Character Profile | List of appearances |
Zara Charlotte Morgan is the youngest daughter of Andy and Sue Morgan, and the sister of Adam, Luke and Beth Morgan.
Troublesome child Zara arrived in Hollyoaks in 1999, having been expelled from several schools. Her parents failing marriage did little to help these behaviours and Zara continued to misbehave, mostly directing her anger at Sue whom she blamed for their divorce. Zara settled into her environment and ended up moving in with best friend Abby Davies when Sue and Andy decided to move to France in October 2002.
Later studying law at Hollyoaks Community College, Zara later took an interest in environmentalism and animal welfare, meeting Freddy Watson. However, it transpired that Freddy was getting close to her to get revenge on Lee Hunter. A fire started at the college resulted in Zara and Lee being expelled, with the pair deciding to move to Thailand together. Lee and Zara eventually split and Lee had returned to England by 2010.
Zara also returned to England in 2021, learning of her mother's funeral through social media. Initially furious with Luke, the pair quickly reconciled and got to know each other again, having become estranged in the in between years. After Luke's death, Zara remained in the village and opted to move in with Cindy and Grace Black. By June 2023, Zara would become embroiled in a plot to rob a bank. The bank heist failed but Grace took the fall, afterwards, Zara opted to leave the village for a second time, this time going travelling to Borneo.
Biography[]
1999-2000: Causing trouble[]
Zara arrived in Hollyoaks with her family in April 1999; father Andy had purchased Deva in an attempt to repair his marriage to Sue (after she had an affair with her boss), brother Adam had been accepted to study at HCC, and Zara had been enrolled to attend Hollyoaks Comprehensive despite her record of explusions.
Zara's behaviours were driven by her parents' failing marriage. She would often create trouble by defying her parents at home, playing truant and bullying students at school. Zara supported her father as he attempted to reconcile with Sue, but proceeded to make snide remarks and develop a hatred towards Sue when she decided that she wanted to move on. Zara took Sue's new relationship with William very poorly and attempted to ruin their relationship. William put up with Zara's extreme behaviour but Sue discovered that William was married and they split.
After Zara's brother Luke was raped by Mark Gibbs, Zara became the target of bullying by Steph Dean and other students. Zara attempted to defend Luke, even attacking Steph in the school playground. The bullying exacerbated Zara's behaviour and she began acting poorly towards her teachers. Accused by Ms. Riley of stealing money after being caught going through her bag, Zara was informed by the headteacher that she was to be taken off the mural project in art class. A furious Zara then set the mural on fire, which spread to some flammables. In the aftermath, she was sent for a psychological assessment.
In August 2000, Zara developed feelings for Paul Millington, but he rejected her as she was only fourteen. The pair remained friends but Zara pretended that they were in a relationship. Her lie got out of hand, however, when she lied that she had slept with Paul. Accusing Paul of statutory rape, Andy beat Paul to the point where he was hospitalised. Zara revealed the truth and Paul later left the village.
2000-2002: Feud with Steph[]
Zara ended up becoming friends with Steph, and also befriended Abby Davies when she arrived in Hollyoaks. Zara also befriended Lisa Hunter, who Steph took a disliking to due to her popularity. Zara met and fell for Brian Drake, even becoming a goth in an attempt to please him. This worked and the pair began a relationship, until Brian fell for Lisa and broke up with Zara on Christmas Day 2001. An upset Zara turned against Lisa and began bullying her along with Steph. However, Zara discovered that Lisa had been self-harming and ended up reconciling with her.
Zara's sister, Beth was raped by ex-footballer Scott Anderson during Jason Cunliffe's party in November 2001. Supporting Beth, Zara was incensed when Steph started dating Scott. Steph refused to listen to Zara, even mocking Zara about the rape, to which Zara attacked her and their friendship was left in tatters until Steph was allowed back into the friend group after the group worried that she had been murdered by the serial killer in July 2002.
Sue and Andy ended up reconciling and married in October 2002. When Beth was released from prison for running over Scott in her car, Sue and Andy decided to move to France with her and Zara. Zara was infuriated that she was not given a choice like Luke and Adam were, but Abby invited her to stay with her, her brother Ben and their father Will, which Zara accepted.
