Tilly Evans

On 30 May 2011, Dixon announced through her Twitter account that she had joined the regular cast of Hollyoaks. Dixon revealed that she would begin filming the following week, before making her screen debut on 21 June. It was also revealed that while Tilly was planning to go to London after the holiday, it seemed likely that she would arrive in Chester with the others in September. ==Development==

Characterisation Dixon noted that while Tilly was not always the centre of attention, she did not mind and enjoyed looking on from the sidelines. Dixon thought Tilly was confident in herself and "fiercely independent." A writer for the Hollyoaks website quipped that Tilly was "the cleverest clogs in Hollyoaks Sixth Form." They also said she kind and loved by all. Dixon sports a short hair style to help portray Tilly's androgynous style. Dixon and the Hollyoaks stylist started off buying clothes for Tilly in Topshop because it carries many different styles, which made it easier to "stamp a trend" on what the character was going to be like, before searching further stores. Tilly and Jen meet at an art exhibition that Tilly has organised. When Jen turns down Neil Cooper's (Tosin Cole) advances, Tilly become curious and decides to find out more about her. The storyline starts when the fire alarm goes off at the college, causing an evacuation. As Tilly starts to make her way outside, Jen appears and Tilly hides in the store cupboard, which the caretaker locks. However, things start to go wrong for the couple and when Tilly threatens to expose their affair, Jen falsely claims that Tilly has been harassing her and gets her excluded. Tilly does not give up and gives Esther's "tell-all diary", which contains details of her relationship with Jen, to John Paul McQueen (James Sutton). She also plants images of her and Jen together in a presentation piece that Jen is giving, which leads to Jen's dismissal from the college. The storyline also marked Downham's exit from the show. Of her departure, Dixon said "I'm sad because it's the end of an era and I've had a fantastic two and a half years on Hollyoaks. I've met so many lovely people, I've learned so much about acting and I've had a brilliant character to play. I'll miss the people like crazy and I'll also miss playing Tilly, because she was fantastic." ==Storylines==

Tilly has a holiday romance with Esther in Abersoch but tells Esther they can not carry a long distance relationship as she plans to move to London in September for sixth form. However she arrives in Hollyoaks village in September and joins the sixth form college but decides not to reconcile her romance with Esther. She begins a friendship with Jason Costello (Victoria Atkin), supporting him through him wanting hormone blockers. Tilly later becomes under pressure from her studies. She does much revision for a presentation, which she eventually gets marked down for. Tilly becomes upset that she is not getting the grades she wanted. Tilly goes on a night out to a gay bar to try and enjoy herself. She kisses Esther, who accuses her of using her. Tilly apologises to her for leading her on and they become friends again. Tilly meets an art teacher at an exhibition and they go on a date. They begin dating, but Jen begins working at Tilly's college. Tilly becomes trapped in a storage cupboard during a fire when she hides from Jen. Diane O'Connor (Alex Fletcher) discovers Tilly and Jen's relationship, but they carry on in secret. Esther captures Jen kissing Tilly and the rumour spreads around the college. Esther protects Tilly by publicly announcing that she made the rumour up. Jen decides to concentrate on her career and breaks up with Tilly. She is upset by their break up and is arrested for stealing Ash Kane's (Holly Weston) motor scooter. Her father, Kevin Evans (William Ilkley) is angry with Tilly. She fails to support Esther when Maddie begins to bully her. However, Tilly later denounces Maddie's actions before Maddie dies in a bus crash. Jen later convinces Tilly to give their relationship another go. While out on a date with Tilly, Jen finds Esther drinking vodka before she attempts suicide. Jen forces Tilly to keep quiet about it to conceal their relationship. When Tilly threatens to reveal the truth, Jen reports Tilly claiming that she has been harassing her. Tilly is excluded, but she vows to clear her name and exposes their relationship to the school. She then supports Esther through her recovery. Tilly begins spending more time with Esther when she helps her out with an assignment. Esther starts behaving strangely, which Tilly becomes concerned about. She confronts Esther, who admits that she has romantic feelings for Tilly and they kiss. Tilly and Esther begin dating. Tilly supports Esther after she is held hostage and almost murdered by Jade Hedy (Lucy Gape). Frankie is horrified when she catches Esther and Tilly about to take things further, but decides the girls can see each other. When Chloe arrives in the village, Tilly falls for her and decides to break up with Esther, moving to Ireland to be with Chloe. ==Reception==

For her portrayal of Tilly, Dixon received a nomination for Best Actress at the 2012 TV Choice Awards. The following year, she was included on the longlist for Best Serial Drama Performance at the National Television Awards. A reporter from OK! branded Tilly "wise and witty". Anthony D. Langford from TheBacklot stated "I usually don't pay much attention to the show's lesbian characters and stories, but I love Tilly, the teen lesbian on the show. She's so sweet and cute, right down to her adorable wardrobe. And I'm interested in seeing how her new romance with Jen turns out, even though I think the show is rushing through the story with its usual breathless pace." Following Jen's exit, Laura Morgan from All About Soap commented "It was amazing to watch normally timid Tilly kick some butt and get revenge on her ex-lover by putting incriminating kissing pics on the college projector". Morgan added that Jelly's relationship was "pretty short-lived" and wanted it to continue for longer. ==References==