Norma Crow

Norma Crow (also known as The Undertaker) was a gangland boss, whose organisation has been active in Hollyoaks since at least 2020. She was the mother of Warren Fox and Katy Fox and the grandmother of Joel Dexter, Ella Richardson, Sebastian and Sophie Blake and also Maria-Gabriella McQueen.
The former employer of Fergus Collins, Maya Harkwell and Ethan Williams, Norma arrived in the village in April 2022 - accompanied by her faithful driver and assistant Godfrey - to confront Ethan, Sienna Blake and Ste Hay over the theft of her money. After firing Ethan, Norma forced Ste and Sienna to work for her. She also recruited Sienna's ex-fiancé Warren Fox, as well as lawyer James Nightingale.
However, Norma soon revealed her ulterior motive for wanting to work with Warren: she was actually his biological mother! Despite telling him that she had always intended for his late sister Katy to be her heir, Norma began developing maternal instincts for Warren. After Warren began suffering from liver failure, Norma offered herself as a donor, unaware that Warren planned to kill her in revenge for his childhood trauma following the transplant. However, he changed his mind after they bonded. The pair continue to fall out and reconcile as Norma attempts to make amends for the 40-odd years of Warren's life she missed out on.
==Biography==
=== 1965-2022: Life Before Hollyoaks ===
Norma was born in October 1965. She began a relationship with a man and gave birth to a son, Warren Fox, in their Moston home. Warren's father was abusive towards Norma and she felt forced to put him into a care home for his protection. Norma would watch Warren from a distance, but Warren's father became enraged with her and became even more threatening. Fearing for her life, Norma murdered him and buried him under the house's floorboards. To cover up her crime, Norma ended up getting involved with some dodgy people, ultimately eventually becoming crime boss 'The Undertaker'. 
=== 2022: Arrival ===
thumb|180px|Norma introduces herself to Ste and Sienna.
Norma arrived in Hollyoaks in April 2022 to confront Sienna Blake, Ste Hay and Ethan Williams over the theft of her money, which Ethan had been laundering through Wham! Glam! Thank You Tan! She had her chauffeur, Ethan's accountant Asher Jones, to take the trio to Mollihurst & Co Funeral Services where she demanded that Ethan decided who would be killed over the theft. Ethan put himself forward as punishment for dragging Ste and Sienna into a life of crime, but Norma suddenly turned and shot Asher dead, revealing that he was a police informant. She forced Sienna and Ste to clean the scene, fired Ethan, took over the nail salon, and told Ste and Sienna that they worked under her now.
After Sienna planted an urn in front of 5 Oakdale Drive, Flat 3 to scare detective Zoe Anderson, Norma kidnapped her twins Sophie and Sebastian Blake. She then approached the twins' father, gangster Warren Fox, and attempted to hire him to no avail. After tricking Sienna into giving him Norma's phone number, James Nightingale - who had a £37,000 debt to Jeremy Fanning - offered his services as a lawyer in exchange for help paying off the debt. Norma agreed to the latter condition, but told James that he would also be doing her 'dirty work'. However, James's son Romeo went in James's place and was attacked. An impressed Norma, believing James had sent Romeo, blackmailed James into working for her, which he left the village to do.
Having discovered that he killed her boyfriend Brody Hudson, Sienna asked Norma to murder Warren. Norma, however, ended up hiring Warren and called Sienna weak for not being able to kill Warren herself. Finding Warren left for dead in a skip after being struck with a wheel brace, Norma hid him and tested Sienna's trustworthiness by demanding that her and Warren buried the body of Barry Walker. Sienna failed the test when she lied about Warren's whereabouts to Norma and brought Ste to help her with the burial. When a returning Warren failed to have Sienna killed, Norma hired an embalmer, who mistook Liberty Savage for Sienna and attempted to kill her. Afterwards, Norma told Warren and Sienna that she wanted them to work together to take over her business.
James returned to the village, revealing to his family that whilst away, Norma had him frame a man - Stuart - for a crime he didn't commit, leading to his suicide. James returned to working for Norma, bugging his briefcase which was tampered with by Romeo. She had James trick a client - Owen Murphy - into signing over his property portfolio to her, and kept James working for her by playing on his addiction to gambling. After tricking Warren into shooting his son Joel, Norma managed to convince him to distance himself from his family to keep working for her. Learning from corrupt police officer D.S. Amaral that James had made a statement against her, Norma hired Warren to kill him, but caught Warren in the park with his kids instead.
