Tony Hutchinson

Anthony Barnes "Tony" Hutchinson is a long-standing resident of Hollyoaks, having lived in the village since his birth in 1977. The son of Victoria and Edward Hutchinson, the half brother of Dominic Reilly, Eric Foster, Verity and Eva Hutchinson, the ex-husband of Diane Hutchinson, the ex-husband of Mandy Richardson and Cindy Cunningham, the father of Beau Ramsey, Anthony and Ro Hutchinson and the late Harry Thompson and Grace Hutchinson and the adoptive father of Dee Dee and Eva Hutchinson
Born to Victoria and Edward Hutchinson, Tony was raised as an only child. During his young adult years, Tony maintained a lifestyle of promiscuity, having many relationships and affairs - even dating three women at once around Christmas 1997. This lifestyle continued until 2003, when Tony began settling with Mandy Richardson. The pair were married in 2005 and their daughter Grace was born later that year. However, after Grace's death, Mandy ended their marriage and left the village.
Tony's next long-term relationship was with Jacqui McQueen. However, their relationship was also rocky - especially when Jacqui had fertility issues and Tony's ex-girlfriend Tessie Thompson returned, revealing that he was the father of her nine year old Harry. The relationship ended for good after Tony's affair with Jacqui's sister Mercedes was revealed. Tony next married gold digger Cindy Cunningham, but discovered that she was having an affair with Darren Osborne.
After another bout of unsuccessful relationships, Tony reunited with Cindy and the pair married in 2012. However, merely weeks before the wedding, Tony discovered that Cindy had been having an affair with Jacqui's now-husband Rhys Ashworth. Tony divorced Cindy again and re-united with Jacqui, who went on the run alone in April 2013. Afterwards, Tony began a relationship with childhood flame Diane O'Connor, who he married and had twins with, a son - Ant - and a daughter. However, their daughter was swapped with Tegan Lomax's baby: Tegan named her daughter Rose (who, later on, came out as transgender and changed his name to "Ro"), and the Hutchinsons' named their daughter Dee Dee.
Tony and Diane's relationship has also survived Tony's testicular cancer diagnosis, numerous affairs, Dee Dee's battle with autoimmune encephalitis, and many issues with family members - and has remained strong for over a decade.
== Biography ==
=== 1995-1997: Relationship with Julie ===
Got It Taped owner and Riverbank College chef Tony Hutchinson was the best friend of Kurt Benson. In October 1995, Tony began a secret relationship with Julie Matthews - the friend of Kurt's brother Ollie. However, Tony fought temptation when he lost a computer game competition to Maddie Parker, and accepted a lift home from her. In April 1996, Tony proposed to Julie and she eventually accepted. After Jude Cunningham and Ruth Osborne gave Tony an image overhaul, a jealous Julie broke up with him. Tony followed her up to Scotland for a reconciliation, but found her with another man. He then joined Kurt and friends Bazz and Jambo Bolton on a trip to Ibiza, sleeping with many women (including Sarah Ramsey and a local woman named Maria).
thumb|left|Tony is shocked when Julie jilts him.
Upon his return to Hollyoaks (and an STD scare from his Ibiza holiday), Tony and Julie reconciled once more. However, things fell apart again when Tony caught Julie kissing her bike instructor, whilst Julie found photographs from the Ibiza holiday. Tony tried to move on with a woman named Marilyn, whilst Julie insisted that they split Got It Taped in half. After separating with Marilyn, Tony and Julie reconciled once more and began preparing their wedding. Tony struggled as Julie's mother Maureen tried to take over all of the plans. However, Julie ended up jilting Tony at the altar (to his delight) and leaving the village.
Tony proceeded on the honeymoon in Newquay with his friends, ending up sleeping with Carol Groves. In September 1997, Jambo moved in with Tony, with the pair initially struggling to get on as housemates. In October 1997, Tony was left injured in a car accident when he, Kurt and Bazz chased after Ollie and a drunken Lee 'Stan' Stanley. Both cars crashed, with Ollie and Stan being killed in the disaster. In December 1997, Tony began dating three different women: Tessie, Barbie and Debbie, devising a rota to spend Christmas Day with all of them. However, the relationships all ended at the start of 1998.
=== 1998-2000: Relationships and Hawthorn's Return ===
In March 1998, Tessie arrived on Tony's doorstep, telling him that she had fallen pregnant as a result of their relationship, and demanded money from him. However, after Tony paid up, Tessie claimed that she had conned him in revenge for his affairs and breaking up with her. In May, Tony met Jasmine Bates at a barn dance and the pair soon began a relationship, but was shocked to discover that she was bisexual. In June 1998, he found a homeless man named Finn living in Jambo's shed, later discovering that Finn and Jambo were friends. Tony took a disliking to Finn, especially when he purchased a double-decker bus to convert into a house, parked it on Oakdale Drive, and crashed it into the shed. Meanwhile, in February 1999, Jasmine got bored with Tony and broke up with him after sharing a kiss with Adam Morgan.
