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Cameron Campbell
Hollyoaks character
Portrayed by	Cameron Moore
Duration	2014–2017
First appearance	24 June 2014
Last appearance	26 January 2017
Classification	Former; regular
Introduced by	Bryan Kirkwood
In-universe information Occupation Chef (2014–2017) Waiter (2015) Restaurant Co-Owner (2015–2017) Father Tommy Campbell Mother Charmaine Rotherford Stepfather Rotherford Brothers Lockie Campbell Wife Leela Campbell (2016–2017) Daughters Peri Lomax Granddaughters Steph Cunningham-Lomax Grandmothers Granny Campbell Aunts Fanny Campbell First cousins Courtney Campbell

Cameron Campbell is a a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Cameron Moore. The character made his first on screen appearance on 24 June 2014. Moore's casting and details about the character were announced on 23 April 2014. Cameron was billed as a major new regular for the show, and that his arrival would shake things up in the village. His introduction to the show saw him attempt to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter) and their teenage daughter, Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) after leaving prison, following a stint where he was wrongfully imprisoned by Leela's mother, Sam Lomax (Lizzie Roper).

As Cameron's time on the show progressed, his brother Lockie Campbell (Nick Rhys) and cousin, Courtney Campbell (Amy Conachan) were introduced. Cameron's personality also shifted. Despite spending time in prison, Cameron wasn't initially billed as a villain, this changed and led to him causing the deaths of Danny (Stephen Billington) and Sam Lomax, Big Bob (Vincent Ebrahim), Ziggy Roscoe (Fabrizio Santino), Lockie Campbell (Nick Rhys), Joe Roscoe (Ayden Callaghan) and Celine McQueen (Sarah George), as well as attempting to kill Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson), and getting Leela's half-brother, Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) addicted to crystal meth.

Creation and casting

The character and Moore's casting was announced on 23 April 2014. Cameron was billed as a complex character, and that his arrival in the village shake things up. Although Cameron wasn't said to be a villain, he was teased to have a "dark and complex" past.

A Hollyoaks insider said: "Cameron comes into Hollyoaks as a stranger with a dangerous past that will have wide-ranging implications for many characters in the village. He grew up near Edinburgh but after spending time in prison found his way to Hollyoaks. What has drawn him to the village is a mystery to most, but not all of the residents."

Development

Characterization and introduction

“ "Having spent fourteen years in prison, he’s impeccably patient and willing to lie and wait for the right moment to strike. He always gets what he wants, and after whiling away the hours in his prison cell, lusting after the love of his life, Leela, he won’t rest until he rekindles that flame, especially since he found out that Peri is their daughter!" ”

Cameron was also billed as "charming, fearless... and should be approached with extreme caution," as well as "endearing and smart, but definitely not one to be trusted… even if he is just following his heart." As the character progressed, and became more villainous, Moore commented that it was Cameron's desire to have a normal family life that caused him to do villainous deeds. "Cameron's one wish from the start was to have a nice, normal family, and he just can't seem to get that right because of what he's done in the past."

Relationship with Leela Lomax

Leela called off her relationship with Cameron after he confessed to killing her parents. However, speaking to Inside Soap, Kirsty-Leigh Porter said that Leela's heart still remained with Cameron. "Cameron will always be Leela's true love. It wasn't that she wanted to end her relationship - Leela was happy with Cameron and was enjoying being a little family with him and Peri. But the fact that he killed her parents was just too big a betrayal, and that's why she went back to Ziggy. I think her head is with one man and her heart with another."

Introduction of family and enemies

On 26 August 2014, it was announced that Cameron's brother Lockie Campbell (Nick Rhys) would be joining the show. Elaborating on their relationship, Rhys said: "Lockie and Cameron were put into care at a relatively young age, so they only really had each other to rely on." He noted that after their mother's death, their relationship became strained, but added: "The interesting thing now is that their relationship is tentative and they're rebuilding something that was once very deep. It'll be interesting to see how that develops." Rhys further added that both her and Moore were looking to make Cameron and Lockie's relationship "realistic."

On 31 October 2014, it was revealed that Jody Latham would be joining the soap for a guest role as Shane. Shane's arrival was billed as having the potential to shake up Cameron's life in the village, and threaten his relationship with his daughter, Peri. Cameron managed to get his hands on some of Shane's money, but is forced to give it back, however it this moment was predicted to be just the start and that trouble was bound to "flare up."

