Sam "O.B." O'Brien

Infobox soap character
series =Hollyoaks


name=Sam "O.B." O'Brien
portrayer=Darren Jeffries
first=1997
last=11 July 2008
residence = London
occupation=Entrepreneur

Samuel "Sam" "O.B." O'Brien was a fictional character in the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera "Hollyoaks".

He was played by actor Darren Jeffries, in a role held since 1997.

Description

OB's best friend was Max Cunningham and, like Max, he grew from being cheeky and carefree to a more mature individual. However, OB was still prone to practical jokes and delighted in using childish humour to entertain Max's half-brother Tom Cunningham, whom he helped raise for several years. Underneath the jokes, OB suffered painful losses, from most of the Cunningham family, to friends Jamie Nash and Theo Sankofa, to his girlfriends Roxy and later Mel Burton. No matter what, his friendship with Max survived, even with jealousies, insecurities, and the schemes of other people. OB lived much of his life for Max and Tom until he finally found happiness with Summer Shaw. He suffered his greatest loss with the death of Max, and with that, his last strong tie to Hollyoaks was severed.

Character history

Friends and fun

When OB first appeared in Hollyoaks he and Max were briefly school rivals, but soon became best friends, and OB a surrogate member of the Cunningham family. OB and Max were constantly in scrapes both at school and with the resident of Hollyoaks, looking for a laugh, a girl, or a way to make money. Jambo Bolton became an enemy of OB and Max when they stole Jambo's car Beryl and offered her for a ransom. OB lost his virginity with Chloe Bruce and when Max failed his A levels, the pair decided to go to France, however they only managed to get as far as Blackpool! The boys were always on a scam to make money, including the time when O.B. and Max recorded a single "Get down with that thing" with Max's dad Mr C recording the vocals. It failed to shift copies, and OB decided to do his A levels at College. O.B. then settled into college life and became best friends with Jamie Nash.

Alcoholism and tragedy

O.B. became an alcoholic, as he had to have regular drink at The Dog, making O.B. behind on his college work. Horror arrived for O.B. when he, Max, Ben Davies, Theo Sankofa, Kristian Hargreaves, and Jamie Nash decided to go on a potholing trip. The trip ended in a disaster with an accident which ended up killing Theo and O.B.’s best friend Jamie. O.B. was left devastated and felt responsible for Theo’s death, after failing to hold on to him in the van. O.B. than started to appreciate what he had in life, and started a fitness diet without drinking any alcohol.

O.B. than fell for a girl in a chat room called Roxy. When Roxy asked for his picture, O.B. decided once she saw him, she would dislike him, so he gave he Kristian’s picture instead. However, Kristian began to date her himself; Roxy discovered the truth and dumped Kristian (but didn't date O.B.). O.B. then showed his support to Theo’s younger brother Norman, after O.B. discovered he was homeless, and OB helped him to get though his troubles.

Growing up

OB later discovered that Tony Hutchinson was having an affair with Max's stepmother Helen. Tony tried to persuade O.B. not to tell anyone from the Cunningham family, but OB told Max, and Tony promised Max that he had finished with Helen. Max then agreed to keep their affair a secret as long as it ended; this did not happen. Eventually Helen and Gordon got back together, only to die in a car crash. After Max's parents died O.B. gave Max support and moved in with him. He even helped Max look after Max's half brother Tom when his step-sister Mandy Richardson (who was in Helen and Gordon's will to look after Tom), gave him over to Max. O.B. became a second brother to Tom and for years the three of them lived together.

Meeting Mel Burton

When the Burton twins arrived in Hollyoaks, Max and O.B. both fancied them but couldn't tell them apart. O.B. persuaded Sophie to go on a date with him while Max went on a date with Mel, but Max and Sophie were attracted to each other. O.B. ended up getting together with Mel when they consoled each other over being dumped by Max and Sophie respectively. However the relationship didn't last because of Mel's drinking, although they remained good friends.