In May 1999, Tony began attending a business course run by Hank Ackerman. Afterwards, Got It Taped started struggling financially due to the opening of Monster Movies - a nearby cinema. Tony was left furious when he discovered that the business was owned by Hank and was forced to close his shop down. In September 1999, Tony was informed that Kurt had been killed in a jet ski hit-and-run - an event shortly preceded by the return of Kurt's supposedly-deceased nemesis Rob Hawthorn. Tony, Kurt's sister Lucy, Lewis Richardson and Ruth were taken hostage in a nautical test facility, with Tony confessing his love for Lucy before finding an emergency escape hatch.
After Tony saved Lucy from drowning in the siege, the pair began a relationship. However, Rob returned to the village - having destroyed all evidence of the siege - and continued to terrorise the group. In October 1999, Tony began working as a chef at Deva, but was briefly fired by Andy Morgan after warning him about Rob, who was dating Andy's daughter Beth. On Millennium Eve, Rob set fire to Finn's Bus during the party, only killing himself during the blast. Lucy decided to leave the village to go travelling around the world and Tony decided to join her. However, he scared himself whilst researching tropical diseases, annoying Lucy by making a list of countries to avoid. She ultimately decided to go alone and the pair said their goodbyes at the airport before she left for Mexico.
=== 2000-2002: Becoming a Landlord ===
Purchasing 10 and 12 Hingham Road in February 2000, Tony prepared to convert the houses into student accommodation. His new venture coincided with the arrival of his mother Victoria, revealing herself as Finn's girlfriend. Tony took both the relationship and his parents' divorce badly and attempted to sabotage Finn and Victoria. Tony also had problems with The Review journalist Taylor James, who wrote a negative piece on Tony. Regardless, Alex Bell, Nikki Sullivan, Carol Groves, Anna Green, Sam Smallwood and Geri Hudson moved into the house with Tony. Tony had a brief relationship with Carol, which ended when she left to become a cruise ship singer. In October 2000, Cindy Cunningham and Ben Davies stole Tony's car, running over Anna and leaving her for dead. Tony - who had been drunk the night before and couldn't remember what happened - was initially accused, but recalled where he was after being hypnotised during an event night at The Dog in the Pond.
Tony began attempting to use his tenants to make extra cash, such as implementing a new waste recycling system. After discovering that Adam had hidden cameras around the house, Tony burned his footage, accidentally setting fire to his caravan which resulted in the death of Alex's snake Monty. Problems with the house continued for Tony when he discovered that the system meant that the residents were drinking urine, and the house was condemned in May 2001 when the septic tank exploded. After the death of Charlie Brooks in July 2001, Tony battled Gordon Cunningham for his position on the council, losing to the well-established businessman. In October 2001, Ruth and Tony had a one-night-stand following Lewis's death, but Ruth left the village for London shortly afterwards. After Finn left the village in January 2002, Tony competed with The Loft manager Gary Nesbitt for power over the business.
In April 2002, Tony became friends with Izzy Cornwell, which soon became a relationship. However, Julie's return in August created a setback for the couple. Izzy became increasingly jealous, especially when Julie restored her relationship with Tony and the pair ended up being locked in a freezer together. Julie ended up trying to split Tony and Izzy, after discovering that Izzy had befriended Ben Davies. Tony's relationship with Julie descended into an affair and Julie proposed to him on the same day as Izzy - with Tony saying "yes" to both women! However, Tony was soon outed: Izzy quickly moved on with newcomer Kristian Hargreaves, whilst Julie revealed that she was scamming him to get money for her imprisoned boyfriend, who had embezzled money from her former employer.
=== 2003-2004: Relationship with Mandy and Abuse ===
After the break-ups, Tony embarked on an affair with Gordon's wife (and Lewis's mother) Helen Cunningham. Tony's friend O.B. learned of the affair and, after an argument from Tony, told his best friend - Helen's son Max. Max ended up attacking Tony and told Gordon about the affair on the day of the Businessman of the Year award, which Gordon was set to present Tony with. Tony became close with Helen's daughter Mandy Richardson, with things turning romantic when Mandy played Tony's love interest in a stage play for the Chester Amateur Dramatics Society.
Both Max and Helen opposed to Tony and Mandy's relationship: Helen worried that Tony would cheat on her, whilst Max had feelings for Mandy himself. However, Max's behaviour towards Tony (such as posting fake promotions for his business, stealing his car and reporting his restaurant Gnosh Village to environmental health) pushed Mandy closer to Tony and she moved in with him to escape from Max. Max eventually came to terms with the relationship, but naturally for Tony, it hit a rocky patch. The pair began bickering over the business, Tony calling the police on Matt Musgrove over Scott Anderson's scam (on Matt's wedding day to Mandy's friend Chloe Bruce), and a returning Ruth revealing that her 2001 fling with Tony resulted in a pregnancy and miscarriage.
