Annalise Appleton is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Tamaryn Payne. She made her first appearance on 28 September 2011, alongside her boyfriend Rob Edwards (David Atkins). Annalise was Payne's first big television role and she initially signed a six month contract. She had to complete four auditions for the role and moved to Liverpool for the role. Annalise and Rob were introduced with three other regular characters as university freshers that would begin studying at Hollyoaks Community College. The characters were promoted through university media and the soap opera. Hollyoaks wanted to show a realistic university experience through the characters, which included having them struggle to adapt to their lifestyle change. Annalise was characterised as being as being a perfectionist and controlling. Payne believed that Annalise was insecure but a good person despite coming across as annoying. Annalise disapproves of Rob's partying lifestyle and there is conflict between them, which Atkins believed reflected the real life experiences of new university students already in relationships. Annalise later breaks up with Rob and begins a romance and later relationship with Scott Sabeka (Calvin Demba). Annalise's other storylines have included her passion for event planning and her university life. Payne later left Hollyoaks alongside Atkins and their last appearance aired on 18 February 2013. Their exit storyline saw Rob and Annalise reunite and move to London together. Payne revealed that she decided to not renew her contract as whilst she enjoyed the character and being on Hollyoaks, she wanted to explore other acting projects. Critics also called Annalise a perfectionist.
Casting and creation
In September 2011, it was announced that Hollyoaks would introduce five new regular cast members, all of whom would portray new "cool" freshers that would begin studying at Hollyoaks Community College alongside established characters. 22-year-old Tamaryn Payne was announced to be portraying the "beautiful perfectionist" Annalise. The five characters were announced prior to Payne's casting, which was reported later in September. In addition to Annalise, the other four characters to be announced were Rob Edwards (David Atkins), Scott Sabeka (Calvin Demba), Barney Harper-McBride (Tom Scurr) and Ash Kane (Holly Weston). New Hollyoaks executive producer, Emma Smithwick, revealed that the soap were trying to show a more "realistic portrayal of university life" through the five characters, with the characters adjusting to their new lifestyles and "the struggles it brings", with the characters seeming like "fish out of water at times". To promote the new characters, Digital Spy released a promo advertising them, whilst Payne and Weston were featured in a Pillow Magazine photoshoot. Student magazine Impact also published interviews with the five cast members. Promoting the new characters, Hollyoaks stated, "Possibly the coolest set of students ever to land in the Chester village, this year's Freshers are set to shake things up... Join them all as they live, love and learn life's hardest lessons in one of the wildest, most fun and cringe-worthy Freshers' weeks of all time". It was initially reported that Annalise would make her first appearance on 26 September, but she actually debuted two days later, along with Rob. Payne did not tell her family about the episode's broadcast as she wanted to watch it by herself before watching it with them afterwards.
Payne secured the role after auditioning for it, which she found "amazing" as she wanted to take the "next step" in her acting career. Payne did four auditions for the role, the first of which was in London and was a general audition, as the producers had not yet written Annalise's character but were planning to write some new student characters into the show, where Payne had to read some old scripts, and had to read for Steph Cunningham (Carley Stenson), which she found "funny". Payne had to travel to Liverpool three times for her other auditions, which she found "gruelling" and made her feel like she had earned the role at the end. Anna Passey, who would later go on to portray Sienna Blake in the soap opera, had also auditioned for Annalise and was "really disappointed" when she found that she had not been successful. Payne revealed that she would have wanted to secure a role in Skins had she not been successful in her Hollyoaks audition. Being on Hollyoaks was Payne's first major acting role. Following the announcement of Payne's casting, a lecturer from Bournemouth and Poole College, where Payne had studied, praised the actress, saying that the team were proud and it was "no surprise [Payne] is doing so well – she was always one to watch!" Payne moved to Liverpool for the role, which she enjoyed, and began filming in July 2011.
