Romeo Nightingale

Romeo Nightingale (né Quinn) is the son of James Nightingale and Donna-Marie Quinn, conceived after James's homophobic father Mac hired prostitute Donna-Marie to sleep with then-16 year old James. A few months later, Mac and Donna-Marie slept together, resulting in the conception and birth of Romeo's sister Juliet Nightingale.

Romeo arrived in the village in 2018 in search of James, whom he found and moved in with. In February 2020, both Romeo and Juliet decided to have their surnames legally changed from Quinn to Nightingale.

In 2023, Romeo would enter into a relationship with influencer, Rayne Royce however Rayne's world literally, was too much for Romeo and eventually he endure physical and emotional abuse at the hand of Rayne until Rayne was killed in a whodunit plot titled, Who Killed Rayne Royce? by September 2023. Romeo was a main suspect throughout the storyline and in January 2024 it was revealed that Romeo was in fact Rayne's killer.

Biography[]

2018: Meeting James and Lily[]

Romeo arrived in Hollyoaks in July 2018 in an attempt to find his long lost father, James Nightingale. However, Romeo ended up backing out. He later met Lily McQueen and became attracted to her despite her marriage to Prince McQueen. Romeo ended up going into business with Prince, the pair hosting illegal raves together.

Romeo later broke into James's house, where he discovered a naked Harry Thompson, who was due to marry Ste Hay. With Romeo's mother Donna-Marie suffering from financial problems, Romeo attempted to blackmail Harry for £3,000. James discovered this and went to get the money from Harry in Romeo's place, but soon realised that Romeo was the one who broke into his house and threatened him. Romeo later agreed to help James ruin Harry and Ste's wedding, but when Romeo and James had an argument, Romeo revealed that he was James's son, much to his horror. Romeo was left distraught when James rejected him, and was comforted by Lily.

Lily followed Romeo when he went out onto the footbridge during the storm. Romeo tried to convince Lily to leave Prince for him, and when he took her by the hand, she pulled away and walked backwards. The footbridge gave way beneath her and she fell into the pond. Romeo managed to free her but became entangled himself. James witnessed this and prepared to jump into the pond to save Romeo, but Romeo managed to free himself. Romeo and Lily later shared a kiss, but Lily later decided that the kiss meant nothing as she was not in the right state of mind.

Lily and Romeo ended up declaring their feelings for each other and Lily decided to leave Prince for him. Prince revealed to Romeo that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer, but kept quiet as Prince didn't want anyone knowing. Prince and Lily became distant, and Lily ended up sleeping with Romeo after she helped him stand up to James. Prince and Lily had an argument, and Lily asked Romeo to accompany her as she decided to leave the village, which he agreed, however, before leaving, Nana McQueen informed Lily that Prince was having an operation to have cancer removed and was furious when Prince revealed that Romeo had known the whole time. Prince soon discovered that Lily had been unfaithful and left for Brighton. However, Lily warned Romeo to stay away from her.

Romeo discovered that Mac and Donna-Marie had tampered with Cindy Cunningham's bipolar medication and tricked her into giving her house to Mac. After threatening to reveal to Alfie Nightingale what Mac was really like, Mac threw him out of the home and threatened to throw Donna-Marie and Romeo's sister Juliet Quinn out too if Romeo told Alfie the truth. Romeo got drunk and tried to throw a party at Yasmine Maalik's house. When Yasmine's brother, Sami, tried to stop him, an argument ensued between the pair (which took place shortly after Romeo and Lily had an argument), and Romeo attacked Sami. Sami pressed charges and Romeo was arrested, but Sami later changed his mind and dropped the charges. Sami encouraged James to be there more for Romeo, which ended the feud between Sami and James. James offered to let Romeo move into his flat, which Romeo accepted.

James split from Harry in order to be there more for Romeo, refusing to reconcile on several occasions. Romeo realised that James was still in love with Harry and convinced James to get back with Harry. Romeo helped James and Harry get back together after interrupting Harry's date and having the pair reconcile.

2019: Reconciliation with Lily and Imprisonment[]

After reconciling James and Harry, Romeo decided to try reconcile with Lily. She rejected him initially, but soon acted on her feelings for him. The pair shared a kiss, but Lily's aunt, Diane Hutchinson, witnessed their kiss and exploded at Lily, who was left conflicted with her emotions for Romeo and ended up self-harming again. When Diane discovered this, she and Sinead Shelby tried to reconcile Romeo and Lily. Lily saw Romeo being comforted by Cindy and believed they were romantically involved with each other, but Romeo soon corrected her.