Ruth's return reunited old feelings for her and Tony. Helen became suspicious, as did Mandy's best friend Becca Hayton, with the latter following Tony. Things escalated when Becca accused them of having an affair and Helen told Mandy, but Tony convinced her that nothing happened. Their troubles came to an abrupt halt when Gordon suffered a heart attack. Mandy was left devastated when both Gordon and Helen were killed in a car accident in February 2004, with their youngest son Tom Cunningham ending up in the care of Tony and Mandy. However, the pair struggled to care for him whilst running Gnosh Village and Washed Up.
Mandy's behaviour in the aftermath of Helen and Gordon's death took a dark turn. Tony ended up looking after Tom primarily, but Tom struggled with living with Mandy and ended up being placed with Tom. Mandy ended up becoming abusive towards Tony and physically lashed out at him, leaving Tony scared of her. A few weeks later, Mandy discovered that she was pregnant and he and Mandy got engaged. However, Mandy - bitter after learning of ex-boyfriend Luke Morgan's upcoming wedding - took delight in telling him that the abortion clinic revealed that there was no baby. An argument ensued and Mandy lashed out at Tony, who struck her in self-defence. Tony was accused of being the abuser, but in August 2004, Becca witnessed Mandy hit Tony and realised it was the other way round. Tony and Mandy decided to undergo therapy.
=== 2005-2006: Family Changes ===
At New Year's 2005, Mandy and Tony decided to separate. After coming to terms with life without Mandy, Tony closed Gnosh Village and decided to move to Rome. Mandy realised she still wanted Tony and followed him across. After convincing him to give her another chance, the pair decided to get married and returned to Hollyoaks together. After 12 Tatton Crescent was destroyed in a fire, Tom returned to Mandy and Tony's care, but he ran away from home when Max wondered what to do about their living situation. Tom was found and he, Max and O.B. moved into 3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 3.
In May 2005, Mandy discovered that she was pregnant and Tony was devastated when she quickly booked an abortion without consulting him. However, despite initially deciding against having children at all, Mandy changed her mind and decided to continue with her pregnancy. Tony struggled with the pregnancy: obsessively fussing over Mandy and developing Couvades Syndrome. Tony then began having troubles with Irish travellers Conor and Rory - the feud resulting in Tony being arrested for brawling with Conor, and Gnosh Village being revamped into Il Gnosh when Zara Morgan exposed a rat infestation.
Not long after his ordeal with the travellers, Tony was greeted by his estranged cousin Dominic Reilly, who he had not seen since Christmas 1987. Dom revealed that his recently deceased mother revealed to him that she was not his biological mother - her sister, Victoria, was! Tony was left greatly unhappy, especially when Victoria confirmed the revelation. Mandy, however, played peacekeeper between the brothers and tried to convince Tony to give Dom another chance. When Dom helped Tony with his new business venture, The Loft, the pair finally began to get along; but Tony began to feel left out when Dom and Mandy grew close.
On the night of the grand re-opening of The Loft in October 2005, Mandy went into premature labour which was only able to be delayed by a few days. To make matters worse, a nurse realised that Tony had chicken pox, meaning that he had to be quarantined whilst Mandy gave birth alone. Tony was left oblivious when Mandy developed post-natal depression and struggled to bond with the baby. Tony was delighted when baby Antonia was discharged from hospital and threw himself into fatherhood. However, after the death of another baby on the ward, Mandy grew closer to the baby, convincing Tony to change her name to "Grace".
=== 2006-2007: Grace's Death and Split from Mandy ===
After losing at the auction for The Pit Stop and Pharmacy, Tony protested what he believed to be a sex shop going in its place. His protest whilst wearing S&M clothing resulted in an arrest, and Tony discovered that a salon was actually going to be built there. After Il Gnosh employee Jessica Harris contracted meningitis, Tony made an excuse to fire her and her friend Olivia Johnson, resulting in the pair protesting topless and attracting significant press attention.
thumb|180px|Tony and Mandy find Grace unresponsive.
However, things soon took a horrific turn in Mandy and Tony's life when the pair returned home from a date - having left Grace in the care of Hannah Ashworth and Becca's sister Nancy Hayton - to find Grace dead in her cot. Tony became preoccupied with finding someone or something to blame, especially when Grace's death was rule as Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome. As they handled their grief in different ways, Mandy turned against Tony and ended up kissing Dom before disappearing. Tony reported her to the police as missing, but she eventually reached out to him and told him that she was leaving the village, alone, for good.