After being revealed as the hit-and-run driver who killed Danny and Sam Lomax, Moore told the Press Association that he hoped that Cameron would develop a better relationship with Lockie, saying: "I hope he can shake off the Danny and Sam stuff, so hopefully develop more with Nick Rhys, who plays Lockie, my brother. And hopefully he can relax into it a lot more without this dark cloud of what he’s done hanging over him, but it does add to the drama of the character." In an interview with Digital Spy, Moore again stated his desire for a better relationship between Cameron and Lockie saying: "Me and Nick have absolutely loved the scenes we've had together and we've always got each other's back. It'd be nice for the brotherly bond to grow and I think there's a lot of history there with what happened between them in the past. There are a lot of juicy storylines that could be conjured up, so I'm hoping if I say it out loud, someone in the building might hear me!" Following the confession, Rhys said that Lockie would support Cameron, saying: "He's utterly shocked. The great thing about their relationship, though, is that Cameron and Lockie can switch between being the one who helps the other. No matter what Cameron does, Lockie will always have his back - and vice versa."

On 18 July 2016, it was revealed that Camerons's family would be further expanded with the introduction of his and Lockie's cousin, Courtney (Amy Conachan). Courtney arrived in the village planning on solving the disappearance of Lockie, not knowing that Cameron had killed him. During their time on the show, Cameron and Courtney often clashed, mainly due to Cameron trying to obstruct Courtney in her attempts to discover what happened to Lockie.

Relationship with Celine McQueen

On 13 March 2015, it was revealed that Celine and Cameron would develop a mutual attraction to each other after Celine had to give Cameron a sponge bath following an injury. The pair started dating; however, their relationship did meet some struggles as Celine's insecurities led to her becoming concerned as to whether Cameron is being faithful to her and her sister, Porsche (Twinnie-Lee Moore) objected to the relationship due to Cameron's criminal past and his relation to Lockie.

Speaking about the relationship between Cameron and Celine, Moore commented that he preferred it from Cameron's relationship with Leela, saying: "He’s different with Celine, much more relaxed and makes a fool of himself a bit more which I quite like because he’s not particularly good with girls." Moore also commented that Cameron could return to Leela, saying: "I'd like to think we'll have some kind of interaction. I absolutely love working with Kirsty-Leigh Porter. Please don't tell her this, but she's brilliant and I really enjoy working with her. So I hope there's something, but we're good when we're angry with each other. Even when we were together, we only had about two scenes where we were actually affectionate and loving!"

Feud with Ste Hay

Cameron began feuding with Leela's half-brother, Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) not long after his introduction, as they both vied to be a permanent chef at Tony Hutchinson's (Nick Pickard) restaurant. However, as their storylines progressed their feud deepened after Cameron say Ste as getting in the way of him and his family.

Their feud left Ste's life in the balance, after he nearly drowned while out on the lake with Cameron. Ste reported Cameron to the police after he suspected that he was behind Lockie's murder. When Cameron was released, he took Ste out to the lake where Cameron planned to spread his father's ashes. After a clash between the two men, Ste fell into the water, and couldn't swim, leaving Cameron with the decision as to whether to allow him to die.

Cameron got Ste addicted to crystal meth. Speaking about Cameron's intentions, Moore said: "Cameron wants to manipulate Ste, gain power and to weaken him. The worse position Ste is in, the better for Cameron. So Cameron just wants to break him down." And speaking about the consequences of his actions, Moore revealed that Cameron wouldn't care what happened to Ste, saying: "No, there's no guilt. Cameron is so single-minded and he has his eyes on the prize, which is Leela and Peri. Anything else is expendable and that's just the way it is for Cameron."

In a separate interview with Soaplife, Moore commented that Cameron saw Ste as a "pest" that needed to be eliminated. Commenting on how Cameron gets Ste involved with the drugs, Moore said: "I have to say, it’s a very clever and unusual tactic. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s so good that nobody will suspect Cameron is doing anything wrong. I couldn’t believe it when I read it. It’s brilliant!" Moore also commented on how Ste is playing into Cameron's hands. "Ste’s trying to get close to Cameron to get information to use against him, but Cameron uses this to his advantage. He’ll make out to everyone that he’s genuinely concerned for Ste," he said.

Moore also addressed Cameron's other victims, commenting that: "I think Cameron's victims seem to pick themselves, as opposed to the other way round." In the case of Ste, Moore said it was because he didn't do what Cameron had asked. Moore also predicted that the storyline would bring an end to his character, saying: "Well, I think this route only ends one way, doesn't it?"

