Esther Bloom

Esther Bloom is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jazmine Franks. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 18 January 2011. Franks had previously auditioned for roles in the show. She did not think that she had secured the part of Esther and concentrated on her studies until she was informed. As an open lesbian, Esther is comfortable with her sexuality. Since her inception she has shared a friendship with the character Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) but has long been subjected to her "bitchy" comments. She is characterized as having a "selfless consideration for others" despite being a "proverbial punchbag" for many characters. Esther found confidence when she decided to pursue a fashion career. Franks has said that upon doing so Esther's style also changed.

Esther's first romance is with Tilly Evans (Lucy Dixon) and through them the serial depicted a same sex kiss. Their involvement ceased when Tilly chose to remain single. In 2012, a series of storylines focused around the character were devised. Esther wins an internship with Company magazine. Off-screen the magazine's staff noticed Esther's liking of fashion and contacted Hollyoaks with the storyline idea. The character was later given a storyline focusing on effects of bullying, in which Maddie Morrison (Scarlett Bowman), Sinead O'Connor (Stephanie Davis) and Ruby tease Esther. The bullying of Esther began to worsen and the production team set up a cross-over website titled DocYou to engage the audience with Esther's story.

Casting
In January 2011, it was announced that Jazmine Franks would be joining the cast of Hollyoaks in a regular role. Franks found her audition for the role "nerve-wracking" despite having previously auditioned for roles in the show. Franks and other applicants were held in a small room behind a "big black door" and she said that everyone was "petrified". Franks told Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy that she did not hear anything for weeks after her audition. She was recalled for the part and waited another five weeks. She presumed that she was unsuccessful and decided to concentrate on her studies. But Franks was then contacted requesting that she attend hair and make-up fittings for Esther within three days.

Storylines
Esther breaks into Frankie (Helen Pearson) and Jack Osborne's (James McKenna) house and takes shleter in the attic. Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) mistakes her for an intruder and knocks her unconscious with a cricket bat. Esther is taken to hospital and Jack tells the police that he hit her to protect Tom. Esther regains consciousness and tells Frankie that she is her granddaughter. She reveals that her father had died and she knew Frankie was his birth mother. Frankie realizes that she is telling the truth and invites her to stay with them. When Jack and Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan) ask Esther to move out, she threatens to tell the police that Tom is responsible for hitting her. Tom then confesses to the police that he hit Esther. Tom is ordered to face court for his actions and Esther tries to defend his actions, but he is still found guilty. Esther, Ruby Button (Anna Shaffer) and Ricky Campbell (Ashley Margolis) truant from school and play kissing games, then Esther reveals that she is a lesbian. Ruby kisses Esther and Ricky to decide who is the best kisser. Duncan Button (Dean Aspen) develops feelings for Esther, unaware of her sexuality, so she rebuffs his advances. Esther kisses Seth Costello (Miles Higson) as a joke, which humiliates him. Ruby films the kiss and uploads it to her website. Esther feels guilty and refuses kiss Seth again. She tells Ruby that she is in a relationship with Sinead. Ruby questions Sinead who laughs off Esther's lies, but forgives her. Ruby and Sinead make Esther think that Jason is interested in her. They set up a date between the pair, although Jason is unaware of Esther's interest. When she tells Jason that his transgender status would not effect a potential relationship, he reveals that he still likes men. Esther is humiliated and Jason accuses Ruby and Sinead of bullying Esther. Ruby writes a love letter to Amy and addresses it from Esther. After more pranks, Esther soon stands up to Ruby. Ruby apologizes and Esther forgives her.