Life was quiet for Tony following Mandy's departure, until he met Jacqui McQueen in September 2006. Jacqui set her sights on Tony and the pair very quickly got along. However, Tony began missing Mandy and decided to go on a last-minute holiday. On his return, Jacqui and Tony decided to become 'friends with benefits', but things came to an abrupt end in November 2006 when Jacqui broke her bail conditions and ended up back in prison. After Becca was murdered in February 2007, Tony encountered Mandy and the pair said a final goodbye.
=== 2007-2008: Relationship with Jacqui ===
Upon Jacqui's release in February 2007, she informed Tony that Davey Thomas was forcing her to marry Albanian immigrant Aleksander Malota. Jacqui was forced to go through the wedding after knocking Davey out as he fought with Tony. However, when Jacqui's sister Carmel fell in love with Alek, Tony and Jacqui were able to continue their relationship - but with some minor adjustments. Tony asked Jacqui to move in with him in July 2007, but Alek was forced to move in too and Carmel also joined.
In August 2007, Jacqui discovered that she was pregnant, but miscarried merely weeks later. After being told that she was infertile, Jacqui believed that Tony wouldn't want her as she couldn't provide him children. As Jacqui entered a downward spiral, Tony evicted Alek from the flat and made Jacqui see that he still wanted to be with her. The pair next looked at adoption, but were informed that they were ineligible due to Jacqui's criminal record.
Jacqui's sister/Dom's wife Tina Reilly planned a surprise 30th birthday for Tony, inviting everyone in his address book. Amongst the returnees was Tessie, who revealed that she had lied about not being pregnant and had given birth to a son, Harry Thompson, in November 1998. As Tony quickly bonded with Harry, Jacqui initially appeared accepting of the revelation but soon became jealous. This jealousy put pressure on the relationship, especially when Jacqui made her choose between her or Harry. During a brief split, Tony had a one-night-stand with Mercedes McQueen, who ended up pregnant. Jacqui wanted to adopt the baby, but Mercedes had an abortion, not telling Jacqui who the baby's father would have been.
Tina ended up offering to be a surrogate for Jacqui and Tony, despite Dom's disapproval. Tina's adamance began negatively impacting their marriage and Dom lashed out at Tony. However, Tina discovered at the scan, that Tony was not the father of the baby - she had fallen pregnant as a result of her one night affair with Russ Owen! Things became more complicated when Mandy returned to the village for Max's wedding to Steph Dean. After Tina was pushed down the Oakdale Drive stairs, she delivered a baby via emergency caesarean, and changed her mind about the surrogacy upon learning she couldn't have any more children. After Niall Rafferty kidnapped the McQueens and bombed the church they were all in, Mercedes told Jacqui about the affair, causing Jacqui to break up with Tony.
Tony went on to have a one-night-stand with Jacqui's cousin Theresa McQueen (who had lied about her age to Tony), unaware of her relation to Jacqui. Jacqui tried to get her revenge on Tony by convincing Theresa to report him to the police for statutory rape, but a guilty Theresa confessed. Jacqui apologised to Tony and attempted to get back with him, but Tony reunited with Mandy and moved to Laos with her in December 2008.
=== 2009-2011: Relationships with Cindy and Gabby ===
Tony and Mandy's reconciliation did not last and Tony left her in March 2009, moving back to the village. Jacqui tried again with Tony, but he turned her down. In June 2009, Cindy began to show an interest in Tony, so her daughter Holly Cunningham set the pair up on a date. She ultimately won him over and they began a relationship. Tony became uncomfortable when Holly talked about marriage and broke up with Cindy after finding her with Darren Osborne. Darren gave her the idea to marry Tony and take his money in their divorce, which Darren planned to do after marrying Hannah on the spur-of-the-moment in Denmark. After Cindy began to feel unappreciated, Tony jokingly proposed to her and Cindy jokingly accepted, with the pair deciding to actually get engaged.
The pair then married in October 2009, despite Cindy telling him about the plan merely hours before the ceremony. However, Holly began to struggle with Cindy and Tony living together, feeling unloved by the pair. When they discussed sending Holly to boarding school, Holly felt unwanted and ran away after an argument with Tony. After Holly was found and rushed to hospital with a head injury, Cindy and Tony fell out as Tony took more interest in Il Gnosh and Theresa, and Cindy turned to Darren for comfort. After meeting Gabby Sharpe whilst house hunting in Wales, Tony decided to divorce Cindy.
Gabby left her husband, Phil, for Tony as well, but her children Taylor and Amber disapproved. Gabby moved in with Tony, bringing the reluctant children with her. However, Taylor turned against his father after learning that he had another secret family and Gabby soon came round. Coinciding with another return from Mandy, Il Gnosh was set ablaze by an unknown arsonist in November 2010 whilst Amber and Finn O'Connor were being looked after by Amy Barnes. Amber and Finn managed to escape through the roof, whilst Steph saved Amy and her children before perishing in the blaze herself.
