So after 4 rounds, your Favourite Hollyoaks Character 2012 will now be revealed. But before we get to the top 10 as just ranked by you, we will count down the 50 characters that were included this year.

Last year there were 48 characters, this year there are 50 – a massive 21 of them being New Entries. In total the final round last year had 115 voters, this year we are bigger and better with 119 voters! Brendan was voted top of the pack in 2011, Jacqui came 2nd and Ste took 3rd place.

Note the characters will be posted 1 by 1 with a bit of commentary – don’t take it to heart if you like a character and I don’t (just to warn any teen fans). Also included will be where the character was in last years rankings in brackets – so you can see if the charcter has risen or fallen year on year

In case you forgot how to vote here is the final vote thread 2012 - http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1626622

2011 Results Thread - http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1436183

So sit back enjoy the results reveal....

50 [NE] = Dirk Savage = 3.75% (Round 1)
Dirk is the first of a massive 21 New Entries this year and find himself completely bottom of the rankings. I don’t think its too surprising seeing as he seems to appear once in a blue moon in the show and has never been given a storyline. It will be interesting to see if the Savage family unit are developed more and he will be on screen more or maybe he could hook up with Diane and then they could not appear on screen together.

49 [NE] = Jodie Wilde = 4.01% (Round 1)
Next up and just above Dirk is Jodie, a character who has been in the show for a relatively short amount of time and has done a bit of a disappearing act, although looks set to return soon. She has had 1 night stand with Dodger and also a liaison with Texas before disappearing. It’ll be good to see if she is developed at all and to see a bit more development from her. If she does then I guess she may well rise if she’s still here next year.

48 [39] = Finn O’Connor = 4.10% (Round 1)
Coming next and with a fall of 9 places from last year is the 2nd youngest cast member – Finn. The low ranking comes as he is even rarer to see on screen and in fact I cant really remember the last time he appeared. However he is down still as a cast member so is included. The whole O’Connor family has turned into a disappointment really, Rob’s departure has turned them crap and directionless. It makes you think if it will come to a stage whereby they may just be quietly axed – as really at the moment for Finn and Diane you wouldn’t really tell the difference.

47 [NE] = Neil Cooper = 4.98% (Round 1)
Slotting into the bottom 5 is the first of the new sixth formers – Neil Cooper. Neil is a character who (like the rest of the teens) has been forced upon the show and put into an already teen heavy show. He is the one teen though who has yet to have an in depth storyline, apart from the driving thing. I guess if he is developed it will probably help him be more liked, however as with the rest of the bottom 5, poor exposure and rubbish storylines have paved the way for poor rankings.

46 [NE] = George Smith = 5.16% (Round 1)
Completing the bottom 5 is the 2nd of the sixth form brigade – George. I think had George been in a later group in Round 1 or I started the thing a week later he would’ve probably been ranked higher as the recent storyline between him and Callum and the homelessness seems to be gaining him fans. George came into the show as a stereotypical gay character; overly camp and very 2D. However Callum and the storyline seems to have brought out the best in the character so next year (if he is still in the show) I would expect him to take a climb in the rankings.

45 [21] = Sinead O’Connor = 5.18% (Round 1)
At 45, with a fall of 24 places and completing a sixth form hatrick is Sinead. Sinead managed to get to Round 2 last year and was one of the most popular teen characters. Fast forward one year and she is one of the most on the show; IMO this is down to the fact the character has turned completely unlikeable and has been too forced on the audience. Bart and Sinead seem to bring out the worst in each other and this year both have taken big falls. Stephanie Davis is a good actress so it’s a shame she has been given such a dire character and storylines to work with.

No big surprises so far! I totally forgot the character of Jodie exsisted until I saw the promo!
ETA: Sinead was quite good last year. They've ruined her.

44 [48] = Liberty Savage = 5.66% (Round 1)
Last year’s bottom ranked character takes a climb of 4 places and avoids the bottom 5 completely. Liberty’s main problem is really the fact that the actress that plays her is dreadful and can’t really act. However I think she’s getting better and since last year we’ve seen the introduction of the Savage clan – who have had mediocre success. The last year has seen an improvement for the character and I think part of her climb is the fact that a lot of the new characters have been quite dire and not very well used.

43 [NE] = Maddie Morrison = 5.81% (Round 1)
Next up is the 40 year old Sixth Former – that’s right the character who looks like she could be the mother of most of the teens, however is in fact a sixth former herself. The trouble I find with Maddie is that there are so many teenage bitches in the show – Sinead, Ruby and Maddie that her inclusion and the reason to bring her in is a little silly. The actress that plays her looks too old to play her and therefore seeing her in scenes with the others looks very weird. However she does have her supporter(s) and people like her relationship with Callum – so every cloud eh!