Clare drives Max and O.B. apart

Eventually O.B. and Max became the owners of 'The Loft', the village's local night club, after Tony became Max's step-brother-in-law when he married Mandy. The pair worked hard to show that they were responsible enough to look after the club and Tony gave it to them as a Christmas present. Max and OB's first decision for the club was to hire entertainer Clare Devine. Both OB and Max fell for Clare but she eventually chose Max. O.B. persuaded Max to let Mel work behind the bar as she was trying to overcome her alcoholism. Both O.B. and Mel realised there was something strange about Clare, leading to OB having a fight with Max over his new girlfriend. O.B. moved out of the flat he shared with Max when Clare turned Max against Mel and O.B. sided with Mel. O.B. was gutted when Mel ended their friendship as giving up alcohol meant no drinking buddies. On Max's and Clare's wedding day, Clare framed O.B. for drug possession to keep him away. He got out in time to storm the wedding and tell Max that Clare had a plane ticket out of town. Clare lied that she had meant to order two, as a honeymoon surprise. Max punched O.B. and cut him off from having any contact with Tom.

Mel dies

Mel then got evidence of Clare cheating on Max with Warren from CCTV footage in Evissa. However, after O.B. and the twins had threatened Clare with revealing it, and as they were about to leave 'The Dog' to speak to Max, the pub was destroyed by Sam Owen, killing Mel, Sophie and three others (including Sam); the explosion also left OB hospitalised. During the fire OB discovered Mel's charred and mangled body and when he tried to help Sophie through the flames O.B. was knocked out with a brick by Sam. Whilst O.B. was in hospital Clare threatened to kill O.B. by smothering him with a pillow, and she took the DVD from his belongings, replacing it. When O.B. got out of hospital and insisted on showing Max the evidence, the evidence was one of Tom's kid shows. Max continued to shut O.B. out of his life, and O.B. was too hurt over Max's refusal to believe him and over the loss of Mel to keep trying.

O.B. then went on a date with Carmel McQueen but got the wrong idea about what she wanted. He assumed they were going to have sex, and he touched her breasts. She was offended at the idea of being easy. The next day he apologized and told her how beautiful she was. On their second date, after she insisted they went to the Dog In the Pond, the place where Mel died, O.B. realized he wasn't over his former girlfriend and told Carmel it wouldn't work because she was not Mel.

O.B. saves the day

Max had had a heart attack. O.B. went to see him at hospital, only to be rebuffed. At Christmas 2006, O.B. was suspicious of Clare when she didn't want anyone to visit Max so he checked to see if he was okay. When O.B. got Max out of bed and was about to take him to the hospital, Clare came and took Max from OB. Clare ran off to the countryside, so she could slowly kill him by not giving him the medicine he needed. Clare had told Max that Tom Cunningham, his little brother had fallen into the river, so Max dived in, but his energy was getting low. Luckily, O.B. arrived just in time, punched Clare in the gruff and dived in to save Max. Luckily, he got there quick enough to save Max.

Friends again

O.B. was very upset that Max had believed Clare over him, and blamed Max for Mel's death. After learning Tom wanted them to make up for Christmas, O.B. and Max tried to rekindle their friendship. Max and O.B. tried to start a business in order to make Tom Cunningham proud and because they needed the money. They started a hot dog stand which went quite well until they were slagged of by the local newspaper. Then Tom got a job modeling and they had a gay dad's campaign when their boss thought Tom was their son and they were gay (O.B. did not realize until he tried to ask the agent out and she said he could bring his partner, Max). This ended when Tom's teacher said Tom was missing too much school and Tom needed to go back.

O.B. briefly dated Yasmin Burgess, the mother of one of Tom's school foes. However, this went wrong when Max fed her son Tristan a burger, not knowing Tristan was a vegetarian, making him sick.

MOBS and 'Who pushed Clare?

In summer 2007, Max and OB opened MOBS, a juice bar in the centre of Hollyoaks.

