Silas Blissett

In the early 1990s, Silas discovered that Joan had been having an affair with the neighbour. He murdered her in a fit of rage, staged the scene to look like a burglary and faked a heart attack. Silas then began a reign of serial killing, murdering anyone he deemed to be a "slut". Arriving in the village in Christmas 2010, Silas catfished India Longford on a dating website and strangled her to death.

Silas met his challenger after failing to kill Lynsey Nolan, as his murder attempt was thwarted by his oblivious grandson Riley Costello. As Lynsey attempted to expose Silas, who kept up his "innocent old man" façade, Silas proceeded to make Lynsey appear unhinged and managed to turn the villagers against her. On Halloween 2011, Lynsey narrowly managed to escape from Silas's clutches, but Silas ended up murdering Heidi in a case of mistaken identity. Lynsey then exposed Silas to his family and he was arrested.

After Lynsey was murdered in June 2012, Silas - who was now being housed in a psychiatric facility - was accused of having a role in her death. He managed to escape from the facility a few weeks later and went on the run. In January 2016, he returned with an interest in active serial killer The Gloved Hand Killer, eventually working out that the killer was Lindsey Roscoe. Despite planning to work alongside her, Silas discovered that she had turned her husband Joe Roscoe against his brother Freddie by having an affair, and strangled her.

In 2020, Silas enlisted the help of his grandson Seth Costello to terrorise the McQueen family, as Mercedes McQueen - the ex-fiancée of Riley, and mother to his son Bobby - had survived his attempts to kill her. After Seth's plan was foiled, he fled the village. However, Silas began secretly contacting Bobby and convinced Wendy to help him carry out his plan to get Bobby from the McQueens. A few months after Wendy's death in a car accident, Silas returned to the village to carry out his plan himself, only to fail when Bobby turned on him and pushed him onto his electrified chess board, killing Silas.

Biography[]

1948-2010: Early Life and Murder of Joan[]

Silas was born on 17th March 1948. His mother was Nancy Blissett. Silas went on to meet a woman named Joan, marrying her and having two daughters with her: Heidi in 1974 and Wendy at some point later on.

A few years after the birth of his grandson Riley Costello, Silas discovered that Joan had been having an affair with their neighbour. During the confrontation, Silas pushed Joan down a flight of stairs and strangled her to death. He proceeded to stage the house to appear as if they had been burgled, and pretended to have a heart attack, which was treated as a false alarm by the local hospital.

Joan's affair led Silas to develop a bitter resentment towards women he felt were promiscuous and he soon started his mission to "cleanse" the world from sin by murdering "impure" women.

2010-2011: Arrival[]

Prior to his arrival in Hollyoaks in December 2010, Silas began catfishing India Longford on a dating website. Posing as a man named Cameron, Silas changed the location of the date from The Dog in the Pond to a fancy restaurant. As India walked through the woods, Silas pretended to be having car trouble and asked India for help. He then proceeded to strangle her to death and hid her body in the woods.

Silas arrived at The Dog in the Pond (owned by Heidi's husband Carl Costello) on Christmas Day to the delight of Heidi and her children Riley, Seth and Jason Costello. After India's body was discovered a few days later, Silas began taking an interest in her friends and family. India's friend, journalist Nancy Hayton, decided to begin her own investigations into India's murder, so Silas attempted to strangle her with a rope. However, her boyfriend Darren Osborne arrived, and Silas aborted his plan. He then decided to befriend Nancy to avoid being suspected by her.

SilasRegret2011 — Silas learns the truth about India.

After India's funeral, Silas found India's sister Texas barely conscious, having taken a drug overdose. Planning on killing her, Silas was left stunned when she revealed that India had no interest in online dating, and Texas had pressured her into going onto the date with "Cameron". Realising that he shouldn't have killed India, Silas decided to save Texas's life by rushing her to hospital.

