Warren Fox is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, portrayed by Jamie Lomas. The character and casting were announced on 12 May 2006, and Warren made his first appearance on 26 June. Warren was introduced as a ruthless gangster and an old acquaintance of Sean Kennedy (Matthew Jay Lewis). Warren's early storylines involved his dealings in many crimes such as drug dealing and protection rackets amongst other things, affairs with Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) and Mandy Richardson (Sarah Jayne Dunn), murdering associate Sean Kennedy and ex-fiancée Louise Summers (Roxanne McKee) and feuds with both Clare Devine (Gemma Bissix) and Calvin Valentine (Ricky Whittle). Lomas left the series in 2009, with his departure coinciding with the return of Clare Devine, Lomas' exit scenes aired on 29 May 2009. On 17 October 2010, it was announced that Lomas would return to the series, appearing from 29 October. In the stint, Warren enters into a relationship with Mitzeee Minniver (Rachel Shenton), embarking on a feud with Brendan Brady (Emmett J. Scanlan) and discovering he has a son in Joel Dexter (Andrew Still). The character departed in December 2011 when he was sent to prison for murder.
Warren was reintroduced in May 2016 were the characters storylines included embarking on a relationship with Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) and murdering Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke). In November 2017, Lomas confirmed his exit from the soap opera in the hope of pursuing other projects, though the character was given an opportunity to return. Lomas departed on 8 November 2017. On 30 March 2018, it was announced that Lomas would reprise the role, and he returned for a one-off appearance on 22 May 2018. In July 2019 it was announced that Lomas would be reprising the role, and Warren returned for a brief appearance on 30 July 2019 before making his full-time return on 8 January 2020. The soap opera explored his backstory with the introduction of childhood bully Felix Westwood (Richard Blackwood) and coming face to face with his biological mother Norma Crow (Glynis Barber). In March 2024, it was confirmed that Lomas would be leaving the role later in 2024 to pursue other projects. His final scenes aired 11 September 2024 when Warren fled the country after a final showdown with Dave Chen-Williams (Dominic Power). In March 2025 it was announced Warren would be return for a special flashback episode to explore what the character was up to in the missing year after the showdown with Dave. Warren made his one-off appearance in the episode airing on 7 April 2025. It was reported in May 2025 that Lomas would be reprising the role for another brief stint, this time in present day. On 28 July 2025 it was announced that Lomas had reprised his role and would return full time during the 30th Anniversary Celebrations. Warren returned on 13 October 2025. On 22 October 2025 Warren appeared in the crossover episode between Hollyoaks and Brookside as it would be revealed he was dating Brookside character Gemma Johnson (Tisha Merry) and by January 2026 the show introduce a younger half-brother for Warren in the form of Jenson Cole (Ryan Clayton).
Development Introduction In May 2006, it was announced that Lomas would arrive in Hollyoaks as "bad boy" Warren Fox. In regards to Lomas and Whittle's casting, a Hollyoaks spokesperson stated: "We're delighted to welcome Ricky and Jamie to the Hollyoaks cast. Their characters are set to bring lots of drama to the show!"
Fire stunt and fake death In 2009, Lomas decided to quit the soap opera after three years. He said: "I've had a fantastic three years at Hollyoaks but having fully explored the character, I felt the time was right for me to move on. I'm delighted to be going out as part of such a dramatic storyline and my final scenes are some of the most dramatic I've ever filmed. I'm sure viewers will be hooked!"
Following the announcement of Warren's return in October 2010, Lomas was asked if he thought the character changed since his last appearance. He replied, "I don't think you can really change a character like Warren. I think it would be a little boring if he came back as some sort of softie but, like I say, there are new people around now for him to bounce off."
During an interview with Digital Spy, Lomas admitted he initially wanted to stay on the show for only two years: "Well I wanted to go after two years. I sat down with Bryan Kirkwood who told me what he had in store, and it was too good to refuse! The storyline was so fantastic." He later revealed how he felt about his final appearance, admitting: "To be honest with you, when I knew I was filming my final scene – obviously I've spent three years of my life there and I've got lots of good friends there – I got really emotional. I had to take myself off and have a word with myself and say, 'Come on – you need to pull it together!' It was great because all the producers came down and clapped me and bought me a bottle of champagne. It was very emotional."
