15 [04] = Dirk Savage = 9.09% (Semi Final)
(Ranking History = X-50-35-26-04-15)
Another causality from last years top 10 as Dirk slides back down the rankings. Dirk was the lowest ranked character back in 2012 however has steadily rose up the rankings with each passing year until last year he peaked at 4. He still had good support this year, however it seems not as much as love as last year. Dirk is usually a good, dependable character and him and Cindy work well together as a unit, he is (by quite a way) the longest surviving Savage cast member outlasting all his children on the show and now his brother. I guess Dirk hasn't had too many major storylines for a while which may account for his drop and will be interesting to see if anything big for him is on the horizon in 2016.

14 [17] = Celine McQueen = 9.17% (Semi Final)
(Ranking History = X-X-X-X-17-14)
Next up a climber as last years highest new entry Celine climbs up the rankings. She had a strong performance this year and was a contender for the final round as well. I like the character of Celine and think she brings something different from the usual loudmouth McQueen way. She was a suspect to be the GHK, however I don't think she was ever really in the picture. She hasn't had any meaty big storylines for herself and is usually on the periphery of everyone else's storylines. I hope she gets something good to do in 2016 to show just what she can do.

13 [05] = John Paul McQueen = 9.22% (Semi Final)
(Ranking History = X-X-13-08-05-13)
Another McQueen next as John Paul becomes another character to drop out of the top 10 and drops to his joint lowest position. For me the characters can be great when used correctly and the McDean storyline from yesteryear was amazing stuff, his most recent huge storyline with the rape and the aftermath whilst played well I don't think was that great writing for the character. Since then we've seen him with his on/ mainly off relationship with Ste, flings with Lockie and more recently strike up a rather nice relationship with Sally. There has been alot of talk on DS about possible links between Sally/ John Paul - personally I just hope it's a nice friendship, but this is Kirkwood... so expect the expected.

12 [13] = Sienna Blake = 9.55% (Semi Final)
(Ranking History = X-X-29-02-13-12)
Up next is a character who was runner up (to Nancy) two years ago, last year she dived down 11 places, this year she recovers a place and climbs back up the rankings. I find Sienna great, frustrating and annoying all at the same time. I think she is the type of character that works best in small doses however it's her lack of justice that frustrates me. She's done loads of horrible things in tandem with her dad and usually gets off scot-free. More recently she's started a relationship with Ben Bradley, however her daughter Nico killed her daughter which will no doubt be a bit of a relationship killer when it comes out. 2016 will no doubt see more Sienna scheming - she is Queen psycho of the village after all.

11 [10] = Esther Bloom = 10.41% (Semi Final)
(Ranking History = X-19-06-14-10-11)
....And just missing out on a place in the final is Esther who drops a place and continues her yo-yo up and down the rankings. She's a character that is very popular on DS and in some respects I'm surprised she has lasted as long as she has in the show given the high turnover of younger cast members. Over the last year she's been surrogate to Trevor and Grace and more recently we've seen her start up a relationship with Grace whilst Trevor was banged up in prison. She is part of the ever popular Osborne clan and it is probably the strongest and most consistently well received family unit the show has so I think what with Jade's cancer and obviously Grace and Trevor taking centre stage a lot that 2016 will see alot more Esther.

