Neville Ashworth
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| Neville Ashworth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Hollyoaks character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Jim Millea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2005–2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 30 September 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 14 July 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | David Hanson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Neville Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Jim Millea. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 30 September 2005 and was introduced by David Hanson. Neville departed in July 2010 with his wife Suzanne Ashworth (Suzanne Hall) and their son Josh Ashworth (Sonny Flood), after they were all axed by new executive producer Paul Marquess.
Backstory
Neville Ashworth is one of the main 'adult' characters in Hollyoaks and the head of the Ashworth family. As such, the character has provided the parental viewpoint in storylines that cover issues such as eating disorders,[1] incest,[2] drug addiction[3] and misattributed parentage. In contrast to this role, he is also the comic relief in many scenes, with Neville characterised as old fashioned, boring and somewhat bigoted, in the tradition of former character, Gordon Cunningham. Like Gordon, Neville is also a small businessman and owns the local shop, Drive 'n' Buy. In late 2008, the character became the local publican when he purchased The Dog in the Pond.[4]
Casting
Actor Jim Millea was given the role after regular auditions for Neville's character in the Ashworth family, he was created by David Hanson. 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.[5] It was soon revealed that Marquess planned to give Hollyoaks a "shake up", changing the productions team[6] In February 2010, it was announced that new series producer Paul Marquess had decided not to renew Millea's contract, along with Suzanne Hall and Sonny Flood's contracts. Hall and Flood portray Neville's on-screen wife and son respectively. A Channel 4 spokesperson stated: "It was only time before some were given the boot. Everyone knows that the new captain's reputation precedes him as far as putting a stamp on a show is concerned." The continued: "He's getting rid of the dead wood — nobody is safe. This is just the beginning. Over the next few months expect to wave goodbye to even more faces."[7] 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 storylines.[8]