Ally Gorman

On 11 December 2011, Jonathon Moran and Elle Halliwell of The Daily Telegraph reported that O'Connor had joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Ally. O'Connor was previously best known for playing Ned Parker in Australian soap opera, Neighbours. O'Connor was given the part and began filming his scenes three days later. Hollyoaks series producer, Emma Smithwick, told Sarah Ellis of Inside Soap that she was familiar with O'Connor from his work on Neighbours. Smithwick said that when O'Connor auditioned for the role he "nailed it" and admitted that the actor's good looks were also appealing. O'Connor commutes from London to Liverpool, where Hollyoaks is filmed, for the role. ==Development==

Characterisation and introduction Ally is Australian and a military medic, who has recently returned from service in Afghanistan. Smithwick said she liked Ally because he is "contradictory" and "crosses a divide", calling him "sensitive". O'Connor was not permitted to reveal the character's identity. Of this, O'Connor commented "Ally's a bit frustrated, but he understands why Ste feels he needs to look after Amy." Lynsey sees Walker threatening Ally to keep quiet about their past and decides to investigate them. The death sparked a whodunnit storyline, with Ally in the frame for Lynsey's murder. Digital Spy explained Ally's motives stating, "Additionally, [Ally] and bad boy [Walker] had both found themselves struggling to keep their secrets from an inquisitive Lynsey in recent episodes - providing them with a reason to target her." O'Connor told a writer from Inside Soap that Ally feels "put out" by Martha's return. She is "out to expose Ally" at a time he was beginning to become liked by the Kanes. ==Storylines==

Jacqui McQueen and Rhys Ashworth advertise for a lodger, and Ally replies to the advertisement. Jacqui and Rhys interview Ally and subsequently allow him to move in. Ally meets his neighbours, Ste Hay and Amy Barnes, and invites them over for a dinner party. Ally is unimpressed when Jacqui and Amy become drunk and ruin the party. Ally considers moving out when Jacqui and Rhys continuously argue. Ally kisses Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) and asks her out on a date, but she declines. Ally goes on the date with Mercedes' sister, Michaela McQueen (Hollie-Jay Bowes), instead. Ally becomes annoyed when Michaela and Amy argue as they are both attracted to him. Ally tells Michaela and Amy that he does not want to date either of them. Jacqui and Rhys' new lodger, Phoebe Jackson (Mandip Gill), steals Ally's laptop and Jacqui refuses to report Phoebe to the police. Jacqui and Rhys pay Ally the amount the laptop was worth and he moves out. Ally asks Amy out on a date before returning to the army. Ally returns; he and Amy begin a relationship. Ally hopes to spend time alone with Amy, but Ste interrupts them and questions Ally's intentions towards Amy. Amy tells Ally that their relationship is moving to fast and he leaves for the night. The next day, Ally attempts to reunite with Amy, unaware that she has had a one-night stand with Dodger. Amy refuses, and goes on a road trip to forget about her problems. Amy is unaware that Dodger's cousin, Dennis Savage (Joe Tracini), has invited both Dodger and Ally on the trip. Dennis hopes to reconcile Ally and Amy. Ally learns that Amy and Dodger had sex, and attacks Dodger. Ally refuses to forgive Amy and returns to the village. Ally and Amy later reunite. Ally sees Walker and recognises him as "Nick" from the army. Walker tells Ally he is mistaken. Walker threatens Ally not to reveal their history to anyone, which Lynsey Nolan witnesses. Lynsey decides to investigate Ally and follows him to a strip club. Lynsey confronts Ally and they argue when she threatens to tell Amy. Ste overhears them arguing and decides to tell Amy. Lynsey is later found dead. Ste tells Amy about Ally and Lynsey's argument. Ally and Lynsey's argument was witnessed and the police question Ally about Lynsey's death. Amy provides an alibi for Ally, telling the police that they were together at the time Lynsey was murdered. Ally tells Amy he was at a strip club when Lynsey was murdered. Ally explains that he visits strip clubs to look out for the strippers, as his sister was a stripper and was raped by two customers. A stripper at the club verifies Ally's story to Amy and Ste. Amy tells Ally she cannot trust him and leaves. Ally then pays the stripper for covering for him. When Will Savage (James Atherton) is accused of being Lynsey's murderer, Ally leads a hate campaign against him. Ally befriends Ash Kane (Holly Weston) and they both help prove Will's innocence. Ally and Ash later share a kiss. Ally tells Amy about the kiss, explaining that he has Post traumatic stress disorder and was having a panic attack when the kiss happened. Ally then ends his relationship with Amy and moves out. Ash allows Ally to stay with her. He then later sustains a relationship with Ash, and this angers Amy- so soon after they separated. Ally moves in with the Kane's and creates a rift between Martha (Carli Norris) and her children. Martha leaves the family home after an argument with Ash leaving the family struggling. Ally begins helping the family and moves in. Lacey (Georgia Bourke) develops romantic feelings for Ally and persistently tries to get his attention. Lacey tries to seduce Ally and he agrees to have sex with her. Lacey's friend Phoebe becomes concerned when she realises Lacey's attentions and quickly notifies Martha, who interrupts Lacey and Ally. Ash and Callum (Laurie Duncan) return home at the same time and Ally fails to explain the situation. He is later arrested for identity fraud as he had been using the identity of a dead army soldier and trying to work his way into the Kane family. ==Reception==

''Inside Soap's'' Sarah Ellis did not agree with a viewer's criticism of O'Connor's acting, commenting that the actor had been doing a "stellar job" of portraying Ally. Anthony D. Langford writing for AfterElton stated "I see the show is trying to make Ally interesting by tying him into Brendan and Walker's storyline. But the character is so dull and so underwritten I don't see how it can help." A reporter for the Liverpool Echo said "Ever since smooth-talking Ally strolled into Hollyoaks village, the suave Aussie has managed to charm his way into most of the locals' good books - but what do they really know about him? Very little, it would appear..." Carena Crawford from Reveal branded the character as a "shady Australian". Laura Morgan from All About Soap questioned the point of the character following his departure, saying "Considering we'd waited the best part of a year to discover this news, we were left a bit cold by Ally's big reveal. For a character that had a lot more potential, he was given a hurried and anticlimactic exit. In fact, Ash kneeing him in the nuts might have been the most exciting thing about the whole thing!" ==References==