Ranking Recap

11 [10] = Esther Bloom = 10.41% (Semi Final)
12 [13] = Sienna Blake = 9.55% (Semi Final)
13 [05] = John Paul McQueen = 9.22% (Semi Final)
14 [17] = Celine McQueen = 9.17% (Semi Final)
15 [04] = Dirk Savage = 9.09% (Semi Final)
16 [NE] = Harry Thompson = 8.47% (Semi Final)
17 [25] = Patrick Blake = 8.31% (Semi Final)
18 [27] = Joe Roscoe = 8.26% (Semi Final)
19 [08] = Robbie Roscoe = 8.20% (Semi Final)
20 [NE] = Nathan Nightingale = 7.23% (Semi Final)
21 [06] = Maxine Minniver = 10.99% (Round Two)
22 [NE] = Simone Loveday = 10.39% (Round Two)
23 [15] = Myra McQueen = 10.26% (Round Two)
24 [23] = Kim Butterfield = 9.87% (Round Two)
25 [21] = Frankie Osborne = 9.86% (Round Two)
26 [NE] = Louis Loveday = 9.80% (Round Two)
27 [34] = Theresa McQueen = 9.23% (Round Two)
28 [29] = Nana McQueen = 8.56% (Round Two)
29 [20] = Leela Lomax = 8.53% (Round Two)
30 [NE] = Reenie McQueen = 8.50% (Round Two)
31 [30] = Cameron Campbell = 8.37% (Round Two)
32 [16] = Jason Roscoe = 8.26% (Round Two)
33 [19] = Holly Cunningham = 7.97% (Round Two)
34 [41] = Charlie Dean = 7.84% (Round Two)
35 [36] = Leah Barnes= 6.55% (Round Two)
36 [NE] = Cleo McQueen = 5.95% (Round Two)
37 [NE] = Ben Bradley = 9.54% (Round One)
38 [NE] = Zack Loveday = 9.42% (Round One)
39 [NE] = Alfie Nightingale = 9.10% (Round One)
40 [32] = Diane O'Connor = 9.04% (Round One)
41 [39] = Lindsey Butterfield = 8.36% (Round One)
42 [NE] = Mac Nightingale = 8.42% (Round One)
43 [28] = Tom Cunningham = 8.36% (Round One)
44 [NE] = Neeta Kaur = 7.94% (Round One)
45 [NE] = Rachel Hardy = 7.70% (Round One)
46 [NE] = Jade Albright = 7.61% (Round One)
47 [NE] = Sonia Albright = 7.41% (Round One)
48 [40] = Peri Lomax = 7.27% (Round One)
49 [43] = Nico Blake = 7.14% (Round One)
50 [18] = Tegan Lomax = 7.03% (Round One)
51 [47] = Lucas Hay = 6.93% (Round One)
52 [NE] = Sally St Claire = 6.34% (Round One)
53 [NE] = Diego De La Cruz = 6.22% (Round One)
54 [46] = Freddie Roscoe = 5.59% (Round One)
55 [NE] = Ellie Nightingale = 5.58% (Round One)
56 [NE] = Joanne Cardsley = 5.35% (Round One)
57 [NE] = Scott Drinkwell = 5.11% (Round One)
58 [NE] = Pete Buchanan = 4.77% (Round One)

Which now just leaves the top 10 as voted for by you

10 [22] = Tony Hutchinson = 210pts
(Ranking History = 16-21-11-09-22-10)
Kicking off the top 10 this year is the longest serving cast member; Tony Hutchinson. In the time I've been doing this, Tony has only ever made the final round once before and finished in 9th place. In the past year we've seen Tony's son introduced onto the scene and his shenanigans with Ste; we've also seen him on/off relationship with Diane and also worries that he may be the father of Alfie Nightingale. I think its great to see the longest serving character do so well in the rankings and whilst he is another who tends to yo-yo through the rankings I think Tony is a good character and Hollyoaks probably wouldn't be the same without him.

09 [12] = Ste Hay = 217pts
(Ranking History = 03-05-04-04-12-09)
Finishing just 7 points in front of Tony is another one of Hollyoaks' longest serving characters; Ste Hay! Ste is a character who has changed massively since he was introduced as the school bully and Leah Barnes' bit of rough. Since then he's come out and had relationships with Brendan, John Paul and more recently with Tony's son Harry... making the ship name Starry. The character has also become addicted to drugs and found out he is HIV positive. He's gone through a lot throughout his time of the show and is very much a marmite character, gaining usually top place or bottom place dependent on the voter. Last year he dropped out of the top 5 for the first time, so this year he rises 3 places and back into the top 10!

Characters Remaining

Grace Black
Lockie Campbell
Cindy Cunningham
Mercedes McQueen
Darren Osborne
Jack Osborne
Nancy Osborne
Trevor Royle

I think Darren will win! I'm looking forward to finding out I'm glad Nancy has made the top 10.