2003-2005: University and Departure[]
Steph, who had taken charge of the friend group, began pushing Zara, Abby, Lisa and Lee to extremes. Steph started a "rumour club", which proved to be the final straw and rumour club was dissolved. Steph's reaction lead to her being kicked out of the group.
Zara visited her parents in France in 2003, meeting a man named Hugo, who followed her back to Hollyoaks. Zara had only been interested in Hugo as she wanted to lose her virginity, but Hugo was infatuated by her to her embarrassment, only leaving when Zara made clear that she did not want to be with him.
Despite being the boyfriend of Abby, Zara took an interest in Lee Hunter who used Zara to make Abby jealous. However, after Abby left to study in Brighton and was caught being unfaithful by Lee, Zara and Lee began a relatively short-term relationship. Deciding to study law at HCC, Zara fell for an uninterested Sam Owen but ended up catching the eye of English literature student Freddy Watson. Zara began a relationship with environmental activist Freddy, with Zara accompanying him to several protests (including a protest at the re-opening of The Loft when owner Tony Hutchinson planned to hire a tiger). Freddy, however, proved to be a radical activist and set fire to the media lab as part of an animal rights demonstration. Zara and Lee were accused of playing a role in the fire and were expelled by the university. They reconciled as Zara planned to move to Thailand to work for a charity. Lee ended up accompanying her and the pair left together.
2021-2022: Return[]
In July 2021, Luke informed Zara of Sue's death. Zara turned up on Luke's doorstep in August 2021, having only learned of the funeral through social media, to which she was not happy about. Luke and Zara soon reconciled, but Zara was devastated to learn that Luke had frontotemporal dementia. She was also dealt a further shock as she and Cindy made a discovery whilst going through Sue's belongings - visiting orders to Stephen MacGregor! When an apologetic Stephen turned up in the village in January 2022, Zara prepared to strike him with a rock (only being stopped by Ollie) and demanded that he left her family - especially Luke - alone.
Zara ended up befriending Ripley Lennox, the owner of second-hand vintage clothing stall Sweater Thunberg. She then partook in several environmental-related protests with Ripley, even saving the stall from being closed by market owner (and Luke's fiancée) Cindy Cunningham. After the death of councillor Tom Whitworth, Ollie convinced Zara to apply for his place, challenging Tony who was also interested in becoming a councillor. However, matters were complicated when Zara was framed for a fire at Dee Valley Hall, started by Lisa (oblivious to the plan) and her partner Dylan Barker, as well as Luke purchasing a family holiday to Mallorca with fundraiser money.
Kill Count[]
Murders[]
None
Attempted Murders[]
- Stephen MacGregor, 28th January 2022 - Prepares to strike him with a rock for his involvement in her brother's rape, but was stopped by her nephew Oliver Morgan.
Appendices[]
Residences[]
Address | Duration |
---|---|
12 Carlton Drive | April 1999 to 23rd May 2003 |
11 McCaven Court | 23rd May 2003 to 2004 |
Hall of Residence | 11th October 2004 to 22nd December 2005 |
Thailand | 22nd December 2005 to 5th August 2021 |
65 Christleton Terrace | 5th August 2021 to 12th October 2022 |
3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 3 | 12th October 2022 to 30th June 2023 |
Borneo | Since 30th June 2023 |
Employment history[]
Job | Duration |
---|---|
Hollyoaks Comprehensive School student | 1999 to 2004 |
Hollyoaks Community College student | 2004 to 2005 |
Environmental non-government organization employee | Since 2005 |
Background Information[]
- In July 2005, it was announced that certain established characters would be written out, and that Kelly Condron had not renewed her contract. Condron finished filming in November 2005, and her final scenes aired in December.
- In July 2021, it was announced that Kelly Condron would be reprising her role as Zara, and her return scenes aired in August 2021.
Introduction Sequence[]
- 2022-2023: Zara takes a burger from Luke Morgan at Burger, She Wrote.
- 2023: Zara walks through the doors of The Cunningham Grande Bazaar with Grace Black.
Quotes[]
“ | Hey bro. Um, this is goodbye. I'm finally doing it, I'm going after my dream. I should have done it ages ago, but it would have felt like leaving you behind, and if you were here right now you would tell me to stop being such a silly cow and get on the damn plane. You wouldn't want me putting my life on hold, and I know that wherever I am in the world, you will always be there with me. So, see you later our kid. | ” |
— Final line.
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