Brooke Hathaway

The character and Grant's casting details were announced on 23 April 2018. Brooke was billed as "a strong, independent character who has a solid handle on what it means to be a teenage girl with autism".[3] It was confirmed that Brooke has "high-functioning autism", and executive producer Bryan Kirkwood said that Brooke understands how her condition can affect her life, stating: "The best way to describe Brooke's autism is to say that she experiences the world a hundred times more intensely than other people."[3] He explained that while having ice cream with someone can become "cherished experiences for Brooke that she will never stop talking about", a nasty remark from a schoolteacher could "cut Brooke to the core".[3] Kirkwood added: "Every light shines brighter, every smell is stronger – and every word she takes to heart that little bit more."[4] While appearing on Loose Women, Grant told the panel that they are different to Brooke in real life, as they have different forms of autism. They added how "exciting" it was to represent autism.[5] Hollyoaks placed an open casting call for somebody to portray the character and worked with charity The National Autistic Society and theatre company Access All Areas during the creation and casting processes, as well as working with Grant when developing the character.[3] Grant stated that they enjoy appearing in Hollyoaks and are proud to represent autistic women in television, something which they felt was not portrayed enough, and noted that autistic women of colour are particularly unrepresented in media.[3] Kirkwood was pleased with Grant's casting as Brooke, labelling them as a "brilliant new talent", and describing their auditions as "joyful".[3]

The daughter of Fran, the murderer of Becca Dean (Ali Bastian), Brooke first appears when spying on Becca'a sister, Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox), who Fran has been in contact with. Brooke then signs up for Nancy's tutoring classes and during a session, she reveals to Nancy that she is Fran's daughter and that Fran is dying. Brooke and Nancy then visit Fran in hospital and Fran begs for Nancy's forgiveness. Fran later dies, leaving Brooke alone. Not wanting her to be sent into the foster care system, Nancy convinces Jack (Jimmy McKenna) and Darren (Ashley Taylor Dawson) that they should foster her instead. Although initially wary of her at first though, Darren eventually agrees and they convince the social worker to let Brooke stay with them. Brooke develops a connection with Oliver Morgan, and the two go on a coffee date together and she later goes to watch him play football as well. However, after seeing Oliver in the changing rooms at the football academy with his football coach Buster Smith (Nathan Sussex), she sees Buster putting his hand on Oliver's knee. The next day in the morning, she outs him as gay to his stepmother Mandy Morgan (Sarah Jayne Dunn). Unknown to Brooke, Oliver is actually being groomed by Buster and in retaliation, Oliver shouts at her by calling her an idiot when he told her that he was just suffering from cramp and that Buster was just helping him, causing her to have a breakdown after Oliver left. Brooke also forms a connection with Imran Maalik (Ijaz Rana), but ends their relationship after finding out that he was abusing his mother, Misbah Maalik (Harvey Virdi), and his sister, Yasmine Maalik (Haiesha Mistry). Afterwards, Brooke begins dating Oliver.

Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw) joins Hollyoaks High, and begins bullying Brooke. Juliet takes every opportunity to belittle and embarrass Brooke, including making her miss an important exam, causing her to collapse from sensory overload caused by Brooke's autism and trying to sabotage her relationship with Oliver. Brooke becomes pregnant but doesn't feel ready to become a mother, despite Ollie being ready. Brooke arranges to have the baby adopted, and later gives birth to a son, Thierry. Thierry is adopted by Mal (David Grant) and Zoe (Carrie Grant). When Brooke and Oliver are about to attend a party, she worries due to having forgotten her noise cancelling earbuds, and states that she wants to go home. Oliver lashes out at her, claiming that their relationship revolves around what she wants, and that she never does anything in favour of him. In response, she ends their relationship. Oliver then leaves the village without saying anything to Brooke. Upon his return, Oliver (now played by Gabriel Clark) apologies, and the two reconcile their relationship. However, after she learns that Oliver is addicted to drugs and has had sex with Juliet while on a drug high, she ends their relationship again. In a bid to distract herself from Oliver, she forms a band with Imran and Sid Sumner (Billy Price).