08 [35] = Lockie Campbell = 230pts
(Ranking History = X-X-X-X-35-08)
Next up is Lockie who takes the biggest climb up the rankings this year and barring a surprising return is where his ranking history ends. He hasn't been in the show that long and had been embroiled with John Paul and Porsche before becoming ensnared in his brother wicked ways. After being set up for the fire which his brother committed and also kidnapped and locked up by him, Lockie was told by Cameron to leave the village. It was one of Hollyoaks' shock exits which didn't end in death, however I guess quite sad considering the character was clearly popular and wasn't really used in a massive way.

07 [09] = Jack Osborne = 246pts
(Ranking History = 17-18-23-15-09-07)
Veteran Jack takes a further climb up the rankings this year and to a new peak position within the top 10. He reached the final round and 9th place last year and its good to see him still ever popular with voters. Jack, along with Tony, Cindy and Darren are really the core characters of Hollyoaks that have been there near enough from the early days and I always think it's great to see them still topping matches and progressing so far. We've seen the Osbornes recently taking in young Jade and learning of her upcoming fight with cancer. Jack has also had to contend with Darren and his usual ways and stepping away from the Dog after so many years as the owner. 2016 should see a lot more Jack action and hopefully with the return of Frankie they can be a proper family unit again.

06 [14] = Nancy Osborne = 267pts
(Ranking History = 06-07-07-01-14-06)
Another Osborne next as Nancy surges back up the rankings after last years massive fall from the top as she climbs back into the top 10 characters. We saw in the previous year that Nancy's popularly was affected by her drug addiction storyline and one where she wasn't really portrayed the best. However fast forward a year and she has sorted herself out and her and Darren as back on track after the whole Sienna stuff a few years ago. Nancy is a very strong character and again one of the longest serving characters, also part of (arguably) the most popular family unit on the show.

Ranking Recap
06 [14] = Nancy Osborne = 267pts
07 [09] = Jack Osborne = 246pts
08 [35] = Lockie Campbell = 230pts
09 [12] = Ste Hay = 217pts
10 [22] = Tony Hutchinson = 210pts
11 [10] = Esther Bloom = 10.41% (Semi Final)
12 [13] = Sienna Blake = 9.55% (Semi Final)
13 [05] = John Paul McQueen = 9.22% (Semi Final)
14 [17] = Celine McQueen = 9.17% (Semi Final)
15 [04] = Dirk Savage = 9.09% (Semi Final)
16 [NE] = Harry Thompson = 8.47% (Semi Final)
17 [25] = Patrick Blake = 8.31% (Semi Final)
18 [27] = Joe Roscoe = 8.26% (Semi Final)
19 [08] = Robbie Roscoe = 8.20% (Semi Final)
20 [NE] = Nathan Nightingale = 7.23% (Semi Final)
21 [06] = Maxine Minniver = 10.99% (Round Two)
22 [NE] = Simone Loveday = 10.39% (Round Two)
23 [15] = Myra McQueen = 10.26% (Round Two)
24 [23] = Kim Butterfield = 9.87% (Round Two)
25 [21] = Frankie Osborne = 9.86% (Round Two)
26 [NE] = Louis Loveday = 9.80% (Round Two)
27 [34] = Theresa McQueen = 9.23% (Round Two)
28 [29] = Nana McQueen = 8.56% (Round Two)
29 [20] = Leela Lomax = 8.53% (Round Two)
30 [NE] = Reenie McQueen = 8.50% (Round Two)
31 [30] = Cameron Campbell = 8.37% (Round Two)
32 [16] = Jason Roscoe = 8.26% (Round Two)
33 [19] = Holly Cunningham = 7.97% (Round Two)
34 [41] = Charlie Dean = 7.84% (Round Two)
35 [36] = Leah Barnes= 6.55% (Round Two)
36 [NE] = Cleo McQueen = 5.95% (Round Two)
37 [NE] = Ben Bradley = 9.54% (Round One)
38 [NE] = Zack Loveday = 9.42% (Round One)
39 [NE] = Alfie Nightingale = 9.10% (Round One)
40 [32] = Diane O'Connor = 9.04% (Round One)
41 [39] = Lindsey Butterfield = 8.36% (Round One)
42 [NE] = Mac Nightingale = 8.42% (Round One)
43 [28] = Tom Cunningham = 8.36% (Round One)
44 [NE] = Neeta Kaur = 7.94% (Round One)
45 [NE] = Rachel Hardy = 7.70% (Round One)
46 [NE] = Jade Albright = 7.61% (Round One)
47 [NE] = Sonia Albright = 7.41% (Round One)
48 [40] = Peri Lomax = 7.27% (Round One)
49 [43] = Nico Blake = 7.14% (Round One)
50 [18] = Tegan Lomax = 7.03% (Round One)
51 [47] = Lucas Hay = 6.93% (Round One)
52 [NE] = Sally St Claire = 6.34% (Round One)
53 [NE] = Diego De La Cruz = 6.22% (Round One)
54 [46] = Freddie Roscoe = 5.59% (Round One)
55 [NE] = Ellie Nightingale = 5.58% (Round One)
56 [NE] = Joanne Cardsley = 5.35% (Round One)
57 [NE] = Scott Drinkwell = 5.11% (Round One)
58 [NE] = Pete Buchanan = 4.77% (Round One)