Payne initially signed a six-month contract for the show and did not what it meant when she was told that Annalise was a "regular". Payne teased that she and the other "Freshers" cast members were planning to do a Come Dine With Me special. Payne was a fan of Hollyoaks before she joined the cast and revealed to Bournemouth Echo that she used to watch it every day when she was younger, which made her more nervous about the role, and that she felt a bit "bit star struck" being on the set. She added that she hoped that being in Hollyoaks would raise her profile and get other people in the industry to recognise and respect her, which she believed would be a good thing. Speaking about working on a high-profile television series, she told Pillow Magazine, "I haven't really thought about [fame] much, and I probably should, James [Atherton] who plays Will was saying it's the fourth most watched programme or something. Crazy. It's literally like millions of people isn't it. Mental. I don't think I've got my head round it yet. I think it'll be a bit more of a reality when we're actually on telly and I'm getting all my friends saying, 'oh my God, I saw you', I don't know what it's going to be like yet, but just try and take it one stride". Payne added that she wanted to try to be responsible and set a good example in her private life due to Hollyoaks having a young viewer following.
Characterisation
Annalise was described as being beautiful and a "perfectionist" by Digital Spy. She was introduced to be studying Public Relations at Hollyoaks Community College and is the long-term girlfriend of Rob, who debuted in the same episode as her. Pillow Magazine also called Annalise a perfectionist and noted how she has moved in with Rob and "trying to be all grown up", only to realise that her boyfriend always wants to "go out and party". Annalise's official Hollyoaks character profile explained how Annalise is "thoroughly disapproving" of Rob's "non-stop" partying and that she is "determined to keep him on a tight leash. Hmm, good luck with that one..." They also wrote, "We'd better make sure there are no spelling mistakes in this because Annalise will not stand for it! The ultimate perfectionist, this well groomed PR student likes to keep things calm, organized and under (her) control - which is good in theory but difficult to achieve in the chaotic world of HCC". Payne revealed that Annalise is a bit insecure and that there is a "reason" why she gets very stressed. In order to further promote the five new characters, the British National Union of Students released a blog with advice for new university students from the five cast members. Payne wrote:
"Annalise's flatmates are her worst nightmare and 7 people living in halls is never going to guarantee you all get along. She's OCD and a bit of a princess but if anything she just mothers them all and most of them welcome that. Annalise is there to use everything the uni offers and get the most out of her experience and not on a social level which means she often clashes with her housemates. Wait it out, be patient and make an effort and soon enough everyone will get to know you in your own way. There are plenty of people in the same boat as you who move into halls so don't be afraid to make a complete fool of yourself, Annalise surely does!"
In an interview with the student magazine Impact, Payne revealed that Annalise puts a lot of pressure on herself to "be running every aspect of her life" and does not give herself much of a break. She attributed this to Annalise's family, as there is a lot of pressure on Annalise to do well as her sister is a "bit of a slacker". Payne revealed that Annalise is very insecure and tries to please people, which does not always make her the "happiest person". The actress believed that despite sometimes coming across as irritating, Annalise is a "really nice person", and hoped that new university students watching the show would empathise with the character. Payne added that Annalise has a cleaning obsession and is a "real clean freak around halls". Payne believed that Annalise is a control freak, but more to do with herself rather than others. When asked about Annalise's ambitions, Payne replied, "Bless her, she's only 18. I think it's a big, big dream. There's a reference to her wanting empires in London and Paris – she thinks about it all the time, whether it's going to become a reality or not is another matter I suppose". Payne also revealed that Annalise is a big fan of the British royal family and wants to be "immersed in that world", being part of their lifestyle and being associated with them. Payne later referred to Annalise as the kind of girl that viewers would laugh at.
Development
Discussing Annalise and Rob's relationship, Payne explained that Annalise is trying to "mould" Rob into being her perfect man but is not succeeding very well. The actress explained that it is a bit of a "struggle", as Annalise wants to control Rob and "keep him on a bit of a leash", as he likes going out drinking and being with his friends, but she also wants him to be happy and does not want to push him away. Atkins believed that Annalise does a lot for Rob and can be quite controlling, and that she is the reason that he is at university. When asked if he believed that there would be fireworks between Annalise and Rob due to Annalise not approving of his lifestyle, Atkins replied, "There's definitely the potential. It's like any relationship. Uni is your coming-of-age, figuring out the world for what it really is. Being in a relationship at that time...in some ways it's a good thing, but in other ways it can be quite restricting. Giving each other space is important, but being in the same halls makes it difficult". Atkins believed that Annalise and Rob's relationship troubles would reflect the experiences of people who begin university whilst already in a long-term relationship.