The pair started a proper relationship, just as Prince returned, wanting to fix his marriage to Lily. Prince attacked Romeo upon discovering that he was the man that Lily had been unfaithful with. However, Lily told Prince that she did not want a reconciliation and chose Romeo over him.

When James was poisoned by Breda McQueen, Romeo discovered that Mac was behind the murder attempt as he had blackmailed Breda into killing James. Breda later revealed that Mac was her intended target, and poisoned a lasagna she had baked for him before beating him to death with the tray. After she left, Romeo kicked down the door to Mac's house, threatening to kill Mac which Yasmine overheard. Romeo found Mac dead on the stairs and ended up with blood on his hands whilst checking him for a pulse, wiping his hands on his clothes before quickly leaving.

Mac was soon found afterwards by Yasmine and her mother Misbah Maalik, and Yasmine informed the police of what she witnessed. The police caught Romeo trying to burn his clothes and he was arrested. Romeo was released on bail and he and James decided to try to catch the real killer. Breda discovered this and tried to set James up by planting the vial of poison in his coat pocket, but unknowingly planted it in Romeo's coat instead. The police soon found the vial after searching Romeo.

James advised Romeo to go on the run, having a heart-to-heart and giving him a wad of cash before Romeo left. He went to say goodbye to Lily, who was in a mental health unit at Dee Valley University Hospital. Lily decided to run away with Romeo and he reluctantly agreed. The nurses had Lily's test results back from an examination, and discovered that Lily had developed sepsis from her self-harm wounds. At the train station, Lily had a change of heart and changed her mind about leaving the village. Romeo watched as Lily went to the bathroom, but inside, Lily began to suffer chest pains and collapsed. Diane, Prince and Tony Hutchinson spotted Romeo and he informed them that Lily had gone to the bathroom. A woman ran out of the bathroom saying that a girl had collapsed on the floor, and they found Lily. Prince attempted CPR but Lily was already dead.

Romeo decided to hand himself into the police, and told D.S. Yates to charge him with Mac's murder, despite being innocent. Romeo was charged but refused bail. However, Romeo was released from Dee Valley Young Offenders Institute after James tricked Donna-Marie into making a confession. He was confronted by Prince, armed with Liam Donovan's gun, blaming Romeo for Lily's death. However, the pair ended up talking and decided to put everything behind them.

Upon his release, the Hutchinson family was hostile towards Romeo as they blamed him for Lily's death. Tony confronted Romeo and told him to stay away from Lily's funeral. However, Prince told Romeo that he wanted Romeo at the funeral, and accompanied Prince regardless. Whilst speaking at Lily's funeral, Prince ended up breaking down in tears. Romeo went up to comfort him and spoke highly of Prince and Lily's marriage. Prince was furious at Romeo afterwards, as he believed that Romeo had robbed him of his chance to say goodbye to Lily.

2019: Part-Time Work[]

Romeo mistakenly believed that James had bought him an Alfa Romeo, when in fact it was a gift for Harry. After the car was stolen by Liam Donovan and Mercedes McQueen, Harry initially believed that Romeo had stolen the car. When D.S. Yates informed Harry that his car had been involved in a hit-and-run, Romeo gave Harry a false alibi. When Romeo believed that Harry was having an affair with Kyle Kelly, he told James of this and revealed that he had given Harry a false alibi, which was overheard by D.S. Yates. Romeo ultimately became a suspect but he was able to prove his alibi as he made an in-game transaction on James's credit card, with James using his bank statements as evidence.

After Romeo and Prince damaged a display outside of Price Slice, Walter Deveraux made the pair cover the cost of the damage. Martine Deveraux suggested that they worked at Price Slice to cover the damage, but Prince lied that he and Romeo were working for Tom Cunningham's summer camp. The pair later asked Tom for a job, and he agreed so long that the pair made up, which they did. However, Prince was later fired. Prince later told Romeo that he wanted to leave the village. Romeo, with the help of Peri Lomax, convinced Goldie to let Prince leave. He left for a trip around the world, going to all the places Lily had wanted to go, with Romeo, Peri, Tom, Cleo, Goldie and Nana McQueen waving him off. After the summer finished, Tom closed the camp.

