Hollyoaks' new character Diane gets a baby... But, as actress Alex Fletcher reveals to Soaplife, the baby's not hers The O'Connors, Hollyoaks' newest clan, seem like such a nice family. But stepmum Diane is desperate to have a baby of her own and when she can't have one naturally - or with IVF - she steals one. "It's fantastic being in Hollyoaks. It's some of the best stuff I've ever done," Alex (who was Jacqui Farnham in Brookside) tells Soaplife. "I've come in with a bang." And Diane's going out with a bang pretty quickly if someone doesn't make her return that baby fast! Diane is already stepmum to Sinead, 15, and Finn, 12, so why is she desperate for a baby? "She loves Sinead and Finn, but she wants a child she and her husband Rob have made together." How many times has she tried IVF? "Twice and when the second attempt fails Diane breaks down. She's worried the NHS won't fund another treatment." How do Sinead and Finn react? "Sinead comforts Diane but Finn is glad - he feels if Diane wants a baby it means she doesn't want him." But Soaplife knows she's about to take drastic measures to get the baby she wants. What does she do? "Diane goes to the hospital to see a nurse and when she gets there she finds a baby..." Finds? Or steals? "The baby has been abandoned outside the hospital. Diane thinks it's an animal at first when she hears something crying - and when she looks it's a baby boy." Whose baby is it? "There isn't a note left saying 'Please look after my son', there's nothing. Diane reasons that his mother doesn't deserve to have him back, so she takes him home." Why doesn't she take him into the hospital? "She believes that, in taking him home, she's doing the right thing and that she'll get in touch with social services. But she goes past the point of no return... she feels a bond with the baby and falls in love with him." Soaplife's wondering how Diane's family reacts when they see her with a baby? "Sinead comes home and sees Diane cradling a baby. Diane says to the baby: 'Say hello to your big sister'. Sinead's jaw just drops and then she panics." How does Diane think she's going to get away with it? "She's not a nut job. She's pumped full of hormones and the IVF hasn't worked. She's having a breakdown and she isn't thinking properly." Is she going to give the baby back? "Not without a fight."