Kirkwood stated that Brooke would be introduced with a secret.[3] Further details about Brooke's introduction were released on 1 July 2018, and it was revealed that Brooke is the daughter of Fran Hathaway, who murdered Becca Dean (Ali Bastian) in 2007.[1] Digital Spy stated that for Nancy, Brooke would serve as a "permanent reminder" of Fran murdering her sister, and hinted that there would be "tough times" ahead. They also hinted that while Nancy taking in Brooke could be "a step too far", it could simultaneously "add some light to one of the darkest times of her life".[4] Speaking about their own autism, Grant stated that they "know that [they are] not like everyone else", and that like them, "Brooke has faced those difficulties and challenges of feeling different". Grant continued: " I think that she has really embraced it and I know that I have embraced my difference, like, over the years and so I know that I can use that to do amazing things, like I'm doing now bringing awareness."[6] Grant stated that when they joined the cast of Hollyoaks, the production team had autism training, so that when there is a loud noise, they can go into another room. They stated that while it is "so simple", it is "so helpful". The actor also applauded the programme for embracing Brooke as a character, commenting: "I think it's really good that Hollyoaks has been able to represent an autistic person, because it is bringing so much awareness and I've had people reach out to me. I would have loved to have someone growing up that had autism that was open about it that was an actor that I could resonate with." They added that it was important for an autistic actor like themselves to portray Brooke, due to the "immediate understanding" that someone with autism would have.[6]

In January 2020, Grant's real life parents appeared in Hollyoaks as the adoptive parents of Brooke's son, Thierry. Grant's father David described the experience as a "role reversal", noting Grant's experience on a set is much larger than his. Grant's mother Carrie echoed his comments, adding that it was a special experience, and that having Tylan alongside them "made it like it was more home-life than work!"[7] The parents also described how it was difficult to differentiate between Grant in real life and Brooke as a character. David stated that he "had to get myself into a headspace" where he was not watching his real child, but was watching Brooke, "an unknown person", with Carrie confessing that she did not do a great job of differentiating the pair.[7]

In an interview on the Hollyoaks YouTube channel at the end of 2020, Grant talked about Brooke's attitude to life. They explained that Brooke is finding herself while also trying to "battle the external world". They explained that Brooke's goal is "getting by", and trying to "find a light at the end of the tunnel" and trying to find the positives in life. Grant added that unlike at the end of 2019, Brooke is "looking inside herself more", and trying to understand herself, rather than attempting to understand the world. Grant opined that "life is throwing its problems at Brooke", referring to Brooke's pregnancy and breakup with Oliver. They stated that it had taken a toll on Brooke's emotions, but that ultimately, the decision to leave Oliver was right, due to the situation being "destructive". Grant noted that although the decision was right for Brooke, they were upset due to liking working with Gabriel Clark. When asked what advice they would give Brooke, Grant replied that they would tell Brooke that "this is just a chapter of your life, and it can feel like more, but the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain. So just keep going."[8]

In a piece on the character, Jay Tee Rattray, an autistic person who advocates for disabled representation in media, praised Brooke. She stated that she was "delighted" to learn of the introduction of an autistic character, and especially praised the usage of an autistic actor such as Grant to portray Brooke. Rattray praised Brooke's first scenes on Hollyoaks, noting the scenes where sounds that Brooke could hear were amplified for viewers to understand Brooke's point of view. She went on to say that when watching Brooke, there was "something different" about the way her characterisation was shown. She explained that "there was no weird voice, no blank expression, it was completely natural", and that unlike other television series, there were "obvious signs she's autistic, but it wasn’t turned up to eleven". Rattray also complimented Grant's portrayal of the character, stating that they "real heart to everything Brooke does", and commended Grant's "incredibly expressive face which makes [Brooke] incredibly watchable", noting that other forms of media tend to portray autistic characters as emotionless. Rattray also applauded the way Hollyoaks handle Brooke's direct nature, writing that it "would be really easy to make this a source of comedy" or a source of drama, but they do not. Rattray admired that they put Brooke within the Osborne family, due to Nancy having multiple sclerosis and Oscar Osborne (Noah Holdworth) being deaf, but also noted that the family is never centred on their disability, but it is made part of their regular life. Rattray's only criticism was that in her first few months on the series, she had only been to seen develop romantic relationships rather than friendships.[9]

For their portrayal of Brooke, Grant was nominated for Best Soap Newcomer at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; they came in eighth place with 3.9% of the total votes.[10] In 2019, they received a nomination for Best Newcomer at The British Soap Awards,[11][12] as well as a nomination for Best Young Actor at the Inside Soap Awards.[13] Grant was also shortlisted for Celebrity of the Year at the National Diversity Awards, who stated that they "made history" for being the first BAME actor to portray an autistic character in a mainstream drama series.[2]

• List of Hollyoaks characters (2018)
• List of autistic fictional characters
• Autism spectrum disorders in the media