Carl Costello
Carl Costello is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Paul Opacic. The character was introduced by executive producer Paul Marquess and he debuted on screen during the episode broadcast on 19 July 2010. Carl arrived in the village as the new owner of The Dog in the Pond and the father of established character Jem Costello. Carl departed from Hollyoaks on 1 December 2011 with his son Jason. Opacic later reprised his role and returned to Hollyoaks on 26 September 2012 and left again on the 5 October 2012. Opacic reprised his role once more in January 2013, which coincided with the exit of Mitzeee (Rachel Shenton). He returned on 25 January 2013 and departed again on 15 February 2013.
Creation and casting
Lucy Allan quit the role of executive producer in January 2010, Paul Marquess is then quickly employed as her replacement. Marquess revealed his plans to give Hollyoaks a "shake up", and initiated a cast cull along with the introduction of several new characters. In April 2010 Marquees announced his intentions to introduce the Costello family. Speaking about the new family Marquees stated "They're only one of three families. They're family number two. The thing about the Costellos is that The Dog has to be somewhere the audience wants to be. [...] I'm not saying the Costellos won't have serious stories but I think you'll want to be there. He branded Carl and Heidi Costello (Kim Tiddy) as good looking. The Costellos were a built on family to the all ready established Jem Costello (Helen Russell-Clark). Opacic was cast in the role and during an interview with E4 he stated: "It's a very exciting time at Hollyoaks right now. Paul Marquess has got a proven track record, and I think it's turned the whole thing around. [...] It seems like a re-birth of Hollyoaks."