Clare had had social services take Tom from O.B. and Max after they refused to give her more money. O.B. became one of five named suspects in the attempted murder of Clare Cunningham. Just before she was pushed of the loft balcony OB shoved Clare against a wall, attacked her and threatened to kill her after Clare said that Mel and Sophie's deaths was two for the price of one and Mel was a drunken Lush. He was questioned by the police though released due to insufficient evidence. In an episode screened on 29 June 2007, O.B. attempted to 'finish Clare off' in her hospital ward but was interrupted by a police officer. In September, the pusher was revealed to be Justin Burton, who had overhead Clare's malicious remarks about his sisters.

teph and Max

After Clare's apparent death at a quarry, O.B. did his best to try and convince Max to pursue his romantic interest in Steph. He frequently pointed out when Max screwed up, particularly when he didn't help Steph with a burst pipe at The Dog leaving her to refer to Danny as her "knight in shining armour". However, he eventually did get through to Max, eventually resulting in the two dating. The time Max spent with Steph began to push O.B. away, and O.B. felt Steph treated him like a child.

Befriending Simon Crosby

While Max was busy with Steph, O.B. befriended a lifeguard named Simon Crosby after Simon saved Tom from drowning. Simon, like O.B., seemed very lonely, and O.B. could talk to Simon since no one else had time to listen.

O.B. and Max fall out over Simon

Gilly Roach saw a young boy leaving Simon's cubicle in tears, and became convinced Simon was a paedophile. He told O.B. and Max, but O.B. strongly disagreed. A few months later, Gilly was more and more upset and when he saw Simon taking boys out for ice cream, he broke into Simon's house and found pictures of boys in their swimming trunks. O.B., Max, and Gilly went into Simon's house the next day and found a child's bedroom. Simon was at the park with Tom and Max was now convinced Simon was a danger to children. He punched OB, and when he got to the park, began beating Simon until he was arrested for assault.

O.B. continued to believe that Simon was innocent, and was angry over Max's actions. He was even more hurt when Max said O.B. did not have as much invested emotionally as Max because he was not Tom's brother. Soon, Simon's ex-wife Gemma arrived for a visit and told them she and Simon had had a son who had drowned, that the bedroom was their son's room, and that the photos would have been presents for the parents of each child after they graduated from his swimming class. Unfortunately, by this time, Gilly and Jake Dean had formed a lynch mob and were assaulting Simon's house with bricks and bottles. When O.B., Gemma, and Max got inside, they saw him unconscious on the floor, holding his son's photo in his hand.

Simon survived the overdose, but told a saddened O.B. that he couldn't stay in town after what had been done to his reputation. He asked O.B. to go with him to Tenerife, but O.B., after some hesitation over what to do, turned him down. They said they would keep in touch.

Just like with Clare, once again Max had not believed O.B. and once again O.B. felt as if he had nothing in his life. When Max tried to make things up with him, O.B. bitterly said their friendship had been all about Max, that O.B. had made nothing for himself, and that he had to start living his own life. He moved into Tony's flat. Tom asked him to forgive Max, and for Tom's sake, O.B. did, but he still had a difficult time getting over what had happened.

ummer, London, exit

O.B. fell for Summer Shaw a new performing arts student in town who already got on the wrong side of a jealous Steph. O.B. gave her a job at MOBS and comforted her after she twisted her ankle and lost the lead in a local theater production. Summer was dating Kris Fisher, but after an afternoon of watching Christmas films and talking, Summer kissed O.B. under the mistletoe. After she left, a giddy O.B. clicked his heels. On New Year's eve, after Summer had told Kris to meet her at the halls, Summer and O.B. revealed their feelings to each other about one another before kissing outside The Dog In The Pond.

On January 2008, Summer couldn't handle the life of Hollyoaks, so she decided to get her career back on track by going to London. This left OB devestated, as he didn't want to leave Max and Tom behind. Max looked at OB's sad face and thought that he should go into the West. Minutes later, OB eventually had a change of heart as he realised that he has feelings for Summer. But his chance nearly slipped away, when the bus to London almost leave the village. Summer and OB reunited and so OB left Hollyoaks to lead a new life in London to help her find fame.

