O.B. (Hollyoaks)
Sam "O.B." O'Brien is a fictional character in the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Darren Jeffries. He debuted on-screen on 16 June 1997 before leaving on 26 February 2008. He later made a brief return in July 2008 before leaving on 11 July 2008. While on the show O.B.'s storylines revolved around his friendship with Max Cunningham and several relationships. The character has been described as iconic and is most notable for his "Classic comedy duo" status with Max. Jefferies was nominated for several awards for his time on the show.
Casting
Actor Darren Jefferies studied drama for three weeks prior to successfully auditioning for the role of O.B. On 15 November 2007 it was announced that Jeffries had decided to leave the serial. On his decision to leave Jefferies said it was so he could pursue "new challenges" and said "after 10 years on the show I now feel the time is right to move on". Producer Bryan Kirkwood added that he was "absolutely gutted by Darren Jeffries' decision to leave but I totally respect that after 10 years of being a character, he wants to move on to different things" and added that he thought Jefferies was a "brilliant" actor. Jefferies later said "It would have been very easy to stay in Hollyoaks for another 10 years, but, at the end of the day, you don't get on in life without taking a few risks" and added that the decision to leave was "difficult" but "it's one that I made three years ago. That made it a lot easier to prepare, both mentally and physically". After leaving in February 2008 Jefferies later confirmed he was to return to work on a storyline which aired later that year.