Characters Remaining

Grace Black
Cindy Cunningham
Mercedes McQueen
Darren Osborne
Trevor Royle

05 [02] = Cindy Cunningham = 284pts
(Ranking History = X-12-12-03-02-05)
After 2 years of being in the top 3 characters, Cindy drops down a few places but retains her top 5 position. She's been very stable (ranking wise) over the last few years and even since she returned she's never dropped below 12. Over the last year or so we've seen Cindy struggle with her mental health and also seen the appearance of an old flame/ husband Mac Nightingale. In recent weeks we've also had the shock that she is Alfie's mum and therefore opens up a load more stroy lines for her with the fallout. I think the character of Cindy is great and I'm glad to see she has made the top 5 characters this year. I really like her relationship with Dirk too and I hope 2016 sees more Cindy storylines bought to the forefront of the show.

04 [07] = Grace Black = 287pts
(Ranking History = X-X-X-41-07-04)
After her massive climb from 41 to 7th place last year, this year Grace manages to do even better as she surges up 3 places and into the top 5 characters. The character for me is ok, but most of the time she does look ridiculous with her puffed up hair, insect type eyes and oompa-loompa skin. However she is clearly a popular character and one that has been at the centre of a lot of storylines. Less so now the whole crap gangster stuff but more storylines which have shown Grace to have more depth of character. Her and Trevor trying for a baby and then using Esther as a surrogate, also her romance with Esther thrown into the bargain too. She was challenging for a place in the top 3 for most of the vote, however the top 3 managed to build up a slight lead which she wasn't able to overcome. In the end she settles for 4th place, but considering where she was 2 years ago is a massive feet.

I am surprised Nancy is so low, I thought it would either be her or Trevor for 1st place. But looking at her history, this is a normal place for her.

Which means the top 3 contains...

Mercedes McQueen
Darren Osborne
Trevor Royle

One of them is the winner... which will be revealed shortly

I hope Darren wins

03 [11] = Trevor Royle = 305pts
(Ranking History = X-X-X-24-11-03)
Taking the bronze medal this year and also reaching a brand new peak is Trevor Royle. Trevor was actually leading the vote at the beginning and the top 3 in fact were extremely close throughout. He received a few lower rankings which meant the top 2 managed to jump passed him, however he finishes just 7 points behind the character in 2nd place. Trevor has been through the wringer a bit in the last year with the introduction and death of his son Dylan, the birth of another child through surrogacy, being put away for the GHK's murders and more recently suffering from Post traumatic stress. I think really Trevor is a bit of an unlikely popular character seeing as he was just introduced as another gangster, but one of the good things the show has done (along with Grace) is give them more depth rather than just 2D bad guys. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Trevor and how the PTSD continues.

Which means either Mercedes or Darren will gain the title of Favourite Hollyoaks Character 2016. Neither have been in the top 2 characters before so both are breaking new ground!!!!

Winner will be announced soon

Come on, Mercedes! She's the (Mc)Queen of Hollyoaks! Very surprised she's managed a top two finish - I thought she was quite a marmite character on here - I think Darren will win for that reason.

Darren and Mercedes are two of my favourites, so I don't mind who wins