Lomas was announced to return to Hollyoaks in October 2010 after the character was revealed to have survived the fire. Series producer Paul Marquess commented on Warren's return, saying: "We were hopeful that Jamie's return would be the best-kept secret in soap history, but when Jamie arrived on set it proved impossible. When Warren Fox died in the Loft fire, we all thought that was the end of the dangerous gangster that terrorized the residents of Hollyoaks village. But when our writers made the shocking suggestion to bring back Warren in a juicy plot, it was just too irresistible to ignore as they not only made it feasible that Warren could have escaped the fire and fled the village, they created an explosive and very clever plot with lots of twists and turns that is guaranteed to have the audience hooked. When the idea was pitched to Jamie, he knew it was too good an opportunity to miss. Warren Fox was one of the soap's most memorable villains and we're very excited about his return." He returned on 29 October 2010. Lomas later expressed his feelings about returning, saying: "I'm really excited. I got the call and I got told about the storyline and it was great – full of twists and turns. I kind of thought that my character had run his course with the other characters that were around before, but there's a new breed in now, so that means plenty of potential for Warren to come back in and cause some more mayhem." On-screen, flashback sequences were filmed to show how Warren survived the fire. Hollyoaks announced a special episode centered around Warren and how he survived the fire to be broadcast on 1 December 2010, shown to viewers in various flashbacks.
2011 departure In August 2011, it was announced that Lomas had decided to leave the serial once again, and he filmed his final scenes in October 2011. His departure was broadcast on 23 December 2011.
Returns and departures In March 2016, it was confirmed that Lomas had agreed to reprise his role as Warren. The character returned in reasonable fashion where Warren was seen in a "sexy shower stunt". He returned on 26 May.
On 3 November 2017, Lomas announced that he had left Hollyoaks once again and Warren would depart on-screen the following week. Lomas made the announcement during a live televised interview on This Morning. His departure storyline saw him leave with his new-born daughter, Sophie. Lomas decided to leave because he wanted to participate in the seventeenth series of the reality television series, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Warren departed during the episode broadcast on 7 November 2017.
On 30 March 2018, it was reported that Lomas was in talks with producers about a potential return. Lomas agreed to return for one episode which aired on 21 May 2018. Warren's return storyline featured him taking his son Sebastian from Sienna and absconding. On 23 July 2019, it was announced that Lomas had agreed to re-join the show's regular cast. Lomas initially filmed scenes for a story to air in late 2019, with his full-time return scheduled for 2020. Warren's reintroduction occurs following Sienna tracking down the location of her children that Warren abducted. Lomas' indefinite return began from the episode broadcast on 9 January 2020.
On 12 March 2024, it was announced that Lomas had quit the show for the fourth time and Warren departed on 11 September 2024.
Storylines 2006–2011 Warren arrives in Hollyoaks in June 2006 to demand money from Sean Kennedy (Matthew Jay Lewis) as compensation for having him jailed, but is willing to write off Sean's debts in exchange for a night with his wife, Louise Kennedy (Roxanne McKee), who refuses. Warren enters into an affair with Clare Cunningham (Gemma Bissix), whilst she is still married to Max Cunningham (Matt Littler). They are taped by Mel Burton (Cassie Powney), who later shows the footage to Sam "OB" O'Brien (Darren Jeffries) and Sophie Burton (Connie Powney). Mel and Sophie are killed afterwards, and OB is severely injured, in the explosion at The Dog in the Pond. OB tells Max about the affair and he fires Warren from The Loft, who later hires thugs to trash the building. Max reluctantly signs his half of The Loft over to Warren. When Clare returns, she and Warren become partners in owning the business, though they get into a dispute afterwards.
Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) sleeps with Warren after being accused of infidelity by her boyfriend, Russ Owen (Stuart Manning). When Warren learns of Sean's return and demand of £10,000 from Louise, he agrees to help Louise amass the money. Warren later kidnaps Sean and kills him. He supports Louise after she ends her relationship with Calvin Valentine (Ricky Whittle). After sleeping together, Louise guiltily reunites with Calvin. Justin Burton (Chris Fountain) later lives with Warren, who is arrested for Sean's murder after Clare alerts the police. He is released after Sean's body could not be found. Warren is arrested for the attempt on Clare's life, but is pronounced innocent when Mercedes admits she was with him. Warren visits Justin in the hospital, revealing he was the assailant who almost killed him with a car and later.
Warren grows fonder of Justin, who begins working for him, as Louise and Warren's relationship becomes more serious. Clare continues to try and drive Louise and Warren apart. Warrens threatens to push her from the balcony if she does not sign over The Loft to him and leave Hollyoaks, to which she agrees. Days later, Warren returns home to his flat to find it trashed and no sign of Katy. Warren, Justin, and Max begin looking for her, and are later called by Clare, who tells them she has Katy. Clare tells Warren that she wants revenge on Justin for pushing her over the balcony. Warren pretends to kill Justin. Clare is not fooled and drives off with Katy tied up in the car. She crashes over a cliff and falls into the water below. Warren, Justin and Max jump in and rescue Katy. Katy attempts to try to tell Louise that Warren killed Sean, but he ends up proposing to her, and she accepts. During their engagement party, Louise becomes suspicious of Warren's dealings and is later attacked in Evissa by Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson), who leaves Louise for dead. Calvin saves Louise, and Warren beats up Ste the next day.