Esther goes to Abersoch with Ruby, Sinead and Bart McQueen and meets Tilly, who reveals that she is also a lesbian. The pair have a holiday romance and fall for each other quickly and fall for each other quickly, but break up when the holiday is over. When Sinead is hospitalized after almost drowning, Ruby forms a plan to sneak back on the bus so Jack and Frankie wouldn't find out they were there, as they lied about where they were during the week. The plan is a success and Sinead promises to keep quiet about them being there. While on their own Ruby and Esther have a heart to heart about their places in the Osborne family and comfort each other by saying even if the family doesn't fully accept them, they have each other and that's what matters. When Tilly begins attending Hollyoaks Sixth Form College, Esther goes to see Tilly. She tells a heartbroken Esther that she does not want a relationship. Esther attends a night out at a local gay bar. Tilly tries to kiss Esther, which makes her angry and she tells Tilly that she will not be used. Esther agrees to be friends with her again. Esther accidentally exposes Tilly's relationship with her teacher Jen and lies to get her out of trouble. Esther and George go to work for "Company" magazine for work experience. Esther makes a few mistakes but ends the week with a successful project. She goes to Abersoch where Maddie is annoyed by her presence. When Esther helps Maddie escape from being attacked by a man, she tells Esther that she misjudged her. Esther tries to kiss Maddie who is not interested. When Esther tells confidential information about Maddie to Tilly, Maddie starts bullying Esther. She truants college but when Jack confronts her she walks off, unaware that he has collapsed from a heart attack. She punches Maddie in the face when she goads her about Jack. Phoebe realises that Esther is being bullied and she attacks Maddie to defend Esther. Sinead and Ruby begin to join in on the bullying and Jen tries to help her resulting in Esther holding a fashion show but her dress slips off when she trip leaving her standing there naked Maddie then posts this on y YouTube the next day Esther becomes lonely as the three girls play tricks on her. They post a video of Esther wetting herself online and more students mock Esther. After learning that Ruby plans to elope to Gretna Green to get married, she forces a drugged-up Bart to chase them. However, Bart begins speeding forcing Maddie who is driving the minibus to also speed up. The brakes in the stolen minivan do not work and Maddie drives the van into the wedding venue of Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard), Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring), Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) and Doug Carter's (PJ Brennan) double wedding. Esther tries to convince Bart to go and help out but he drives away before she gets a chance to get out of the car. Maddie and Neil dies in the crash and shortly afterwards Jono dies in Ruby's arms after saving Ruby and Sinead from the wreckage. Bart, Sinead and Ruby pressure Esther in to keeping her and Bart's involvement in the crash a secret. After Maddie's death, Sinead and Ruby blame Esther. They intensify the bullying until Esther decides to take her own life. She drinks a bottle of vodka and with pills, but wakes up the next morning. Esther is hospitalised and has to have a liver transplant. Ruby admits bullying Esther, who tells the bullies that she forgives them. Esther starts a relationship with Tilly but are both caught when they decide to take things further. Tilly then breaks things off at Frankie's request but get back together when Esther and Tilly are performing The Wizard of Oz. Esther changes her scene and gives Tilly a heartfelt speech then kiss Tilly and Holly go away for the weekend, they are accompanied by Jade who wants revenge on Esther. Her boyfriend's liver was given to Esther after he had died and Jade was convinced Esther didn't deserve it so took her hostage and tried to cut the liver out. Callum tried to rescue Esther but was fatally stabbed through the back by Jade. Jade was killed and Esther and Tilly returned to Hollyoaks.

Esther and Tilly break up after Ruby has a heart attack at New Year because Tilly is in love with Chloe and Tilly leaves Hollyoaks with her,devastating Esther. Esther supported the Osbornes when it was revealed Sienna has kidnapped Tom and Esther seemed to be the only one to believe Nancy. During her exams in the spring/summer of 2014, she takes photos of the exam papers, but Nancy believes Robbie Roscoe (Charlie Wernham) and Esther lets him take the blame, but then admits it. In September Esther finds £50 000 in cash in a bin, which was placed there accidentally by Nana McQueen. The cash was meant to be used by Grace Black and Trevor Royle to pay off Big Bob. However Esther decides to take the money and with the guidance off George and Frankie she invests the money into College Coffee, rebranding it; 'Esther's Magic Bean'. Esther soon discovers the money belongs to Grace and is left worried, when Grace forgets her change at the coffee shop Esther goes to the club to give it her, accidentally stumbling across Big Bob. This leads to him to mistake Esther for Grace and he kidnaps her for a ransom of £50 000, (the money which he was owed). Trevor receives threats off Big Bob telling him he has Grace, he is frantic until he realises it is Esther he has. Grace, Trevor and Freddie all arrive to save Esther at the abandoned factory and are relieved to find her alive. However Grace is taken at gun point by Big Bob. Just before she is about to be shot Esther saves her by knocking Big Bob out. The next day Grace turns up at The coffee shop to show Esther gratitude but unfortunately find the bag in which the £50 000 was initially stored in and discovers the truth. Furious, Grace confronts Esther and she hands the coffee shop over to Grace. Still not happy Grace makes Esther work in the coffee shop with no wage until she makes up the money. In October, Esther becomes part of the hospital siege after she collapsed. Esther gets worse during the siege and soon becomes unconscious, going into anaphalactic leaving Grace and Lindsey's sister Kim to help her.