=== 2022-2023: Family Connection ===
thumb|180px|Norma and Warren fall from a balcony.
After Godfrey slipped a funeral pamphlet with Joel's face on it into Joel's pocket, a furious Warren turned on Norma. Following Norma to a warehouse, Warren prepared to throw her from a balcony until she revealed that she was his biological mother. A struggle with D.S. Amaral resulted in Norma being knocked off the balcony, pulling Warren down with her. After proving that she was his biological mother, Norma revealed that she had wanted her other daughter Katy Fox to become her heir before signing over half of the Crow estate to Warren.
In October 2022, Warren was diagnosed with liver failure and as Warren would likely never receive a transplant, a shocked Norma offered to donate some of her liver to him. Warren agreed but planned to kill Norma after the operation. However, things were made complex with Warren struggling with the psychiatric evaluation and a man named 'Turner' attempting to kill Norma. Norma ordered Warren to identify 'Turner', with Warren recruiting Grace Black to help and discovering that 'The Embalmer' and Godfrey were working together to kill her and Warren. Warren killed 'The Embalmer' and Norma told Godfrey to run for his life. As Warren's condition worsened, Norma tested to see if she was a match but returned a negative result - unaware that Grace falsified the result so she could take over Norma's empire.
When Norma did discover the truth, Warren threatened to harm Grace's son Curtis whilst Norma had Dr. Fenton murdered. The transplant eventually carried out, even after Norma had second thoughts. Norma then attempted to become a bigger part of Warren's family: attempting to help Warren win the twins over from Sienna and getting a family portrait designed. Norma ended up taking drastic measures and kidnapped the twins, planning to take them and Warren with her to Honduras. Upon learning of her plan, Warren turned against his mother again. In a last ditch attempt to reconcile, Norma told Warren about his father before his childhood home was demolished. Returning to the village, Norma was met by an enraged Sienna and decided to leave until things cooled down.
=== 2023-2024: The Threat of Terry Smart, New Business Ventures and Discovering Ella's Secret ===
As Norma seems to be settling in Hollyoaks well with Warren, she receives a text from an old contact informing her that Terry Smart has been released from prison and isn't happy, Norma seems panicked but soon meets up with Terry who demands money as its revealed Terry worked for Norma in the 1990s and wants what his owed from Norma for his time inside prison as he took the fall for Norma, Norma at first pays Terry money but he tells her it's not enough, later on Norma offers him one of her business' to which he threatens her that he will harm her grand children if she does not pay up. Norma attempts to reassure him that he will get what his owed. 
The next day, Norma is confronted again by Terry only this time he seems more angry with her after giving Norma's original offer some thought, Norma is told by Terry she has to pay him what he owes her otherwise he will go to the police with all the evidence regarding the job all them years ago, Norma is stunned when, Jack Osborne steps in out of nowhere to her defence as its revealed he sent Terry down but Terry attacks Jack and issues a threat to Norma. Norma then attends to an injured Jack where Warren would walk in and demand what's going on Jack tells him but Norma tells Warren she can handle it however this falls on deaf ears. Later on Norma discovers Warren threatened to kill Terry but would also discover a threat from Terry in the post however before she and Warren can decide what to do about Terry, Joel breaks the news that Juliet isn't doing too well with her cancer. 
The next day, Norma prepares to pay Terry off but is stopped in her tracks by Warren who tells her not to and he will deal with Terry however after a day worrying what Warren has done to Terry, Norma is stunned when Warren tells her she was right and that he paid Terry off. Norma then tells Warren that he can do better than Sharon as she was so quick to judge him after Norma is told by Warren he wants to go and see her but ultimately agrees with Norma. Norma would later step in when Warren's and Felix's garage business is in threat of going under, Norma gets a bag full cash but tells Warren they need to launder the, Norma along with Warren orders Ethan to launder the cash through The Loft but as she leaves she is unaware that Terry is back and is watching her every move, he then later steals the cash. 