Dom was revealed as the arsonist, having been paid to do so by Warren Fox (on Mandy's suggestion, as revenge for leaving her in Laos): he had been framed with inappropriate photographs of Amber on his computer and also set fire to Il Gnosh so Tony could claim the insurance money. Dom confessed to the police and was arrested. Meanwhile, after discovering that Amber was pregnant by Finn, Gabby took her and Taylor away from the village. Tony decided to open a spa instead of re-opening Il Gnosh, which she named Look Sharpe. However, Gabby told Tony that she would not be returning as she had met someone else.
=== 2011-2012: Reuniting with Mandy and Cindy ===
After receiving Gabby's 'Dear John' letter, Tony told Mandy that he was still in love with her and the pair, again, reconciled. However, this did not last long as Cindy discovered that Mandy and Texas Longford had been conning her out of her inheritance from her wealthy late husband Alistair Longford. Mandy feared that she would end up in prison and fled from the village, merely leaving Tony a note. In December 2011, Tony decided to open College Coffee - a coffee shop aimed towards the nearby HCC.
Tony began to pity Cindy as she encountered financial problems as a result of her extravagant spending and Mandy's scam, and hired her at College Coffee. Things soon turned romantic and the pair reconciled again. As Tony continued with his business endeavours - purchasing Attwell's Health Club & Spa - he became suspicious of Cindy's behaviour. However, Tony suspected that Cindy was pregnant and proposed to her. She angrily rejected and set him straight, but later asked Tony to marry him herself. Their wedding was planned by Cheryl Brady and arranged for November 2012.
thumb|A minibus crashes through Tony and Cindy's wedding venue.
Things quickly turned disastrous, however, as Tony was left blinded in a minibus crash at the end of October. His sight soon came back to him, but led him to discover Cindy's affair with Rhys Ashworth. Rather than confront her, Tony decided to expose her at the wedding, which turned into a double wedding as Cheryl had also booked Ste Hay and Doug Carter in the same slot. However, just as Tony was about to expose her upon discovering that she planned to run away with Rhys, a minibus with brake failure - driven by Maddie Morrison - crashed through the venue. Whilst Tony decided against telling Jacqui (Rhys's wife), Jacqui learned the truth on Christmas Day and beat Cindy with a gnome. Cindy threatened to press charges, but Tony threatened to fire and evict her. He then revealed that he wanted a divorce.
=== 2013-2014: Cancer and Birth of Twins ===
Jacqui and Tony became closer friends, but Jacqui rejected Tony after discovering that he knew of the affair before the crash. After meeting Diane O'Connor, Tony was left torn between her and Jacqui, but was left uncertain about Jacqui when she began working with Trudy Ryan. The decision was made for Tony when Jacqui decided to go on the run alone when he rescued her from gangster Trevor Royle, whilst Diane discovered that her fling with Tony left her pregnant. As Diane discovered that she was carrying twins, Tony confided in new friend Darren that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Whilst Tony kept his cancer secret from Diane, Cindy discovered that he was about to undergo an operation and proved to be of great support.
The operation failed as the cancer had aggressively spread, and Tony had to undergo chemotherapy. Whilst at his first session, he encountered Pauline Hay - the estranged mother of Tony's former employee Ste. Afterwards, Diane discovered that Tony had cancer and decided to become his carer. When doctor Lindsey Roscoe refused to discharge Pauline without someone to care for her, she listed Tony, resulting in Ste finding out about his mother's condition. Pauline asked Ste to help her die and Tony tried to stop him, but was too late.
thumb|left|Diane gives birth to twins.
After learning that he would need a second operation, Tony fled from the village to Spain after Trevor asked him to deliver a bible with drugs hidden inside. After ending up in Morocco, Tony survived an encounter with "The White Man" and returned to the village, opting to undergo the operation. Shortly afterwards, Tony took Diane to Southport, where they realised that they had met as kids. Diane ended up going into labour and gave birth to twins, who they named Dee Dee and Anthony "Ant" Hutchinson Jr. On the same day, Tony was informed that the operation was successful and he was now cancer-free. However, Tony soon discovered that he had been tricked into working for Trevor, which ended when Tony worked with detective Sam Lomax and had Trevor and his associates arrested.
=== 2014-2015: Affair, Marriage and Baby Swap ===
Tony decided to convert the gym into a restaurant, opening The Hutch in January 2014. He employed Ste, but Ste brought trouble to his door as he dealt drugs for Trevor. Meanwhile, Tony ended up being caught in the middle of Diane's problems with her step-daughter Sinead O'Connor after Sinead was accused of faking illness in her baby Katy. Katy ended up being taken from Sinead by social services and placed in Diane and Tony's care. In March 2014, Tony arranged a surprise wedding for himself and Diane, but Diane was arrested after Ste's drugs were found in the flat. Upon their return home from the police station, Diane found Katy unconscious and she later died in hospital.
