Craig Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Guy Burnet. The character was introduced as a youngest brother of established character Steph Dean (Carley Stenson). He made his first appearance on 24 October 2002. Burnet has won and been nominated for several awards for this role. Burnet departed the role in September 2007 and returned to the show on 3 September 2008 in a storyline which saw Craig secure a "sunset ending" with John Paul McQueen (James Sutton). He made another appearance after his departure in spin-off show Hollyoaks Later in November 2008. The character is regarded as one of Hollyoaks most iconic characters.
Character development Craig Dean was not at first outlined as harbouring homosexual feelings or tendencies. The character was originally scripted as heterosexual, and actor Guy Burnet wanted to maintain this aspect of the character in his portrayal. He relayed, "The thing that I wanted more than anything was to convey confusion – if Craig could go and sleep with John Paul and afterwards the audience can say 'hold on a minute – maybe he's not gay'… If I've provoked that question, then I've reached the goal I wanted to reach. If I'm confused, in turn Craig is confused and so is the audience – that's the way I see it."
Burnet was at first against the writers' decision to have Craig become romantically involved with another male character. "I'll always be completely honest," he stated. "I'll always be real. The truth is that it was difficult to play. It was talked about for a long while and I felt uncomfortable with the idea because I didn't think it was justifiable. I thought 'how can you make a straight guy who's a bit of a cheeky chappy, loves the girls and has a sort of camp sense of humour, gay?'" Burnet stated that he sat down with the producers of the series. "It was sitting with Bryan and the other producers, discussing it and saying 'right, if we're going to do this, it's not a story about a character being gay, it's a story where we have to justify the guy's sexual confusion – why is he like this? And the most important thing is that he still has the love for the woman in his life'". Burnet conveyed that he does not see Craig as gay or bisexual, and was adamant on the series not portraying Craig as either. "It was a love for this one person," he cited, "which threw him." Burnet detailed, "Craig was always a lonely character. He never had that many friends surrounding him, even during the times of Bombhead and Lee. These guys were in a different year to him. He was always a lone soldier." Further elaborating on Craig and John Paul's connection, Burnet stated, "JP was not only a best friend but when he came out, it was a coming to terms moment for Craig – asking himself 'perhaps these feelings are OK to have for JP and I don't want to lose him as a mate'. It's confusion but it's also a love story – an obsession almost."
Burnet revealed that his main goal within acting is to provoke a reaction. "...and I don't just want to provoke a good reaction," he noted. "I want to provoke a reaction that's hatred – hate me, but hate the character. If I've achieved that, then that's great. Variation is fantastic." He stated, "The thing about Craig – whatever character you play is always going to be slightly similar to you. Whoever says that they're completely different is lying because it's your face, its your expression – it is you." He added, however, that the personality "might be completely different" and pointed out that personality-wise he is nothing like Craig. "There are a lot of parts that are similar, things that you draw from reality," he noted.
In regards to whether or not he became comfortable with portraying Craig's sexual attraction to John Paul, Burnet clarified: "Even towards the end, it was always difficult for me… You've got to remember that the room is full of people and it's not so much that which bothers you, but you're sitting there and – this isn't meant in a homophobic way – I just didn't feel comfortable doing it. It literally would be a silent set, we'd do it and hopefully it was one take and it was out of the way. That's a genuine answer."
In late 2007, Burnet decided to leave the series, stating that he wanted to pursue other acting ventures. However, he agreed to return to the series in late 2008. "I’ve had so much support from fans since I left the show, so it’s great to have the opportunity to reprise the storyline and give viewers a resolution to the Craig and John Paul story," he revealed. In September 2012, Inside Soap named John Paul and Craig's exit as their number 1 happy ending, "This tentative, tremulous, tortured romance is still regarded by Hollyoaks fans as one of the show's greatest-ever storylines – if not the greatest. So fervently were viewers wishing for a happy ending for gay teenager John Paul and his no-I'm-not-gay-but-maybe-I-am friend Craig, the producer even promised a happy ending in advance. And so, as they flew off to Dublin together, they kissed in front of a holiday poster of a sunset. Aw!"
Burnet's return was revealed on 10 June 2008. The exact date was revealed to be 2 September.
Burnet cited his appreciation for the show giving him a unique character to portray, while maintaining the distinct difference between John Paul's sexuality and Craig's. "I really appreciate the freedom and the opportunities that they've given me to really make something different of this storyline, not just the conventional 'coming out' storyline – it's been a sexual confusion storyline," he stated. "For James, it's been a 'coming out' storyline but for me, I really didn't want to mimic that or mirror it any way. It's important to show something different, something original and they gave me the freedom to do that. I'll never forget that."