2011: Reign of Terror[]

After tuning into Jamil Fadel and Lee Hunter's student-oriented radio show, Silas was left riled by Lynsey Nolan's segment on sexual health advice. He cut off the power to her house and broke in, preparing to strangle her. However, Riley was alerted by Lynsey's screams and broke down the door, with Silas making a quick getaway. Lynsey quickly figured out that Silas was her attacker and publicly confronted him. The other villagers did not believe Lynsey's claims, and Silas made plans to go to France. However, after being confronted by Lynsey and Riley over having India's ring in his possession, Silas suffered a heart attack. In hospital, Lynsey withheld treatment until he confessed, but soon realised that he was not faking his heart attack and administered medication. After being discharged, Silas left for France.

Episode 3067 — Silas prepares to kill Rebecca.

Silas returned a few weeks later, to Lynsey's horror. Exacting his revenge against her, Silas switched Cheryl Brady's diet pills (which Lynsey had given her) for sedatives, causing her to collapse. He used the situation to turn Cheryl against her best friend. In amidst of his feud with Lynsey, Silas resumed his catfishing of women on dating websites, meeting Rebecca Massey - a young woman who planned to scam an old man to get the money to flee from gangster Brendan Brady with her boyfriend Doug Carter. Silas met with Rebecca in the woods under the name "David Cox" and caught her spiking his wine. He switched the drinks and strangled a drugged Rebecca with a rope, taking her ring and burying her body in the woods.

Learning of Riley's fiancée Mercedes Fisher's promiscuous nature, Silas also began targeting her. The police reconstruction into India's murder began causing problems for Silas, and he began seeing India's ghost. Lynsey began to fear for Texas's safety as Texas was playing India in the reconstruction, and planted India's necklace on Silas in an attempt to get him arrested. In retaliation, Silas began making Lynsey appear unstable and continued to isolate her from her friends, but failed to get between her and Brendan as Brendan began believing her theories. Brendan became threatening towards Silas and warned him to stay away from Lynsey.

Episode 3170 — Lynsey beats Silas unconscious with a rock.

After nearly being injured by Will Savage, Silas befriended him after finding a common interest in chess. Silas attempted to help Will in his conquest to win over Theresa McQueen, but she also ended up as a target. Setting up a fake online dating profile, Silas attempted to meet with her to kill her, but Theresa ended up choosing to match with Will. His attempts to kill her at her house, then at a rave she was attending both failed. However, after Rae Wilson told Silas about her dating life, Silas murdered her and - knowing that she had crossed Brendan - hid her body in the boot of Brendan's car. He then tricked Brendan into going to Halcon Woods, where the police found him after being anonymously called by Silas. Brendan was sent to prison, but Lynsey's theory of Silas killing India and planning to kill Texas was confirmed, and she beat him unconscious with a rock. However, upon returning to the woods, Silas had disappeared and the police tracked him down to France where he denied that Lynsey attacked him.

2011-2012: Downfall and Escape[]

Silas returned from France in October 2011 for Riley's wedding to Mercedes, who was pregnant. At the altar, Mercedes confessed to having an affair with Carl and was therefore unaware of the baby's true paternity. Silas ended up kidnapping Mercedes and held her hostage in a hidden cellar under The Dog in the Pond, waiting for her to give birth before he would be able to kill her. At the same time, Silas continued to scare Lynsey: telling her that he was going to kill a woman at Halloween, but would spare them if Lynsey correctly identified who it was.

Episode 3203 — Silas is arrested by the police.

