Suzanne Ashworth (also Dick) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Suzanne Hall. She made her first on-screen appearance on 30 September 2005. Suzanne was introduced by series producer David Hanson as part of the Ashworth family. In February 2010, Suzanne was axed from the serial by new series producer Paul Marquess. Suzanne made her final appearance on 14 July 2010. Marquess stated in an interview that he was a big fan of Hall's work in the serial. In late 2010 it was revealed that Hall had returned to filming and Suzanne would be pregnant with twins. Suzanne's storylines have included trying to keep her family together, fathering a son Rhys Ashworth secretly with another man, other affairs and a feud with Kathy Barnes (Sarah Jane Buckley). Suzanne returned to Hollyoaks on 14 January 2011 for a period of 2 months. In 2012 it was announced that Hall had reprised the role once again.
Casting
Suzanne was created in 2005 as part of the Ashworth family by David Hanson, actress Suzanne Hall was cast into the role. In early 2010, it was announced that Allan had stepped down from the position of executive producer and that Paul Marquess had taken over the role. It was soon revealed that Marquess planned to give Hollyoaks a "shake up", changing the productions team and beginning a cast cull by axing the entire remaining Ashworth family apart from Rhys Ashworth (Andrew Moss). The move was part of his reinvention of the serial and clearing out the "deadwood". Marquess later revealed he axed the Ashworths because he believed The Dog should have a lively family at the heart of it, that the Ashworths had become grim because of their hard hitting storyline, but added it was a shame because he is a "huge fan of Hall's work on Hollyoaks". In December 2010, it was confirmed that Suzanne would return to Hollyoaks in 2011. On 3 December 2012, Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy announced that Suzanne would return to Hollyoaks in a guest capacity that month.
Development
Suzanne has been described as always trying to hold her family together. In 2007 Hall stated that Suzanne was unhappy adding: "I have to look really miserable all the time at the moment. I hope soon she can have some happiness in her life, maybe even have an affair." She also added that Suzanne is "downtrodden and bored". Suzanne has been seen struggling to cope with daughter Hannah Ashworth's (Emma Rigby) anorexia battle, of the filming Hall states: "The anorexia scenes with Hannah were so sad. We were crying for hours at a time and the tears were real. I think moreso for me because I have a daughter who is the same age."
In 2011 Suzanne returns and her storyline sees her pregnant with twins. Speaking Suzanne's return Ashley Taylor Dawson who plays Suzanne's old lover Darren Osborne stated: "she says, 'It's twins and they're yours'. At first, he doesn't believe her and he thinks it's a wind-up. The dates match up. It's a huge shock. But when she threatens to go back to Spain, he realises it's not what he wants and he stops her. He decides to man up and be a dad to his kids."
Storylines
After her son Josh and nephew, Fletch (Sam Darbyshire) were involved in a car crash after a joy ride she treated Amy Barnes (Ashley Slanina-Davies) and found out she was pregnant. She told Amy to tell one of her parents about the baby, but Amy was reluctant. When Amy started seeing her son Josh she warned her away from him, because she was worried Josh wouldn't be able to handle having to look after someone else's child.
It was revealed during a stay of her brother-in-law, Noel Ashworth, that she has had an affair with him, and that in fact, Noel is her eldest son Rhys' father, not her husband, Neville. When the family find this out, they are shocked, and Hannah and Josh start to treat her like a stranger.
After returning from a holiday in France, Suzanne began to worry about Hannah and her friendship with Melissa Hurst (Carla Chases) Suzanne thinks that Hannah is under the influence of drugs from Melissa because she doesn't know that Hannah is actually suffering from anorexia nervosa, and bans Melissa from the house. When Hannah accuses Gilly of sexually abusing her, Suzanne believes her at first, but beings to grow suspicious of her story when Gilly tries to explain what really is happening. Suzanne finally realised the truth about Hannah's anorexia when she broke into Hannah's room and found her hidden food, and her food diary. Suzanne felt guilty for not figuring it out quicker and tries to comfort an unwilling Hannah.