Storylines
2002–2007 Craig, the youngest member of the Dean family, arrives in Hollyoaks with his family, his parents, Johnno and Frankie, his brother, Jake, and sisters, Debbie and Steph. He uses his intelligence to manipulate Hollyoaks villagers and to pull a variety of scams. He falls for older girl Abby Davies, as she leads him on, making him believe that she fancies him. However, nothing happens in the relationship after Craig discovers that she is using him in order to make her ex-boyfriend, Lee Hunter, jealous.
Craig is supportive when his sister, Steph, is attacked and is left with epilepsy by Toby Mills. Craig is there for his family when they need him, as they struggle through their debts. Craig's love life improves when he falls for the charms of another older girl, Natalie Osborne, who manages to seduce him. But she wants to keep their relationship a secret and she uses him to lose her virginity. She then starts to lose interest in him, but is taught a lesson by Craig's sisters, Debbie and Steph, who have had an intense dislike for Natalie since she arrived. Natalie then leaves Hollyoaks and Craig behind.
Craig is dealt another shock when his father leaves the family for a 19-year-old girl named Michelle, who he has gotten pregnant. The Deans later move into The Dog in the Pond pub, which is owned by Frankie's new boyfriend, Jack Osborne. Craig is shocked when Johnno returns to the village and tells his family that his girlfriend has left him for someone else, and that he realised how much he missed his family. Craig then finds out that Johnno is lying and that he has left his girlfriend and newborn son, Presley, after he decided that he did not want to be a father again at his age. Craig and his siblings are disgusted by his behaviour. Johnno tries to make amends, but in the end decides to leave Hollyoaks to marry his younger girlfriend after Craig and Jake tell him that his new son needs him more than they do.
Craig starts a romantic relationship with Darlene Taylor. He supports her after her stepbrother, Justin Burton, pushes her through a window and later when her brother, Ali, is killed in a car accident. Meanwhile, Frankie and Jack marry and Darlene deals with her feelings by making up claims about his family making passes at her. This leads to her stepmother, Liz Burton, throwing her out of her house and Darlene living with the Dean/Osborne clan. Darlene starts flirting with Craig's stepbrother, Darren, and then tells Craig that Darren is the one seducing her. Craig then walks in on her having sex with Darren, an event Darren orchestrated to prove what type of person Darlene is to Craig. Craig end his relationship with Darlene.
Craig hopes to escape Hollyoaks after completing his A-levels. He is offered a conditional place at Trinity College in Dublin, but after failing to get the right grades, he decides to repeat a year at Hollyoaks Comprehensive. Jake accidentally runs over Diane Valentine, causing her son, Sonny, to begin bullying Craig at school. John Paul McQueen saves Craig from being beaten up by Sonny and this leads to the two of them becoming friends. Craig begins dating Sarah Barnes and becomes friends with her two best friends, Hannah Ashworth and Nancy Hayton. Sarah ex-boyfriend, Rhys Ashworth, tries to interfere in Craig and Sarah's relationship, but Craig stands up to him.
John Paul is dating Hannah, but then suddenly breaks up with her. When pushed for the reason why, John Paul claims he fancies someone else and Craig mistakenly believes it is Sarah. When Craig sees John Paul and Sarah being close, he lashes out at both of them and dumps Sarah. John Paul tells Craig he made up fancying Sarah as an excuse. Craig and John Paul's friendship gets back on track and they get back together with their girlfriends. At Hannah's 18th birthday party, Craig is furious when he catches a drunken Sarah kissing Rhys. John Paul tells Craig that Sarah is not good enough for him and emotionally confesses that he is in love with him. Afterwards, John Paul tells Craig he was just confused and Craig forgives him. Craig also forgives Sarah for the kiss.
At a school dance-off competition, Craig and Sarah say "I love you" for the first time. Craig gets drunk and tells John Paul he is fine with him being gay and kisses him. Hannah sees the kiss and announces it to everyone. This leads to John Paul coming out to his family, friends, and classmates. Craig is furious with John Paul since by association people will think he is gay, too. During a five-a-side match, Craig repeatedly smashes into John Paul eventually culminating in Craig beating John Paul up. Craig apologises, but John Paul tells him their friendship is over.
John Paul eventually forgives Craig and agrees to be friends again. Craig is not very fond of John Paul's new boyfriend, Spike and John Paul accuses Craig of being jealous. Craig asks John Paul if he has gotten over him and John Paul admits he is still in love with him. Craig tells John Paul that he cannot stop thinking about him, he kisses him and they sleep together. John Paul is over the moon that they had sex, but Craig gets up, calls John Paul a faggot, and rushes out of the house. Craig is distraught over what happened between him and John Paul and begins acting erratically. Craig violently grabs and kisses Sarah, who is completely disgusted by his behaviour. When confronted by John Paul, Craig denies anything happened between them.