High School as a P.E. teacher. Luke struggled in his attempts to discontinue drinking, only managing to not relapse after being injured in an explosion at Hollyoaks High caused by Mac Nightingale. Mandy also decided to give Luke another chance, but Luke came face-to-face with his past again after encountering Mark in December 2017.
Posing as a personal trainer, Luke recruited Jenna Gibbs as a client as a way to get more information on Mark. Jenna was under the belief that Mark had been in prison for grievous bodily harm, but after speaking with a non-remorseful Mark, Luke ended up revealing to her that Mark had served a prison sentence for raping him. Afterwards, Mandy and Luke ended up properly reconciling, with Mandy even proposing to Luke. Luke accepted and had lawyer Sami Maalik attempt to track down Scarlett so he could divorce her.
Luke marries Mandy.
Scarlett arrived in the village on the day of Luke and Mandy's wedding in January 2018, intent on ruining their wedding. Despite her failed attempts, Ollie (who had followed Scarlett) revealed to Mandy during the reception that Luke was still married to Scarlett. Mandy later forgave Luke and the pair had a legal wedding in Florida in March 2018. Ollie also remained in the village, having quickly bonded with Luke. However, Luke had a relapse and returned to drinking. He ended up nearly running over Simone Loveday (who was quickly saved by Sylver McQueen) whilst driving under the influence, and was later arrested for drink driving after being caught by the police.
After finding explicit photographs of Ollie, Luke suspected that Ollie had been groomed and Ollie let Luke believe that Scott Drinkwell was his abuser. Luke viciously assaulted Scott, with Mercedes McQueen reporting Luke to the police. Luke also discovered that Mandy had been having an affair with Darren for months, and attacked Darren. The next day, he was sent to prison after pleading guilty to attacking Scott. Buster Smith was exposed as Ollie's abuser, and Luke testified at Buster's trial in January 2019.
2019-2021: Frontotemporal Dementia Diagnosis[]
Luke returns after being released from prison.
Luke was released from prison in August 2019. In the interim period, Luke had discovered that Mandy had given birth to a son, but Ollie told him that DNA test results proved that Darren was the baby's father. Luke tried to reconcile with Mandy, but she rejected and Darren was furious when he learned that Luke had made a pass at her. Accepting that there was no future for him and Mandy, Luke ended up sleeping with her step-sister Cindy Cunningham. After a very brief fling with Lisa Loveday, Luke decided to pursue a relationship with Cindy. Cindy decided to open a bazaar with her brother Tom, also planning to employ Luke.
In October 2019, Ollie confessed to Luke that he had lied about the DNA results and Luke was the biological father of Mandy's son DJ. After a massive argument with Mandy, Cindy and Ollie over the situation, Luke ended up getting drunk. After Breda McQueen crashed into the crane doing the construction work for the bazaar, Luke ended up attempting to operate it, managing to jump out of it in the knick of time as it began to sink through the floor and tip over.
Luke is diagnosed with FTD.
Tensions continued to rise between Darren and Luke, and Darren ended up punching Luke after Luke joked about changing DJ's surname. Luke ended up being knocked unconscious, so Mandy forced Darren to take him to hospital. Whilst there, Doctor Bunce performed a CT scan on Luke and informed him that he had a shrinkage on the brain. This resulted in Luke being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. As he struggled to come to terms with the diagnosis, he decided to break up with Cindy but told her the truth on Christmas Day. The pair ended up reconciling and Cindy proposed to Luke, who accepted.
Doctor Parker informed Luke that his case of frontotemporal dementia was not brought on by alcoholism, but rather was a hereditary condition. Luke broke the news to Ollie, and informed him that neither he nor DJ could be tested until they turned 18 years old. After his diagnosis, Luke decided to continue living his life as normal: running the burger stall at the bazaar. Ollie began to struggle with Buster's grooming and being forced to put his son Thierry up for adoption, and stayed with Scarlett. Luke brought him back to the village a few months later, but later found him outside of The Hutch high on ketamine. Ollie refused to enter a rehabilitation centre, so Luke and Cindy decided to kick Ollie out of home. The pair later reconciled and Ollie decided to enter rehab in April 2021.
2021-2022: Decline and Death[]
Luke finds Sue dead from heart failure.
Sue returned to the village in May 2021, despite her estrangement from Luke, to break the news that she had a terminal heart condition and not long left to live. She did not approve of Cindy, instead wanting Luke to reconcile with Mandy. Sue nearly caused the pair to separate, but Luke decided to ignore his mother's wishes and reconciled with Cindy. After Mandy convinced Sue to give Cindy a chance for Luke's sake, the trio began to get along. However, Luke ended up finding Sue on the sofa, having died from heart failure.