Diane accused Sinead of poisoning Katy, but Sinead obtained the post mortem results and informed Diane that Katy had a heart defect. In revenge for Diane's lack of belief in her and accusations, Sinead seduced Tony in an attempt to split him and Diane up. However, the pair ended up falling for each other and ignited an affair. After the pair stayed in Kiger Lodge together, the receptionist called to reveal that Tony's card had been declined, ultimately alerting Diane to Tony's affair. However, Tony managed to talk her round and the pair agreed to get married. On the day of the wedding, Diane discovers a letter written by Sinead for her 'secret lover', realising at the altar that it was Tony. After initially fleeing from the church, Diane married Tony to clean him out in the divorce.
However, Diane ended up giving Tony another chance after having a one-night-stand with married man Lockie Campbell. Meanwhile, Harry made a surprise return in February 2015. After Tegan Lomax - whose daughter Rose was born on the same day as Diane and Tony's twins - fell gravely ill with cancer, she revealed to Tony and Diane that Rose and Dee Dee had been switched at birth. Tony gave consent for Dee Dee's bone marrow to be donated to Tegan, but Diane took the revelation badly and decided that she wanted custody of Rose. In June 2015, Rose was kidnapped, with Tegan and Diane's nephew Scott Drinkwell revealed as the culprits.
=== 2015-2018: Amy's Murder ===
After taking Harry's coming out badly, Tony developed a reputation for being a homophobe. With Scott's help, he planned a gay pride parade to combat the locals' beliefs. In March 2016, Marnie Nightingale set her sights upon The Hutch, but Tony rejected her offer to buy the business. Marnie and her son James then began manipulating Scott into financially tanking the business. Their plan worked and Tony sold the business to James in May 2016.
Tony eventually came round to the idea of Harry and Ste, deciding to take Diane on holiday to France so Ste and Harry could have the house to themselves. However, Ste ended up back on drugs and Tony sent him to rehab. In January 2017, Diane's niece Lily Drinkwell moved in following the death of her mother. Meanwhile, Scott discovered that he was adopted and decided to try find his biological mother, which Tony helped him with. In March 2017, Amy Barnes was murdered and Ste was prime suspect. After Ste was found not guilty, Harry told Tony that he had killed Amy.
Despite James and Tony's best attempts, Amy's police officer husband (and killer) Ryan Knight was able to arrest Harry. As he faced a prison sentence, Tony hid Harry in the boot as he and Diane visited her sister Lynette. Diane discovered Harry and decided to call the police herself, but was hit by a car driven by Misbah Maalik after stepping onto the road. Diane recovered, and Harry decided to turn himself in to the police. Meanwhile, Tony decided to go into business with Darren and Luke Morgan, purchasing Nightingale's to turn back into The Hutch.
=== 2018-2019: Dee Dee's Illness ===
With Diane and Tony both busy running the restaurant, Dee Dee began acting up: Diane caught her biting Ant, Tony caught her decapitating her dolls, and after being kicked out of school holiday club, ruined Tony's attempts to impress food vlogger Amelia Gething. After suffering a seizure, Misbah researched Dee Dee's symptoms and suspected that she was suffering from Autoimmune Encephalitis. However, Dee Dee failed to respond to most forms of treatment and asked Tony if she was going to die. Struggling with the reminders of Grace's death, Tony fled from the village in July 2018.
In September 2018, Ste and his daughter Leah Barnes managed to track Ste down to Julie's house. Upon his return, Tony discovered that Dee Dee would need to undergo chemotherapy, whilst Diane refused to give Tony for abandoning the family. When Dee Dee had to be placed in a coma due to an infection, Diane's anger towards Tony subsided. On the week of Ste and Harry's (who had been released after Ryan was exposed as Amy's killer) wedding, Dee Dee began to respond to treatment and made a recovery. With Tegan being present during Dee Dee's troubles, Diane and Tony decided to co-parent the girls with her. However, the arrangement didn't last long as Tegan died of her injuries after being crushed by a falling tree branch whilst looking for Rose in a storm.
Rose ended up being permanently placed with Diane and Tony, and Dee Dee was discharged from hospital a few weeks later. However, more tragedy struck the family in April 2019 when Lily escaped from the psychiatric ward and died from septic self-harm wounds. Meanwhile, Ste became involved in a gang of far-right extremists, resulting in Tony turning his back on him. In July 2019, Tony became a first-time grandfather when Sadie Cressington gave birth to Harry's son Isaac.
