Kurt Benson

Infobox soap character
series =Hollyoaks
name = Kurt Benson
status = Deceased


spouse =
first = 23 October 1995
last = 1999
parents = Kirk Benson (father)
Julie Benson (mother)
siblings = Ollie Benson (brother)
Lucy Benson (sister)
spouse = Ruth Osborne (1997-1999)
portrayer = Jeremy Edwards
creator = Phil Redmond

Kurt Benson was a fictional character on the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera "Hollyoaks". He was played by actor Jeremy Edwards from episode in 1995 until 1999.

The oldest of the Benson children, Kurt was the soap's original bad boy, with his good looks, cheeky charm and trouble with the police.

Character history

Kurt was friends with Tony Hutchinson and Jambo Bolton and had his heart set on winning Natasha Anderson as his girlfriend. Tragedy struck before the two could really get together, and her death started a deadly feud with Rob Hawthorne.

He moved on to Ruth Osborne (Natasha's cousin), and after a rocky start to their relationship, they ended up getting married. As a result, Kurt and Ruth became icons for all teenagers in love, demonstrating that love can conquer all. Their decision to marry was provoked by the trouble Kurt had got himself into after injuring Spike. Kurt had caught Spike making a play for Ruth and, in his attempt to protect her, he pushed Spike, causing him to fall from the scaffolding. As a result, Kurt was accused of attempted murder and was certain that he would be found guilty. He took off to Hull, sensing that Ruth doubted his innocence.

Ruth went in pursuit of him, however, and they decided to make the ultimate commitment to each other and got married, incurring the wrath of their parents when they returned home. When Kurt was found not guilty, the couple began to enjoy life as newly weds, although they knew that things would never be easy.

Meanwhile Kurt handed Rob over to the mercy of his drug dealers, who threw him from the roof of a car park. Rob never forgave Kurt, and began a long and drawn out plan to exact revenge. Rob’s plan culminated in getting Lucy hooked on heroin and, when she fell into a drug-induced coma, Kurt took matters into his own hands and followed Rob to France. After a dramatic chase and confrontation, he left Rob floating in the middle of the Atlantic, announcing that fate would decide his destiny.

As Lucy slowly recovered from her ordeal, Kurt and Ruth’s marriage hit a rocky patch and they both began to wonder whether they had made a mistake marrying so young. Ruth was determined to make it work, but Kurt soon found himself tempted by the alluring Kate Patrick and started an affair. Ruth found out about Kurt’s infidelity and threw him out, but he managed to persuade her that he had made a terrible mistake and she eventually took him back. Kurt’s decision to leave was prompted by a violent outburst when he caught Kate trying to drown Ruth in the swimming pool. He tried to teach Kate a lesson by holding her head under water, and almost drowned her in the process. Ruth was shocked by his violent reaction, this was a Kurt she barely recognised.

After much soul- searching, Ruth and Kurt decided to call it a day. "I am going to let everyone get on with their lives. I am going to go away to grow up, so we can both work out what we really want…" Kurt said, and he left, promising Ruth that he would always be her friend. Tragically, just six months after saying goodbye, he was killed in a jet ski accident. Lucy later found out the accident had been caused by Rob but it turned out to have been a random hit and run and Rob had told people he killed him to look hard.

ee also

List of past characters from Hollyoaks