More than a year after the death of Hollyoaks icon Diane Langton, her co-star Nicole Barber-Lane has revealed she is still "not ready" to say a final goodbye. The beloved actress died at age 77 in January 2025. Hollyoaks has not killed off her character Nana McQueen, keeping her alive in the narrative.
Memories and Costumes Kept Alive
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Nicole became emotional as she fondly remembered Diane, calling her a "beautiful" person. She shared that all of Diane's Hollyoaks costumes remain on set in her dressing room, which still bears her name above the door. Nicole explained that she and her co-stars are not ready to let go and hope to celebrate Nana and actress Diane without ending her storyline.
Asked if they wanted to address a death onscreen for Nana, Nicole told us: "I don't know. The reason is once we do that, she's gone. If we don't do that she's still alive for us. All her costume is still here. It's not been cleared out and her name is still on her dressing room. Her warm coat is still there with her name on. We can't. It's not healthy for everybody, but I don't think we're ready."
Celebrating Diane's Legacy
Nicole says the cast celebrates Diane by talking about her all the time. "We talk about her, me and Jorgie Porter talked about her the other day. We get excited when people talk about Diane because we know what a star she was. She really was. For us she's in Alicante, probably abseiling down mountains, or she's taken up paragliding. That's what I want to think of with Nana. How would that end?"
She added: "Maybe, yes, we could draw that to a close but it feels more celebratory to say she is living on, and doing this." Asked about having Diane in her life, Nicole went on: "It was an honour, more than you know. She was very beautiful and spiritual, she was a spiritual person. I'm trying not to get emotional."
The McQueen Family Legacy
Moving on to happier times, Nicole discussed the iconic McQueens and why she believes there is no family like them. She told us: "At the time Bryan Kirkwood [former Hollyoaks producer] had this fabulous idea. He basically went, 'Spice Girls'. I'm not Sporty Spice but... he wanted a different flavour of character for each of the girls. Then Myra had to be a lioness protecting her whole family to keep them together. It was beautiful cos before that, the matriarchs weren't strong in that and Bryan gave me so many great opportunities and I loved it."
Hollyoaks is available to stream on Channel 4's streaming service now, while it also airs Mondays to Wednesdays on E4 at 7PM.