=== 2019-2020: Breda's Kidnap and Edward's Reign of Terror ===
Shortly after Isaac's birth, Harry decided to go on the run, having been framed for the hit-and-run on Grace Black. However, Tony became concerned for his son's safety when he received a text from Harry - unusually - containing an emoji. He began trying to track Harry down, to no avail. After the family's nanny Breda McQueen let slip a detail about Louis Loveday's murder, Tony became suspicious and accused her after Sadie sent him a photograph with Isaac holding a bear Breda had given him. Confronting her in The Folly, Tony caught Breda with Harry's phone but she stabbed him with a screwdriver.
After telling Breda about Grace's death and now Harry's, she decided to allow him to visit Harry's grave. Planting lollipop sticks where Harry's body had buried, his body was eventually dug up by Bronzer as Breda's daughter Goldie was walking him. Meanwhile, as Breda became worried with her family suspecting her of having dementia. After initially agreeing to release him, a disaster with a fallen construction crane in the village caused Breda to change her mind and Tony ended up back at her pig farm. However, in January 2020, he was discovered by Mercedes McQueen and Breda was killed.
Awakening at the hospital, Tony was shocked to come face-to-face with his estranged father - now going by "Edward" - and revealed that Tony had two half-siblings, Verity and Eric. As Tony welcomed his father back into his life, Edward began sabotaging Tony's recovery to split him and Diane. His plan involved him pretending that Tony had a brain tumour, faking a surgery and then drugging Tony with testosterone to make him behave erratically. Scaring himself with his behaviour, Tony decided to move into a caravan. As Diane attempted to reconcile with Tony, Edward beat her with a briefcase and framed Tony. However, Tony and Verity caught him out and Edward - in his attempt to kill Tony - accidentally ate a poisoned mince pie and died of a brain haemorrhage.
=== 2021-2023: New Careers and New Family ===
In February 2021, Diane told Tony that she was pregnant, Edward was the father, and she didn't want a termination. After the shock settled, Tony told Diane that he wanted to raise the baby as if he was the father. However, Diane began developing obsessive behaviours: repeatedly checking the locks on the doors, and not leaving the house due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and covering the flat in newspaper. When she went into labour in June, Diane refused to let Tony into the house as he had been outside, but he managed to convince her to go to hospital. She gave birth to a daughter, who the pair named Eva.
Concerned over Diane's obsessive behaviour continuing after Eva's birth, Tony pushed her to see a psychologist. He also forced her to end her friendship with conspiracy theorist Becky Quentin. Meanwhile, the pandemic took a financial toll on The Hutch. Despite a number of attempts to save the business (including an insurance scam), The Hutch was closed in September 2021 and purchased by Fergus Collins as part of a deal where Tony would become manager of The Dog in the Pond. Tony's half-brother Eric arrived in the village in March 2022 and moved in with him, Diane, Verity and the kids a few months later. After the death of councillor Tom Whitworth, Tony competed against Luke's sister Zara Morgan for his place on the panel. When Tony's campaign revolved more about Luke's sudden death in June 2022, he saw a surge of popularity and ultimately won the election, deciding to make Zara his 'right-hand woman'.
After a disastrous fairground event in the village, Tony began receiving bouquets of flowers with strange cards. Meeting the mystery person - Beau Ramsey - at The Folly, Beau revealed that he was Tony's son, conceived during Tony's promiscuous Ibiza holiday in September 1996. Tony initially struggled with the revelation, causing Beau to turn on him, but Diane eventually managed to reconcile the pair. However, as Tony gained one family member, he was left devastated when Verity was killed after being crushed by a bookcase in Dee Valley Law merely weeks before Christmas.
=== 2023-: Eric's Siege and New Focuses ===
On the day of Verity's funeral in January 2023, Eric arrived at The Dog in the Pond, armed with a crossbow. First sneaking into the flat, Eric shot Diane in front of Tony before holding everyone hostage in the pub below. Diane survived and Eric was arrested, but Tony obsessed over her recovery. After Mercedes's son Bobby Costello confessed to murdering Verity, Tony struggled even more and turned on Mercedes. He became overprotective of his family: refusing to sleep properly in case something happened, and threatening Warren when his son Sebastian Blake pushed Dee Dee off a playground.
Tony's fears wound up in him sleepwalking, which he and Beau only discovered after installing CCTV when the door was barricaded with furniture in the night. After Beau found Tony in the car with Longmere Prison in the sat nav, Tony was forced to tell Diane. Eric later sent Tony a visiting order, but decided not to go after learning that Maxine's facial injury had been inflicted by Eric. After his fears about his family subsided, Tony began focusing on the business and his reputation, eagerly establishing a relationship with Lord Rafe Harcourt.
== Rescue Count ==
=== Successful Rescues ===
#Lucy Benson, 20th September 1999 - Resuscitated after an attempted drowning by Rob Hawthorn.
