List of Hollyoaks characters introduced in 2017

Lily McQueen (also Drinkwell), played by Lauren McQueen, made her first appearance on 6 January 2017. The character was announced on 12 December 2016, with further details including McQueen's casting announced on 22 December. Of securing the role, McQueen told Laura Morgan of ''All About Soap'' that she met with executive producer Bryan Kirkwood in June 2016 and took part in a reading with one of the cast members. Later that day, her agent rang her to say that she had been offered the role of Lily. She added, "It's brilliant because I live about 15 minutes away from the set. It's the perfect job for me, really."

Lily is the niece of established character Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher). She is billed as a "schoolgirl who's dedicated to her studies but just as feisty as her family members". Lily is also very independent and a "mini-superhero" to the less popular students of Hollyoaks High. McQueen explained that her character appears to be a "typical kind-hearted, butter-wouldn't-melt young teen", but she is actually very tough. She also said that Lily "absolutely adores" her aunt, gets on well with Diane's husband Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) and is close with her cousin Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams). Lily arrives in the village following the recent death of her mother, Babs, who died from terminal cancer. Her mother's illness has forced her to "grow up before her time." McQueen teased that Prince McQueen (Malique Thompson-Dwyer) could be a possible love interest for Lily. McQueen commented that Lily and Prince were total opposites and that no one would think to put them together. Lily also struggles with self-harm and later becomes engaged to Prince, without knowing that he has got her friend Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) pregnant.

Laura-Jayne Tyler of ''Inside Soap'' praised Lily's arrival, saying "We love ''Hollyoaks''' newcomer Lily. She's a charming, friendly, nice girl – so seems like a real innovation in the village!" In August 2017, McQueen was longlisted for Best Newcomer at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards, while she and Thompson-Dwyer were longlisted for Best Partnership. The nominations did not progress to the viewer-voted shortlist. McQueen was nominated for the "Best Newcomer" accolade at The British Soap Awards 2018, however lost out to Lorraine Stanley who plays Karen Taylor in ''EastEnders''. However, Lily's self-harm plot was awarded "Best Storyline" at the ceremony, as well as "Three Mothers, Three Daughters" detailing the effect of self-harm being awarded the "Best Single Episode". Provided by Wikipedia