On Halloween, Silas revealed that he had lied to Lynsey and wanted her to decide his next target. He suggested that he killed Lynsey and then confessed to the murders, but Lynsey - not trusting him to keep his word - smashed a vase over his head and made her escape. As Lynsey searched for help, Silas arrived at The Loft and murdered whom he thought to be Lynsey... but was actually Heidi! Lynsey visited Riley to tell him the truth and Riley dragged her to Silas's bedroom. Upon Silas's return, Lynsey smashed Joan's urn and found jewellery of Silas's victims, whilst Riley noticed that Silas had Mercedes's ring. Riley attacked him and he confessed to Heidi's murder to the Costellos, and the police soon arrived to arrest him. Meeting with him in prison, Lynsey taunted him over Heidi's death and Silas told her that Mercedes was "in the gutter", leading to her being found shortly before giving birth to Bobby Costello.

Silas was deemed insane and did not end up being tried for the murders: instead being incarcerated in a psychiatric facility. In July 2012, Texas visited him after Lynsey was strangled to death in a suspected copycat killing. Silas revealed that he had continued to meet with Will whilst incarcerated, and told Texas that Will killed Lynsey. At a routine appointment in hospital, Silas faked a heart attack and was raced into a private room, where he beat Doctor Browning unconscious and fled to the mortuary to see Lynsey's body. He then held Texas captive in her flat, warning her that he would come back to kill her in the future, before fleeing on a bus carrying hen do attendees.

2016-2021: Returns[]

20th January 2016 — Silas visits Trevor in prison.

Taking an interest in The Gloved Hand Killer, Silas began sending letters to Trevor Royle, who had been framed for the murders. He visited Trevor in prison in January 2016 under the identity of "Mr. E. Mann", but believed Trevor's claims of innocence. Attempting to identify the killer himself, Silas began making sporadic visits to Dee Valley University Hospital. On his second visit, disguised as an HR-employee, Silas subtly revealed to Lindsey Roscoe that he knew that she was the real Gloved Hand Killer.

After she was publicly exposed, Silas helped her go into hiding and revealed his true identity to her. He then helped her carry out her plan to get her son JJ back from Mercedes and Joe Roscoe, planning to kill Mercedes in the process. Meeting with Mercedes again, Silas prepared to strangle her until Mercedes revealed that Lindsey had relationships with Joe and his brother Freddie, turning the brothers against each other in the process. Silas gave Lindsey's newborn daughter to Mercedes to take upstairs, and strangled Lindsey to death. He then fled the village once again.

SilasMercedes2020 — Silas prepares to strike Mercedes once again.

In October 2020, the McQueen family received a doll, which recorded and threatened to expose their secrets if they did not pay up. The blackmailer was revealed as Theresa, working with Seth (her then-boyfriend). However, Theresa was left horrified to learn that Seth was working with Silas, who wanted him to terrorise the family. Sneaking into The Dog in the Pond cellar, Silas planned to strangle Mercedes again, but refrained after hearing her tell Myra McQueen that she was pregnant. He then began targeting Cher McQueen, but changed his mind after she opened up to him. Upon hearing Silas's voice through a telephone call, Mercedes fell down the steps to the City Wall and suffered a miscarriage.

After kidnapping Bobby, Silas issued Mercedes an ultimatum: she could live but he would take Bobby with him, or the McQueens could have Bobby but he got to kill her. Mercedes chose the latter option and Silas prepared to kill her, but Theresa arrived and beat him unconscious, with the pair leaving him for dead in The Folly. However, Bobby returned and revived Silas, with Silas leaving the village but keeping in contact with Bobby through a chess app.

2022: Targeting Bobby and Death[]

Through the chat feature on the chess app, Silas managed to slowly turn Bobby against his family. Mercedes found the chess app and Bobby told her that "G" was Silas's other daughter Gwendoline, so Mercedes invited Wendy to the village to help with Bobby's behaviour. However, unbeknownst to Mercedes, Wendy kept in contact with Silas and helped him carry out his plan to take Bobby from the McQueens. After Sally St. Claire overheard their phone conversation and discovered that Wendy was working with Silas, Sally suffered a heart attack and Silas demanded that Wendy killed her in the same way The Gloved Hand Killer killed her victims. However, Sally flatlined before receiving the injection, and later managed to tell Mercedes about Wendy and Silas working together. Mercedes then kidnapped Wendy before she could meet with Silas in the United States.