42 [46] = Ruby Button = 6.24% (Round 1)
Last year I said I didn’t think Ruby was too bad, and then she was rammed down our throats, the character had no redeeming qualities and the actress seemed to have a lot of problems with how to play her. For me in 2011 Ruby was one of the worst characters, however later 2011/ early 2012 and I can see signs of improvement (maybe it’s the fact that Maddie and Sinead are far worse), but I think her relationship with Jono has potential and they work quite well together with their awkward relationship. Will be good to see how it develops and if the character mellows anymore as I think the character could work better the more mellowed and less bitchy she is.

Eww Maddie.

41 [NE] = Will Savage = 6.72% (Round 1)
Sitting just inside the bottom 10 is the 3rd member of the Savage family and a character who was brought in as the geek – Will. As a character I didn’t mind Will to start with; although he was a very stereotypical and 2D geek character. However his relationship with Rae saw him drop the geek personae as he cooled up – however she was then murdered at Silas’ hands as he got with Theresa. Since getting with Theresa, Will has had the new fresher’s brought in around him. For me the character is ok, however needs more consistent development and possibly some more depth.

40 [35] = Tom Cunningham = 6.79% (Round 1)
Next up is the youngest cast member on the rankings who dips down 5 places. Last year I commented that the character of Tom doesn’t really fit into the show anymore and I would still say this. The character is really from a time in the programme that has gone. The writing for the character is bizarre as well; it feels as though they are still writing him as though he was about 5 or 6. Back in the day I would say Tom was a great character and worked so well with Max and OB, however the character (for me anyway) has had a serious decline. Will be interesting to see if/ how the character is developed in 2012.

39 [NE] = Jono = 7.01% (Round 1)
Inside the top 40 is another member of the new sixth formers – Jono. The character came in for a lot of criticism when he first came into the show due to the actor that plays him being on par with Liberty, however I think he has improved quite a bit since then. The character like Neil has been a bit quiet on the storylines front considering how the rest of the other teens have been pushed, however we have seen him being pushed recently with Ruby. I think their relationship is weirdly ok, the awkward nature works for both the characters and has put a different spin on Ruby. Will be good to see how this relationship in 2012 and what else the year has in store for them.

38 [NE] = Declan Brady = 7.16% (Round 1)
At 38 is another new entry and the first of the Brady Bunch (sorry!) to appear. Declan is a character who has had 2 stints on the show and I would imagine will be one character who we will definitely be seeing more of due to the popularity of both Brendan and Cheryl. The character unlike his other family doesn’t appear to be universally loved, however I would say that the more the character is shown and developed the more popular he will become. Once Jay Duffy leaves school I’d imagine that Declan will become a permanent character and be shown a lot more.

37 [NE] = Scott Sabeka = 7.79% (Round 1)
Completing a hatrick of new entries is fresher Scott Sabeka. For me a character who hasn’t really been properly developed or (like the other freshers) given a proper storyline to get his teeth into. There was an almost romance between Scott and Annalise, however this seems to have been forgotten in true Hollyoaks style – possibly to be resurrected at a later date. One thing that does work in his favour is that he is aesthetically pleasing on the eye. However hopefully in 2012 we will get to see more of Scott and the show/ producer will actually take the time to develop the character, otherwise it will probably be a case of Jamil MK2.

36 [10] = Bart McQueen = 7.86% (Round 1)
Bart is next in the rankings, with a massive fall of 26 places, out of the top 10. Last year Bart made the final round and finished in a respectable 10th place, this year however sees a colossal fall in popularity and sees him crash out of round 1 (not even being able to beat the likes of Leanne in his group) and registers the biggest fall for a character from last year. The problem with the character is that the show seems to think Bart and Sinead are the best couple in the shows history, however they bring out the worst character traits in each other. The characters are rammed down our throats and have both become very unlikeable characters – building the sixth formers around them was a bad move too. Hopefully things will improve…

35 [NE] = Tilly Evans = 7.91% (Round 1)
Did someone mention sixth formers? That’s right here’s another one who crashed out in the first round! Tilly ranks just above Bart this year and sees all bar 1 of the cool new freshers gang eliminated in the first round. For me Tilly is a character who has got a fair bit of potential and it’s a shame really that she is shackled down with the rest of the sixth formers. Tilly was first brought in as part of the Wales Week drama and had some good moments with Esther. Since coming into the show however we haven’t seen a good deal of Tilly action in her own storyline and hopefully 2012 sees her developed more and get involved with more stories/ characters.