Summer and OB arrived in London and Summer revealed she was going to stalk Andrew Lloyd Webber and try and get the part of Maria in The Sound of Music. Summer and OB met Andrew Lloyd Webber and Summer got the Part of Maria. After this Summer and OB returned to Hollyoaks.

On 15 February 2008, Summer left to be in London. But just at the last minute,OB had second thoughts about moving to London. To this, Summer called him a coward because it is one of the best things that he has ever done in his life.

However, soon after, OB began to wonder whether he had made the right decision. When a leaflet advertising "The Sound of Music" arrived at the flat, Max persuaded OB to go down to London and watch whilst telling Summer his true feelings. He was accompanied by Max, Tom and Steph. Though OB iniatially decided that he and Summer could not work, on the 27 February 2008, he began a new life with Summer in London. He, Max and Tom shared an emotional goodbye on London Eye before going their separate ways. OB told Tom that he was welcome to visit any time whilst Max told OB that he would always be able to return to Hollyoaks should he want to.

Mention/Happenings After Hollyoaks

At The 2008 British Soap Awards, Max and OB won The Best On-Screen Partnership Award,an award they have often been nominated for,and fans have said it's a nice touch after his departure. [cite news |title = Max&OB win On-Screen Partnership BSA2008|url =http://community.channel4.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2340074863/m/3420090789/p/3|format = Website] In an interview after winning their award, Matt Littler (Max Cunningham) let slip that Jeffries had return for a spectacular storyline, along with Sarah Jayne Dunn (Mandy Richardson) and Stephanie Waring (Cindy Cunningham), and Jeffires said he wondered if he had made the right choice in leaving the soap, and was quite enjoying being back. [cite news |title = OB And Mandy To Return To The Oaks|url =http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z9GgtNJxkqc&feature=user|format = Website]

Max's death

OB returned for Max and Steph's wedding. He and Summer were planning a move to New York and when Max told OB the wedding was off, he asked Max to go with him. Max agreed, but Steph stopped them before they left, telling Max she wanted to get married no matter what. On the morning of the wedding, Max started to experience chest pains worried for his friends health he is rushed to hospital where he was given the all clear and it was a race against time to get to the church.Steph and Max finally wed and think now it's happily ever after. During the reception, Max took OB back to the flat so they could lug a jukebox of Steph's favorite songs over to the Dog. Max gave OB a watch inscribed "Best Man, Best Mate", and told OB the only bad thing about a perfect day was that it had to end.

Max's words would prove true, as, on the way back to the Dog, Tom was playing in the road and didn't see Niall Rafferty's car hurtling towards him. Max got him to safety, but was mortally wounded in the process. OB held Max in his arms and begged him to stay alive. Max told OB he loved him. Not wanting to deal with the seriousness of the situation, OB chastised him not to be gay. Max died in OB's arms. OB then had to tell everyone at the Dog about what had happened to Max.

OB tried to be there for Steph and Tom as they grieved, even as he struggled with his own emotions. He wrote a eulogy for Max's funeral, but he and Tom couldn't bear to attend. Instead Steph read the eulogy at the funeral, while Tom and OB went to the places Max loved, ending with OB reciting the eulogy at the park.

OB wanted to take Tom, but Mandy also wanted to take care of him. The two quarreled, but Tom decided he wanted to stay with Steph, as he thought she needed him.

Goodbye Old Friend

Once OB knew Tom would be taken care of by Steph, he decided to return to life with Summer. Steph, Tom, Mandy, and Cindy gathered in the street to say goodbye. As he looked at the front of Drive'n'Buy, he briefly saw Max, leaning against the door, nodding in a silent farewell. OB nodded back, saying goodbye to his best friend one last time. He now is the only gay in the village, safe in the knowledge that Max would always be watching over him.

External links

* [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/H/hollyoaks/cast/boys/samobobrien/index.html Sam "O.B" O'Brien] on the [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/H/hollyoaks/ Hollyoaks website]