After Wendy's death in a car accident in June 2022, Silas continued scaring Mercedes and the McQueens. He then arrived in the village in September, using his friend Mick to trick Mercedes into thinking he had been arrested (which did not work). After Mick was released on bail, Silas killed him with a poisoned glass of red wine. Unable to get close to the McQueens himself due to a police presence in the village, Silas kidnapped Mercedes and Olivia Bradshaw, threatening to kill Mercedes if Olivia did not bring Bobby to him. Olivia failed to do so but returned to the warehouse to rescue Mercedes, only for Silas to catch her and knock her unconscious.

With Olivia and Mercedes now both held hostage, Silas began playing games with the McQueens. He trapped Theresa and Goldie McQueen in the escape room, forcing them to choose who would die before detonating a bomb hidden underneath. He also continued to cause destruction by detonating the Jubilee Gardens fountain, which caused a fire and explosion at The Cunningham Grande Bazaar. He then killed Lexi Calder in his attempts to kidnap Bobby from The Cage, and brought him and the McQueens to The Folly for a life-size game of chess. However, as the McQueens went free, Bobby pushed Silas onto the electrified chess board as it suffered a power surge, fatally electrocuting him. Mercedes took the blame, claiming self-defence to D.S. Cohen, and left the village with Bobby. Bobby was eventually caught and convicted of Silas' murder, receiving twelve years in prison.

Kill Count[]

Murders[]

Joan Blissett, 1990s - Thrown down a flight of stairs and strangled with his bare hands.
Alex O'Connell, prior to 23rd December 2010 - Murdered by Silas (Silas's scrapbook of murder victims revealed the names of three women that he killed before India).
Emily Smith, prior to 23rd December 2010 - Murdered by Silas (See above note).
Hannah Edwards, prior to 23rd December 2010 - Murdered by Silas (See above note).
India Longford, 23rd December 2010 - Strangled with his bare hands.
Rebecca Massey, 26th April 2011 - Strangled with rope after unintentionally being drugged by herself.
Rae Wilson, 9th September 2011 - Hit twice on the head with a brick before being strangled with rope.
Heidi Costello, 31st October 2011 - Hit over the head with a brick and strangled, believing her to be Lynsey Nolan.
Lindsey Roscoe, 18th May 2016 - Strangled.
Jane Marston, between 2016 to 2022 - Murdered by Silas. (Silas's scrapbook of murder victims revealed the names of six women that he killed after Lindsey).
Becky Horner, between 2016 to 2022 - Murdered by Silas. (See above note).
Kat Sewell, between 2016 to 2022 - Murdered by Silas (See above note).
Sophie Proctor, between 2016 to 2022 - Murdered by Silas (See above note).
Kath O'Reilly, between 2016 to 2022 - Murdered by Silas. (See above note).
Abi Robinson, between 2016 to 2022 - Murdered by Silas. (See above note).
Mick, 6th September 2022 - Drank a glass of red wine poisoned by Silas.
Lexi Calder, 29th September 2022 - Bludgeoned with rocket shaped flashlight.

It has been implied that Silas has killed more than mentioned. In a newspaper article seen in Episode 3351 (28th May 2012), it was reported that Silas had been linked to four disappearances - two in France. A news broadcast in Episode 3353 (30th May 2012) states that the police think that Silas may have killed up to 100 women. In Episode 5950 (30th September 2022), it was revealed Silas had a scrapbook with the names of all his other murder victims in and photos of his victim’s jewellery.