#Ruth Osborne, 20th September 1999 - Rescued when Tony opens an escape hatch when Rob Hawthorn traps them in a nautical centre.
#Lewis Richardson, 20th September 1999 - Rescued when Tony opens an escape hatch when Rob Hawthorn traps them in a nautical centre.
#Mandy Richardson, 23rd December 2002 - Rescued when Laura Burns kidnapped and poisoned her.
#Harry Thompson, 22nd May 2009 - Jumps onto a grenade after Harry pulls the pin, only to find that it's a toy.
#Amber Sharpe, 10th November 2010 - Rescued from a fire at 3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 4.
#Finn O'Connor, 10th November 2010 - Rescued from a fire at 3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 4.
#Jacqui McQueen, 19th April 2013 - Prevented Trevor Royle from attacking her by smashing a plant pot over his head.
=== Failed Rescues ===
None
== Appendices ==
=== Residences ===
Address 	Duration
Oakdale Drive 	Until 2000
10 Hingham Road 	April 2000-c.2003
5 Oakdale Drive, Flat 1	c.2003-2005
3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 4	2005 - 25th October 2021
1 Stockton Lane 	25th October 2021 to present
=== Employment history ===
Job 	Duration
Chef 	Since c.1993
Got It Taped owner 	Until 1999
Chef at Deva 	1999-2001
Gnosh owner 	2001
The Loft owner 	2001-2003
Gnosh Village owner 	2002-2005
The Loft owner 	2004-2006
Il Gnosh owner 	2005-2010
Look Sharpe owner 	2011
College Coffee owner 	2011-2014
Attwell's Health Club & Spa owner	2012-2014
The Hutch owner 	4th February 2014 - 20th May 201623rd February 2018 - 2nd September 2021
The Loft owner 	2017
The Dog in the Pond manager 	Since 14th October 2021
Dee Valley Councillor 	Since 14th July 2022
== Other Information ==
* Tony has a permanent scar on his forehead, sustained after crashing his bicycle. (Episode 1600)
== Background Information ==
* Tony is the show's longest running character, and actor Nick Pickard is the show's longest running actor.
* Warren Derosa, who would go on to play Rob Hawthorn, originally auditioned for the role of Tony, but was offered the role of Rob when Nick Pickard was cast as Tony instead.
* Tony was portrayed by Tayler Marshall in flashback scenes airing in episode 3718 (23rd October 2013).
* Tony's birthday was originally 14th December (as mentioned in 2004), but was later changed to 30th October in 2007.
== Introduction Sequence ==
*2007: Tony folds his arms as a blue spiral spins behind him.
*2008-2009: Tony folds his arms as grey squares appear and disappear behind him.
*2009-2010: Tony smils as grey squares appear and disappear behind him.
*2010-2013: Tony walks forward slowly as knives and forks fly behind him.
*2013-2015: Tony stands in front of a pink and blue background of stars.
*2015: Tony throws a tomato in the air, and stands back-to-back with Harry Thompson.
*2015-2016 - Tony stands under a sky of Chinese lanterns with Diane Hutchinson.
*2016-2019: Tony stands in front of a carousel with Diane Hutchinson as gold confetti rains down.
*2019-2022: Tony stands in the middle of the road as his kids run towards him, and dances with his family outside of The Hutch.
*2022-: Tony walks out of The Dog in the Pond with his family, kisses Diane Hutchinson and finds Scott Drinkwell under a pile of jackets.
== Quotes ==
== See Also ==
* List of appearances
* Hutchinson family
* Reilly family
* Richardson family
* Cunningham family
* Drinkwell family
== Gallery ==
Tony.jpg|Promotional image
Tonymandywedding.jpg
Tonytheresa.jpg
Wedding day disaster.jpg
Tonycancer.png
Tonydianewedding.jpg
Tonyharry.jpg
Qqqqwwww.jpg
Tony and Helen affair.jpg
Category:Hollyoaks characters
Category:Hollyoaks: Off On One characters
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Category:Hollyoaks Later characters
Category:1995 debuts
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Category:1977 births
Category:2005 marriages
Category:2009 marriages
Category:2012 marriages
Category:2014 marriages
Category:Hutchinson family
Category:Reilly family
Category:Richardson family
Category:Cunningham family
Category:Drinkwell family
Category:Chefs
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Category:Got It Taped employees
Category:Deva employees
Category:Gnosh employees
Category:The Loft employees
Category:Gnosh Village employees
Category:Il Gnosh employees
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Category:Attwell's Health Club & Spa employees
Category:The Hutch employees
Category:Managers
Category:The Dog in the Pond employees
Category:Residents of 10 Hingham Road
Category:Residents of 5 Oakdale Drive, Flat 1
Category:Residents of 3 Oakdale Drive, Flat 4
Category:Residents of 1 Stockton Lane
Category:Book characters
Category:Saviours