Marnie Nightingale opened a pâtisserie in the place of The Teahouse, with Romeo working there. When the pâtisserie struggled with customers due to all the media coverage being on Finn O'Connor, who made a speech about being a reformed rapist (which went down very poorly). Romeo decided to promote the business with a social media post, offering customers a free slice of cake with the use of any French phrase. When Marnie discovered this, she surprised Romeo when she was happy with the turnout and not furious with him for giving away free items.

2020: Donna-Marie's Return and Affair[]

Donna-Marie returned to the village after being exonerated for Mac's murder (with Breda being revealed as the killer after her death). Romeo was delighted to see her and apologised for her getting sent down for him, to which she told him not to apologise. When Donna-Marie revealed to Juliet that James had tricked her into confessing, she discovered afterwards that Romeo had known, and their close sibling relationship became strained as a result. He later discovered that Juliet had intended to run away with Donna-Marie, having stolen £300 from Marnie's pâtisserie.

Romeo later found Donna-Marie after she had taken an overdose, and also found drugs in her bag. Romeo tried to get Donna-Marie to go to the hospital, but Donna-Marie refused as she would be in legal trouble if the police drug tested her. Donna-Marie recovered, but Romeo revealed her plan to leave Juliet behind. Juliet was furious with her mother and Romeo convinced Donna-Marie that it was best that she left the village, which she was furious about.

Romeo was left smitten when he met Celeste Faroe. Celeste was bored as her "husband" (later revealed to be twin brother) Toby Faroe subtly got to know his estranged cousin Lisa Loveday, and Celeste embarked on an affair with Romeo. Romeo began having second thoughts after talking to Walter, but Celeste managed to tempt him back. When Toby returned home suddenly, Romeo hid behind the curtains and snuck out of the window, only being noticed by a passing Tom. After a couple of weeks, Romeo became concerned that Toby knew of the affair and was later attacked whilst leaving a voicemail for Celeste.

In hospital, Romeo worried to Celeste that Toby may have been his attacker, only to learn that Toby was in Manchester at the time. Juliet later discovered that county lines drug dealer Jordan Price was behind the attack, which had been to warn Juliet about not paying the debt she owed him. In March 2020, Toby learned of the 'affair' and exploded at Celeste, who ended things with Romeo.

2020-2022: Relationship with Cher[]

In June 2020, Romeo met Cher Winters, who had arrived in the village searching for her biological father, Sylver McQueen. Romeo and Cher quickly got along, but Cher declined Romeo's subtle offer of a date and decided to play hard to get. Romeo ended up getting a job at The Dog in the Pond in order to spend more time around Cher. Tom and Yazz set up Romeo and Cher on a date, which went disastrously when Romeo made a joke about her being related to the McQueens. However, the next day, Cher asked Romeo on a date which he accepted. After hosting an illegal rave, the pair slept together in The Folly. A few weeks later, Mercedes told Romeo that Cher was responsible for the death of her sister Liza, so Cher ended up pushing Romeo away.

After overhearing Cher arguing with Juliet over drug dealing, Juliet convinced Romeo that Cher was lying. Cher, in return, decided to end their struggling relationship. Cher taunted Romeo over supposedly going on a date with someone else, and refused to be friends when he stood by Juliet. However, after meeting Victor Brothers, Romeo realised that Cher was telling the truth. After apologising, the pair reconciled.

Cher's obsession over vying for Sylver's attention over Mercedes proved to put another strain on her relationship with Romeo and embarked on an affair with Mercedes, which Mercedes quickly ended. The return of Donna-Marie also caused complications for Romeo, and he refused to give his mother another chance until she proved that she had changed. Romeo discovered that Cher had been secretly planning a party, but discovered that it was for Sylver and not for his birthday as Cher had forgotten. Mercedes ended up telling Sylver about the affair with Romeo, with Cher also overhearing. Romeo admitted that he had fallen out of love with Cher and the pair broke up for good.

After Cher was kicked out of 1 Stockton Lane for poisoning Mercedes's cocktail which caused Sylver to suffer a cardiac arrest, Romeo became concerned for Cher. Cher rejected Romeo, so Romeo told Sylver of his concerns. Cher ended up attempting suicide by jumping into the pond. After she was discharged from hospital, Romeo attempted to form a friendship with her until she left for Greece in February 2022. Romeo was caught up in the Salon de Thé de Marnie Explosion in January 2022, but was rescued by Sylver. He was later informed that Marnie had died in Donna-Marie's arms outside of the hospital.