34 [42] = Leanne Holiday = 7.95% (Round 1)
So next up in the rankings is Leanne who manages to take an 8 place climb. She’s a character who seems to annoy many and her climb in part is possibly down to some dire new characters. However I think she has improved slightly, the storyline involving Leanne, Lee and Amy did nothing for her character, although since Lee’s exit I think she has improved some what. However I do think she is another in a long line of characters that is in good need to getting some depth, hopefully 2012 will bring this.

33 [25] = Diane O’Connor = 8.18% (Round 1)
Next up is…. Erm…. Its Diane – that’s right a character who has barely featured and criminally underused and is therefore not surprising that she takes an 8 place fall. Alex Fletcher is such a good actress and showed how good she was in Brookside, however Hollyoaks has given the character little to do, especially since Rob left last year. Some thought she may have been Silased or developed agoraphobia; however it just seems as though no such storylines have occurred and she’s been doing nothing for several months. I hope she is used more in the future as its such a pointless waste not to use her.

32 [NE] = Rob Edwards = 8.43% (Round 1)
The highest new entry to fall out In the first round goes to fresher Rob who whilst putting up a good fight was eliminated in his group. Rob first major storyline came when he was involved in a hit and run with Ethan, which eventually led to his exit. I have to say that I don’t think Rob’s character is all that exciting, however possibly because he hasn’t been fully explored as a character. I’m guessing as with many characters this will change throughout 2012 .

31 [22] = Ricky Campbell = 9.09% (Round 1)
The highest ranked character who was eliminated in Round is Ricky who just misses out a place in the top 30 after a drop of 9 places from last year. 2011 saw more use of Ricky with Duncan and it seemed as though they were going to exit at the same time, however Ricky was kept on as the actor said he had an offer he couldn’t refuse. However we haven’t seen much evidence of this in the storylines/ screen time he has been getting and when the producer was asked why he was kept on was because ‘it would be good to see him finish his education’ – which seems a very bizarre reason. Whatever the reason Ricky was kept I hope he gets more screen time and proper development as I think with the storyline with his Dad etc there is a heck of a lot of scope for a storyline and Ricky is a heck of a lot more pleasant and interesting than the new influx of cool teens. Oh and someone put him the credits – he’s been in the show for 4 years!

Results Recap (50-31)

50 [NE] = Dirk Savage = 3.75% (Round 1)
49 [NE] = Jodie Wilde = 4.01% (Round 1)
48 [39] = Finn O’Connor = 4.10% (Round 1)
47 [NE] = Neil Cooper = 4.98% (Round 1)
46 [NE] = George Smith = 5.16% (Round 1)
45 [21] = Sinead O’Connor = 5.18% (Round 1)
44 [48] = Liberty Savage = 5.66% (Round 1)
43 [NE] = Maddie Morrison = 5.81% (Round 1)
42 [46] = Ruby Button = 6.24% (Round 1)
41 [NE] = Will Savage = 6.72% (Round 1)
40 [35] = Tom Cunningham = 6.79% (Round 1)
39 [NE] = Jono = 7.01% (Round 1)
38 [NE] = Declan Brady = 7.16% (Round 1)
37 [NE] = Scott Sabeka = 7.79% (Round 1)
36 [10] = Bart McQueen = 7.86% (Round 1)
35 [NE] = Tilly Evans = 7.91% (Round 1)
34 [42] = Leanne Holiday = 7.95% (Round 1)
33 [25] = Diane O’Connor = 8.18% (Round 1)
32 [NE] = Rob Edwards = 8.43% (Round 1)
31 [22] = Ricky Campbell = 9.09% (Round 1)

30 [NE] = Michaela McQueen = 5.57% (Round 2)
So kicking off the top 30 is another new entry and the 2nd lowest ranked McQueen – Michaela. The character left a couple of years ago and at the time was one of Hollyoaks favourite characters – this was back in the days of Mike and Sarah Barnes. However since her return the character has really failed to live up to expectations and the character more than often comes across as annoying than funny. Its was rumoured that she was only brought back to the show to be Silased, however this didn’t happen and has since not really had any big storylines of note or merit and is more a sidelined character at the moment – barring the awful Daytona Lights stuff. Would be good to see Michaela go back to the glory days, however at the moment that seems a bit of a long way off.

29 [NE] = Joel Dexter = 5.80% (Round 2)
Next up in the top 30 is a character who turned up late last year in order to play a part in Warren’s exit from the show. Joel was revealed to be Warren’s son; despite Warren denying this, test proved he was indeed his son. After Warren’s arrest, Joel seemed to disappear from the village; however spoilers show that he is set to return to the show. I guess its difficult to see at the moment the plans for the character, however I think considering who his dad is that he will become embroiled with Brendan and some dodgy going ons.