Subsequent murders and exit

After hearing that Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson) had attempted to kill his daughter, Cameron set fire to a maze of the Hollyoaks Spooktacular event after seeing her sneak in. Addressing the character's motivation, Moore said: "Peri was his motivation. Nico was a really bad influence on her and his way of dealing with that is killing her. It is a very direct approach to parenting. He should write a book: The Cameron Campbell School of Parenting."

Following the Hollyoaks Spooktacular event, where Cameron deliberately started a fire to kill Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson), a Hollyoaks insider told Digital Spy that this was only the start for Cameron. Speaking to Digital Spy, they said: "There are big plans for Cameron over the next couple of months. His storyline is only set to get bigger and even darker after he started the fire. The big question for now is whether he'll be caught out for his arson. He won't find it as easy as he expected to stay under everyone's radar." The insider teased that the storyline would feature Leela and Tegan Lomax alongside Cameron.

After Cameron's ex-girlfriend, Celine, discovered his involvement in the deaths of Nico Blake and Joe Roscoe (Ayden Callaghan), Cameron kidnapped her in order to protect his secret. When asked if Cameron could really kill Celine, Moore said: "He will if she stands in his way. He’s never happily killed someone. It’s all been to keep the family together." Cameron subsequently killed Celine, before lying to the rest of the McQueen family by saying that she had gone travelling.

As Christmas approached, Moore teased that Cameron would be involved in a large storyline. "There's some very big stuff coming up. I'm busier than ever at work and I'm looking forward to the stuff that's going to be shown," he said. "Things are ramping up towards Christmas, so you'll see a lot more of Cameron and his scowling." Moore also teased that Cameron could kill again, promising that "there is no limit to the lengths Cameron will go to in order to make sure the truth [about Lockie's murder] remains dead and buried."

Cameron exited the soap after Tegan Lomax (Jessica Ellis) discovered Celine's body while the family was out camping. In the build-up to the episode, Cameron had kidnapped Leela's new love interest, Zack Loveday (Duayne Boachie) and locked him in his van. Cameron also planned to set fire to the shack where Leela and Peri were staying so that they could all die together. When Ste rescued Leela and Peri, Cameron pursued them through the woods, but he was knocked down by a campervan being driven by Mac Nightingale (David Easter). Cameron was subsequently arrested, and his final scene saw him being rejected by his daughter, Peri.

After Cameron's exit was announced, a Hollyoaks insider said: "Everyone was sad to see Cameron leave the show as he was a really popular cast member, but he knew about his exit months in advance. With his character's journey taking such a dark turn, it was only a matter of time before his story had to come to a head." The source added: "Killer Cameron has become one of the show's biggest characters, even claiming more victims than the Gloved Hand Killer, so the writers and storyliners have certainly come up with a fitting exit for him with some big shocks in store."

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Moore revealed that he knew his character would be leaving for a year and a half before his final scenes aired. "I chatted with Bryan Kirkwood and we decided three years was the right amount of time, so that it just reached its natural conclusion." Moore added that Cameron had "made his mark on the village, his family legacy lives on, and he makes [things] happen in a bad way."

Reception

Cameron was initially warmly-received, and was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award the 2015 National Television Awards. Moore said that he found out about his nomination from the executive producer of Hollyoaks, Bryan Kirkwood, and told What's on TV that he thought he'd been fired when he got the call. "So I immediately thought, ‘That’s it, I’m gone, I’m out!’ because the boss never calls."

After Cameron revealed to Leela that he had been the driver who killed his parents, Moore said that the fan reception toward him cooled. When asked whether people were now feeling sympathy for Cameron, Moore responded saying: "Yes, which has been a nice change from, 'Yeah but you killed her parents, you're a murderer!' I wasn't nervous about the reaction though, because I knew that once we'd filmed it, we'd really got Cameron's point of view across. Lee Skelly who directed those episodes was really intent on getting the honesty across that the car crash was an accident. I had a lot of people messaging me saying, 'Oh that's better, you've told her, I like you now!'"

Cameron's final episode was positively received by Jack Rear in Pretty 52, saying it'd been a "long time" since they'd seen an episode of any soap that "intense." Rear praised the twists throughout the episode, including the final one where it was revealed that Zack Loveday (Duayne Boachie) had been locked in Cameron's van. Rear also highlighted several instances of fans praising the episode on social media.

See also

• List of Hollyoaks characters (2014)
• List of soap opera villains

External links

• Cameron Campbell at the Official Hollyoaks website