Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance on 24 November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQueen family and quickly became a fan favourite for her cute, bubbly personality and dark storylines. During her first five years on the show, Porter was featured in numerous high-profile storylines, including: underage sex; the murder of Calvin Valentine (Ricky Whittle); teenage pregnancy; being the target of serial killer Silas Blissett (Jeff Rawle); falling down a lift shaft; discovering her boyfriend, Ethan Scott (Craig Vye) was dating two other women and forming a friendship with the girls; finding her long-lost father; relationships with Dodger Savage (Danny Mac), Will Savage (James Atherton) and Joel Dexter (Andrew Still); and her arrest for Calvin's murder. Porter announced her departure from the soap in October 2013 so she could focus on Dancing on Ice. Her exit scenes aired on 9 January 2014.
It was announced in April 2014, four months after her exit scenes aired, that Porter would be returning to the serial as Theresa, with her return scenes airing on 25 August 2014.[1] Theresa's storylines since her return have included: a breakout from prison; giving birth to her second child, this time with Dodger and her subsequent on-off relationship with him; a feud with Sonny Valentine (Aaron Fontaine); being involved in a train crash which saw Calvin's wife and her cousin, Carmel (Gemma Merna) save Theresa and die; being kidnapped by Will; agreeing to donate a kidney to Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson); a relationship with Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) which saw her care for him as he suffered from motor neurone disease; and being targeted by Nico as she plotted to kill her for her other kidney. In 2016, Porter left the soap again in order to pursue a career in Hollywood. She agreed to reprise the role in 2020 for the programme's 25th anniversary on a short-term basis, however it was later announced that the character would not depart at the end of year as originally planned and Porter would remain in the soap indefinitely. On 8 December 2022, Theresa left the village to accommodate Porter's maternity leave, before returning on 16 January 2024.