2022-: Life After Marnie and Relationship with Rayne Royce[]

James struggled the most with the aftermath of Marnie's death, and subsequently turned on his family. Despite being pushed away, Romeo attempted to help James as he became addicted to gambling and investing in cryptocurrency. However, James's involvement with gangster Norma Crow proved to be the final straw for Romeo and he disowned his father, who then left the village to work for her. Running a radio show with Prince, Romeo began raising awareness for James's disappearance, causing the radio show to gain popularity. James eventually returned to his family, opting to continue to work for Norma to keep them safe. Romeo then began a relationship with Theresa McQueen after she became involved in his and Prince's radio show.

In October 2022, Romeo decided to move into 65 Christleton Terrace with Prince. However, the pair clashed as Romeo disapproved of Prince's fiancée Olivia Bradshaw's behaviour. Despite Prince asking him to be his best man, Olivia banned him from the wedding, so Romeo decided to join Theresa on holiday in Spain. He returned in January 2023, with Olivia having left after being exposed for sleeping with Prince's newly returned brother Hunter McQueen. Upon seeing his family again, Juliet broke the news to him that she had been diagnosed with cancer. Romeo remained in the share house and began a relationship with social media influencer Rayne Royce. Romeo was ultimately dragged into Rayne's career and mostly enjoyed the escapism, until he began reading hateful comments (reminding him of Cher) and had intimate photos of himself and Rayne leaked.

Kill Count[]

Murders/Manslaughters[]

1. Rayne Royce, 30th September 2023 (self-defence) - Accidentally pushed into a swimming pool in self-defence. Rayne was attacking Romeo and had sustained a head injury during a confrontation with Prince McQueen.

Attempted Murders[]

None

Appendices[]

Residences[]

Employment history[]

Other Information[]

• There have been large discrepancies regarding Romeo's age.
  • In flashback scenes from July 2018, Romeo's month and year of birth was given as September 2002.
  • This was later changed to February 2003 and again to November 2003.
  • It was later confirmed that Romeo was sixteen years of age by August 2018 but again changed to 17 by November 2018 giving him a DOB of late 2001.
  • Romeo was born prematurely (as mentioned by Donna-Marie), indicating that he was born at some point prior to November 2002 as Romeo was conceived in February 2002.
  • Romeo was said to be 16 by D.S. Yates when they were investigating him as the prime suspect of Mac's murder in April 2019, which would have given him a DOB of some point between April 2002 and April 2003.
  • Romeo celebrated his birthday on 27th July 2021.
  • In June 2022 Romeo was said to be turning 20 "next month".
  • In June 2023, other characters implied that 10 years ago Romeo was 12 years old, however this could easily have been a rounded guess at a timeframe.
  • In December 2023, Romeo's date of birth was written in Rayne's diary as "27th July 2000".
• Romeo is left-handed.
• Romeo and Juliet are not only half-siblings but aunt and nephew since Juliet is the daughter of his grandfather Mac.

Background Information[]

• In May 2018, it was announced that Owen Warner had been cast as Romeo Quinn, the son of Donna-Marie Quinn (played by former Coronation Street actress Lucy-Jo Hudson).
• Romeo was portrayed by Jude Forsey in flashback scenes airing in Episode 4941 (2nd July 2018).

Introduction Sequence[]

• 2018: Romeo is DJ-ing at rave outside.
• 2018-2019: Romeo is outside in the rain with Juliet.
• 2019-2022: Romeo is outside in the rain with James and Marnie.
• 2022-2024: Romeo checks himself out in a mirror, and watches in horror as Donna-Marie Quinn throws a cup of confetti over James Nightingale.
• 2023-2024: (after shot with the Nightingales) Romeo takes photos in the photo booth with Brooke Hathaway, Lizzie Chen-Williams, Nadira Valli, Juliet Nightingale, Peri Lomax, Prince McQueen, Lacey Lloyd, Rayne Royce and Hunter McQueen. Afterwards, they all walk upstairs to The Loft.

Quotes[]

See also[]

• List of appearances
• Nightingale family

Gallery[]