When Norma discovers that Felix is doing illegal underground fighting, she instantly sees a money making opportunity and she contacts a contact of hers to tell them about Felix. Norma is then confronted by Terry looking for another payment. Norma decides to let Terry in on the cut of Felix's fights if he wins which Terry reluctantly agrees. Norma however decides to double cross Terry after Felix's second fight by taking the winnings for herself then threating Terry that she will have Warren deal with him if he were to return. Norma later decides to expand hers and Warren's business' and later has an off-screen chat with Grace Black where Grace agrees to sell her share of The Loft to Norma who splits the share with Warren which surprises Sienna and Ethan. 
Norma is later curious why Ella Richardson seems to be keeping something from Warren after Ella's outburst in The Lost. Norma follows Ella home and overhears, Ella stating the Warren is her father. Norma is shocked but seems to be happy with the possibility of Ella being her granddaughter. Norma agrees to have Ella's 16th at The Loft and plans to tell Warren along with Ella that he could be Ella's father however they're both beaten to it by Ella's former friend, Shing Lin who takes the microphone and announces it to everyone attending the party, this infuriates Norma. 
Not long after the events of Ella's 16th birthday party. Norma goes behind Warren's wishes by giving a DNA sample for Ella to have a DNA test to discover the truth. Norma is approached by Ella who tells her that she has the results, Norma invites Ella for lunch in a bid to open the results together, when Ella arrives Norma is surprised that she's brought along Cindy and Dave after an awkward dinner, Norma gets into an argument with Cindy who is trying to convince Ella to open the results. Warren walks in and Cindy tells him about Norma helping Ella get a DNA test, Warren is furious but Norma is stunned with happiness when the tests reveal Warren is Ella's father. 
Norma later tells Warren that she wanted to make up lost time with Katy with Ella, Norma attempts to get through along with Mercedes to Warren to make things right with Ella however Warren is adamant he wants nothing more to do with Ella which frustrates Norma, Norma is left even more frustrated by Warren when he sends Ella to Los Angeles to visit her mother, Norma later gets Ethan to set her up a social media profile so she can keep in contact with her granddaughter. 
While Ella is away, Norma is approached by Darren Osborne who is in debt for a loan on £13,000. Norma agrees as long as Darren is willing to pay her off or work it off, despite Ethan's pleas, Darren agrees to working for Norma, Norma sets Darren the task of dropping off some cash to an associate of hers but Darren is attacked as it wasn't the amount agreed, thankfully Darren was saved by Warren and Felix. Norma is confronted by Warren over recruiting Darren. At first Norma seemingly agrees to let Darren off but later on Norma phones Darren stating she will 'give' him the money hinting majorly that she accepts Darren to pay her back. 
=== 2024: Ella's Death And Murder ===
In January 2024, Norma is devastated when Ella is killed in a hit and run with the car being driven by Ste. Norma doesn't discover this until some months later along with Warren and the pair vow to make Ste and husband James pay for killing Ella and covering it up but the pair seem to soften towards Ste and give him a chance by working for them. Norma is so devastated by Ella's death she has a rare moment with Ella's best friend, Leah Barnes when she comforts her. 
Despite Ella's death, Norma does her best to get on with life by being there for Warren and even going on a date with Donny Clark, however the pair decided not to take it any further with Donny having strong feelings for Misbah instead. 
Norma then turns her attention to Mercedes and her unborn babies as it's a chance for her and Warren to start afresh after Ella's death. Norma is then seen egging Warren on to make amends with Mercedes which despite several attempts they eventually do. 
By June 2024, Norma is shocked when Warren is shot in the middle of the village but is pleased when she sees her son is wearing a bullet proof vest. Norma then tracks down the bike the shooter was driving but the pair have no luck in tracking down the culprit despite Warren receiving a warning. The pair then are told that a gangster named Blue is after them, Norma does some digging and is unconvinced that Blue is Freddie Roscoe after Warren is dead set on the idea. Norma after having a conversation with Grace, realises Freddie isn't Blue. 
By July 2024, Norma decides to head to Tuscany the day after her great grandsons, Noah Dexter's funeral. However, Norma learns that Warren has 'killed' Rex Gallagher and worries for a comeback from Blue and her instincts are proved right when Norma is shot dead by Blue in her flat that very same evening. Her body then remains in the flat some weeks later with a note left by Blue warning Warren his coming for him. 