Luke began to plan Sue's funeral and Cindy attempted to track down Ollie, who had since left the village after meeting a girl named Evie in rehab. Her social media post (in an attempt to tell Ollie about the funeral) ended up catching Zara's attention and she angrily confronted the pair over not telling her directly. After finding Sue's wedding ring in her belongings, Luke proposed to Cindy and gave it to her. Finding visiting orders to a Stephen MacGregor, Luke (having forgotten who Stephen was) attempted to get in contact with him to no avail. He began behaving erratically: picking a fight with a man who attempted to mug him, getting arrested for faking a robbery at The Hutch and ending up hospitalised during a search for Darren after he went missing. After Luke attempted to cook non-edible items at the burger stall, Cindy decided that Luke should no longer be working.
Luke talks with Stephen, failing to recognise him.
Cindy began to struggle to care for Luke, with Zara attempting to provide support. Luke went missing after encountering Stephen, but only remembering him as someone he played football with, and had to be brought back home by D.S. Cohen. Zara received a scam email about a clinical trial in California for frontotemporal dementia and Cindy prematurely began a fundraiser. However, doctor Misbah Maalik confirmed that nobody had heard of the trial, but Luke had already spent the fundraiser money on a family holiday to Mallorca. Cindy was initially accused of fraud, but Zara's friend Lisa Hunter sent her the money to pay back the people who contributed to the fundraiser.
After learning of Darren's registry office wedding to Nancy, Luke arranged a surprise ceremony for them at the bazaar. Afterwards, Luke, Cindy and their family and friends left for Cindy and Luke's stag and hen dos in Mallorca. The hen do went well, but the stag was ruined by Alex Ramsden, a conman who attempted to steal the group's belongings until Luke caught him out. At a gathering at the top of a hill, Luke searched for Cindy's wedding ring that he had dropped, and ended up falling from the cliff. He died in hospital from his injuries with Cindy, Tony, Ollie and Zara at his bedside. Darren and Nancy named their daughter (born the day before) Morgan, after Luke.
Appendices[]
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| 12 Carlton Drive | 25th March 1999 to 9th November 2000 |
| 13a Courtney House | 9th November 2000 to December 2001 |
| Canada | December 2001 to c.2017 |
| 8 Rowing Club Apartments | 2017 to 26th September 2018 |
| Longmere Prison | 26th September 2018 to 30th August 2019 |
| The Love Boat | 30th August 2019 to late 2019 |
| 65 Christleton Terrace | 2019 to 9th June 2022 |
Employment history[]
| Job | Duration |
|---|---|
| Student | Until 2000 |
| Waiter at Deva | 1999 to 2001 |
| The Loft bouncer | 7th May 2001 to 2001 |
| The Hutch co-owner | 2017 to 2021 |
| Personal trainer | 2018 |
| The Hutch waiter | 2018 to 2021 |
| Burger, She Wrote stallholder | 2021 |
Background Information[]
- It was announced in November 2001 that actor Gary Lucy had quit the role of Luke in search of new roles. Luke's departure aired the following month.
- In May 2017, it was revealed that Gary Lucy had signed an eighteen-month contract, subsequently returning to Hollyoaks as Luke.
- In March 2018, it was announced that Gary Lucy would be taking a nine-month break to appear in The Full Monty, and Luke made intermittent appearances between September 2018 and April 2019.
- In March 2019, it was announced that Gary Lucy would return to Hollyoaks full-time, with Luke returning on-screen in August 2019.
- In March 2022, a flashforward scene in episode 5819 showed a funeral card for Luke, dated 7th July 2022.
Introduction Sequence[]
- 2017-2018: Luke is seen smiling, standing on the roof with Mandy below him.
- 2018: Luke walks along the City Wall next to Ollie.
- 2019-2020: Luke photographs Mandy, Ella, Darren, Jack, Oscar, Charlie, Nancy and Kyle at a party inside The Hutch.
- 2020-2022: Luke photographs Mandy, Ella, Darren, Jack, Oscar, Charlie and Nancy at a party inside The Hutch.
- 2022-: Luke cooks burgers at Burger, She Wrote, and gives one to Zara Morgan.
Quotes[]
| “ | Hiya, I know this sounds a bit forward, but I just wondered where you were heading? | ” |
— First line, to Ruth Benson
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