Since Grace became infertile when Mercedes and Freddie Roscoe shot her with her gun; Esther agrees to be a surrogate mother for Grace and Trevor. Frankie interrupts Esther's plan but Esther angrily advises Frankie that it is her choice, not Frankie's. When Grace starts a campaign against Freddie Roscoe because of the murder of her father, Fraser, Esther changes her mind about the surrogacy to punish Grace, but when Trevor talks her over, Esther decides to stay ahead of the surrogacy. However, Frankie disowns her after she chooses being a surrogate mother over her family. Esther becomes pregnant and moves in with Grace and Trevor. She meets Kim Butterfield and soon begins a relationship with her. Kim and Grace go to war over Esther, grace believing that Kim and Esther will want to leave the village. Esther tries to settle the conflict, but it only sparks passion during an argument and unbeknownst to Esther, Grace and Kim soon start a secret relationship as Grace wants Kim to keep quiet about the shooting of Phoebe McQueen. As Kim becomes obsessed with Grace, she spikes Esther's drink with labour inducing pills. However, due to interference with different people, the car Esther is travelling in with Sinead breaks down and without a phone and in labour, Sinead is forced to help deliver her baby boy. When Sinead goes to find help, Esther has a haemorrhage. She is taken to hospital, and realizing how she cares for the baby, she admits that she does not want to give the baby to Trevor and Grace and tells Kim, who immediately tells Grace and Trevor. Esther refuses to change her mind, even when Trevor and Grace attempt to convince her. Frankie takes her side too. Kim then says to Grace that she will deal with Esther severely. Then at night, an unidentified person appears and attempts to pour potassium chloride in her medical drip, but Esther suffers a cardiac arrest from the hemorrhage, causing the person to make a retreat when the alarms start ringing. She get resuscitated on the scene, but Kim then goes in Esther's room, says no-one can know what she did, and then transfers Esther to a hospital in Manchester, to get her away from Grace.

After a few weeks, Esther wakes up from her coma and is transferred back to Dee Valley Hospital where Jack, Frankie, Grace, Trevor and Kim all tell her different versions of what happened. Esther then tricks Grace and Trevor that she's going to hand Curtis over to them but in exchange she wants one night with him. When they go back to check later they learn that Esther has discharged herself and fled with Kim and the baby. Embarking on a car chase Trevor gets Curtis out of the car just before it gets turned over by a police car. Trevor and Dylan Jenkins get her out of the car and while in hospital she discovers Kim's obsession with Grace and dumps her. After Dylan's death, Trevor and Esther strike a deal where they can share custody of Curtis provided that he gets rid of Grace. When Kim and Lindsey frame Trevor for Lindsey's crimes as the Gloved Hand Killer including putting Freddie's 'dead' body in the trunk of his car, Esther then wants Curtis to live with her but changes her mind and allows Grace to care for him after she makes a passionate speech about how much Curtis means to her. Esther then develops feelings for Grace as she helps her look after Curtis, but then witnesses Grace sleeping with Darren. On new year's day darren gets back together with Nancy and grace is heartbroken but Esther and grace kiss and the two start a relationship.

Esther and all the Osbornes had to flee the village as well as Kim as Jack had received a mysterious phone call telling him to run as someone was after him and not to trust the police. The family didn't know who was after them and was scared so they fled to Wales. They were running from Jack's niece, dirty copper, Eva Falco. After Jack had blamed his brother Billy, Eva's dad, for murdering a young man, Billy ended up in prison for life, and so Eva wanted revenge. On December 31, 2016, Esther was shot in the head accidentally by Eva and was left in a coma. Her memory was all over the place and she suffered from mood swings taking her bad moods out on wife Kim and grandmother Frankie, but not with Grace. Esther, not in her right mind state, asked Grace to kill Eva for what she has done to her and Grace played out.