Attempted Murders[]

Nancy Osborne, 30th December 2010 - Attempted to strangle her with a rope but was interrupted by Darren Osborne.
Texas Longford, 3rd February 2011 - Prepared to strangle her after finding her collapsed from a drug overdose, but changed his mind after telling him about the circumstances behind India's death.
Lynsey Nolan, 11th March 2011 - Attempted to strangle Lynsey but was interrupted by Riley Costello.
Cheryl Brady, 13th April 2011 - Swapped Cheryl's weight loss pills for a sleeping drug, causing her to overdose.
Mercedes McQueen, 29th April 2011 - Attempted to hit Mercedes with a candlestick, but she turned around.
Texas Longford, 10th August 2011 - Lured Texas into the woods. Whilst retracing India's final steps, Silas prepared to kill her but he was interrupted by Lynsey and Nancy.
Theresa McQueen, 8th September 2011 - Snuck up behind Theresa and attempted to strangle her with rope but refrained when he realised her daughter was present.
Mercedes McQueen, 20th October 2011-2nd November 2011 - Held Mercedes hostage in the "dungeon" below The Dog in the Pond, planning to kill her after she gave birth.
Lynsey Nolan, 31st October 2011 - Attempted to strangle Lynsey but was knocked out with a flower vase. Heidi Costello was strangled by Silas, who believed that she was Lynsey.
Lynsey Nolan, 3rd November 2011 - Lunged at Lynsey to try and strangle her in a fit of rage after she mocked him for killing his daughter but was stopped by a police officer.
Texas Longford, 18th July 2012 - Kidnapped Texas and held her hostage after he escaped from a psychiatric hospital and planned to kill her.
Mercedes McQueen, 18th May 2016 - Planned to kill Mercedes but instead targeted Lindsey after learning of her adulterous past.
Mercedes McQueen, 22nd October 2020 - Snuck up behind Mercedes and attempted to strangle her but refrained when he found out that she was pregnant.
Mercedes McQueen, 7th January 2021 - Prepared to strangle Mercedes, but was knocked out by Theresa McQueen.
Sally St. Claire, 17th June 2022 (by proxy) - Ordered his daughter Wendy to kill Sally with a dosage of potassium chloride. Sally had discovered that Wendy was working with Silas.
Theresa McQueen, 29th September 2022 - Detonated a bomb under the escape room to kill Theresa and Goldie, but both escaped.
Goldie McQueen, 29th September 2022 - Detonated a bomb under the escape room to kill Theresa and Goldie, but both escaped.

Appendices[]

Residences[]

Address	Duration
France	Until 2010
1 Stockton Lane	23rd December 2010 to 2nd November 2011
Prison	2nd November 2011 to 18th July 2012
Unknown	18th July 2012 to 29th September 2022

Employment History[]

Job	Duration
Journalist	Until ???
The Dog in the Pond barman	2011

Other Information[]

Silas has the highest confirmed kill count of all serial killers in Hollyoaks.

Background Information[]

Silas's occupation as a journalist is a reference to the show Drop the Dead Donkey, where actor Jeff Rawle played the role of George Dent, the editor of Globelink News, a fictional TV news company.
Silas's alias in January 2016, "Mr. E. Mann", is a reference to Silas being credited as "Mystery Man" in his first episode in December 2010.
Silas was axed in August 2011, with actor Jeff Rawle confirming that the story was due to conclude. Rawle was later seen on set in June 2012, and Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy later revealed that Silas was set to make a shock return. In January 2016, it was announced that Silas would make another brief return.

Introduction Sequence[]

2011 (Hollyoaks Later): Silas throws a chess piece at the screen, with a black and white chess board behind him.

Quotes[]

“	Ooh, you've given me a fright then!	”
	— First line, to India Longford.

“	You're a slut. And guess what, your children will be better off without you.	”
	— to Lindsey Roscoe, before he murders her.

“	I'm not sure that's going to be possible, but always remember you are a Blissett like me. I'm about to send you something. Who knows, one day it may be of use.	”
	— To Bobby Costello.

“	I always win.	”
	— Final line to Bobby Costello and Mercedes McQueen before Bobby kills him.