In August 2024, Norma's killer Blue's real identity was revealed to be Dave Williams and soon after the reveal, her body would be found by a devastated Warren weeks after her murder. In September 2024, Warren has a showdown with Dave who taunts Warren over killing Norma, Warren seemingly gets justice when he shoots Dave seemingly killing him however Dave survived only to be finished off by Robbie Roscoe. 
==Kill Count==
===Murders/Manslaughters===
# Warren Fox's Father (between 1970s to 1980s) - Murdered by Norma to protect their son Warren Fox and then buried him underneath the floorboards of 14 Vulpine Close. 
#Asher Jones, 2nd May 2022 - Shot after discovering that he was a police informant.
# Barry Walker, July/August 2022 - Murdered either by Norma, or on her orders.
# Unknown lawyer, prior to August 2022 - Murdered by Norma. (Norma mentions in Episode 5912 to James Nightingale that she killed three lawyers she hired after his disappearance).
# Unknown lawyer, prior to August 2022 - Murdered by Norma. (See above note).
# Unknown lawyer, prior to August 2022 - Murdered by Norma. (See above note).
#Dr. Fenton, 17th January 2023 - Murdered either by Norma or on her orders for fabricating her blood test results, which stopped her from giving her son Warren a new liver to cure his liver disease.
:Note: it has been referenced that Norma has killed more characters than mentioned by name on-screen.
=== Connected Deaths ===
# Stuart, prior to August 2022 - Norma ordered lawyer James Nightingale to create false evidence to have Stuart imprisoned so her gang could kill him. However, Stuart committed suicide after James refused his plea to retract the evidence.
===Attempted Murders===
# Sienna Blake, 17th August 2022 - Hired Les - an embalmer - to kill Sienna. However, Les ended up targeting Liberty Savage and his murder attempt was thwarted by Warren Fox.
# Joel Dexter, 12th September 2022 - After retrieving Joel's confession letter, Norma attempts to set Joel up to be killed by tricking Warren that she knows the "guy" who ran him over not telling Warren it would be Joel.
# James Nightingale, 27th September 2022 - Ordered Warren Fox to kill James for reporting her to the police, but Warren was distracted by Joel Dexter telling him to spend more time with his kids.
#James Nightingale, 29th September 2022 - Ordered her henchmen and D.S. Amaral to kill James, Norma's henchmen and Amaral then put James inside a coffin and left him inside the City Wall.
# Grace Black, 17th January 2023 - Prepared to have her thug kill Grace upon discovering Grace bribed a doctor to fabricate her blood test results, which prevented her from donating part of her liver to cure Warren's liver disease, but called it off after learning from Joel Dexter that Warren had been rushed to hospital after collapsing.
# Felix Westwood, January 2024 - Conspired with Warren Fox to have him kill Felix as revenge for the death of Ella Richardson.
# Freddie Roscoe, 10th July 2024 - Prepared to shoot Freddie as she believed he was the gangster named 'Blue' who'd been targeting Warren, but Warren called and told her not to.
==Appendices==
===Residences===
Address 	Duration
14 Vulpine Close 	1970s or 1980s
16 Gimbles Lane 	Until 17th November 2022
7 Rowing Club Apartments	17th November 2022 to 26th July 2024
===Employment History===
Job 	Duration
Gangster 	Prior to November 2021 to July 2024
The Loft co-owner	August 2023 to July 2024
== Other Information ==
* Norma has the fifth-highest confirmed kill count of all serial killers in Hollyoaks.
* Norma's birthday was revealed as 20th October 1965 in Episode 6066 (13th March 2023).
* Despite Norma's final appearance airing in Episode 6427 (26th July 2024), her corpse was seen several times in the aftermath of the character’s murder.
==Background Information==
*Actress Glynis Barber's casting as gangster Norma was announced in March 2022, shortly after the premiere of Hollyoaks's 2022 Spring trailer.
==Introduction Sequence==
*2023-2024: Norma walks across The Cunningham Grande Bazaar.
==Quotes==
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==See Also==
*List of appearances
==Gallery==
Norma Crow promo.jpg
Category:Hollyoaks characters
Category:2022 debuts
Category:Gangsters
Category:Killers
Category:Businesspeople
Category:Drug dealers
Category:Ex-convicts
Category:Serial killers
Category:Hollyoaks Villains
Category:Fox family
Category:2024 departures
Category:2024 deaths
Category:Murder victims