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Phoenix Hathaway (also Brooke Hathaway) is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Tylan Grant. Grant made his first appearance as the character in episode 4947, originally broadcast on 10 July 2018. Phoenix is initially introduced as Brooke, an autistic teenage girl who is fostered by the Osborne family. He was the first autistic regular character in a soap opera and Grant marked the first BAME actor to portray an autistic character in a television series. Phoenix's storylines in the soap have included being adopted by the Osbornes following the death of his mother, his relationships with Imran Maalik (Ijaz Rana) and Oliver Morgan (Aedan Duckworth/Gabriel Clark), being bullied by Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw), becoming pregnant and putting his son up for adoption and coming to the realisation that he is non-binary, but later transitioning to a trans man and changing his name to Phoenix. Grant quit his role as Phoenix and made his final appearance on 31 January 2024, when Phoenix and Shing Lin Leong (Izzie Yip) move to London.
Grant has expressed gratitude for being able to portray the character due to the explorations of Brooke's autism, non-binary identity and later transition to a man. As Grant is autistic and trans, he was glad to convey these qualities through the character, hoping he could act as representation for those respective groups of people. For his portrayal of the character, Grant has been nominated for Best Soap Newcomer at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards, the 2019 British Soap Award for Best Newcomer and Celebrity of the Year at the 2019 National Diversity Awards. Phoenix's coming out scene was also nominated for Feel-Good Moment at the Inside Soap Awards.
In January 2020, Grant's real life parents appeared in Hollyoaks as the adoptive parents of Phoenix's son. Grant's father David described the experience as a "role reversal", noting Grant's experience on a set is much larger than his. Grant's mother Carrie Grant echoed his comments, adding that it was a special experience and that having Tylan alongside them "made it like it was more home-life than work!" The parents also said how it was difficult to differentiate between Grant in real life and Phoenix as a character. David stated that he "had to get himself into a headspace" where he was not watching his real child, but was watching a character, with Carrie confessing that she did not do a great job of differentiating the character from her child.
In an interview on the Hollyoaks YouTube channel at the end of 2020, Grant talked about Phoenix's attitude to life. He explained that due to trying to find his own identity while also trying to battle the external world, his goals become "getting by", trying to "find a light at the end of the tunnel" and trying to find the positives in life. Phoenix prefers to attempt understanding himself rather than attempting to understand the world. Grant opined that life is throwing its problems at Phoenix, referring to his pregnancy and breakup with Oliver. He stated that it had taken a toll on Phoenix's emotions, but that ultimately, the decision to leave Oliver was right due to the situation being "destructive" for the character. Grant noted that although the decision was right for Phoenix, he was upset about the breakup due to enjoying filming with Gabriel Clark. When asked what advice he would give Phoenix, Grant replied that he would tell him that "this is just a chapter of your life, and it can feel like more, but the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain. So just keep going."
When Grant transitioned to a trans man in real life, it was confirmed that his character would take "centre stage in a heartwarming scene" in September 2023. The scenes see him inform Charlie that he now identifies as a man and wants to be known as Phoenix. The character was giving new costuming for the transition, alongside a new promotional photoshoot for the character's new look. Grant was happy that the change had been made to his character, as he felt like it was a natural progression for Phoenix. Grant talked with the producers about how they wanted to approach the coming out scene, as well as asking if Grant was comfortable doing a name change storyline. He appreciated being asked and loved how the scriptwriters had written the scene between Phoenix. Grant also revealed that Hollyoaks had originally chosen for his name to be River, but due to the introduction of Rayne Royce (Jemma Donovan), they felt it was too similar and chose Phoenix instead.
Phoenix's name change is understated on screen as opposed to being a big storyline, which Grant appreciated due to being in a "climate that is very scary to live in for a lot of trans people". He opined that Hollyoaks were looking out for him. Despite Phoenix's name and pronoun changes, as well as new costuming, Grant confirmed that the personality of the character would not change, which he appreciated. He was asked about what else was coming up for Phoenix, to which he confirmed that the character would be interacting with Rayne and the other young characters more.
Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw) joins Hollyoaks High and begins bullying Phoenix. Juliet takes every opportunity to belittle and embarrass Phoenix, including making him miss an important exam, causing him to collapse from sensory overload and trying to sabotage Phoenix's relationship with Oliver. Phoenix becomes pregnant but does not feel ready to become a parent, despite Ollie being ready. Phoenix arranges to have the baby adopted and later gives birth to a son, Thierry. Thierry is adopted by Mal (David Grant) and Zoe (Carrie Grant). When Phoenix and Oliver are set to attend a party, Phoenix worries due to having forgotten his noise cancelling earbuds and states that he want to go home. Oliver lashes out at him, claiming that his relationship revolves around what Phoenix wants and that they never do anything in favour of him. In response, Phoenix ends their relationship. Oliver then leaves the village without saying anything to Phoenix.
Upon Oliver's (now played by Gabriel Clark) return to the village, he apologises and the two reconcile his relationship. However, after Phoenix learns that Oliver is addicted to drugs and has had sex with Juliet while on a drug high, Phoenix ends their relationship again. In a bid to move on from Oliver, Phoenix forms a band with Imran and Sid Sumner (Billy Price). Phoenix forms a friendship with clothing stall owner Ripley Lennox (Ki Griffin), who recommends a piece of men's clothing to Phoenix. Phoenix likes the clothing but does not want to wear men's clothing; however, Ripley gifts Phoenix the clothes and leaves a note saying that clothing is genderless. Phoenix later overhears Ripley speaking about how they are non-binary, and in response to Phoenix's confusion about his identity, Ripley explains. Phoenix relates to aspects of being non-binary and begins to wear men's clothing to test his boundaries. After Phoenix is uncomfortable to be voted prom queen, he come to the realisation that he is non-binary. Phoenix then comes out to a supportive Juliet and Imran and begins using they/them pronouns. Phoenix later tells Charlie Dean (Charlie Behan) that he is a trans man and wants to change his pronouns to he/him, as well as changing his name from Brooke to Phoenix.
For his portrayal of the character, Grant was nominated for Best Soap Newcomer at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; he came in eighth place with 3.9% of the total votes. In 2019, he received a nomination for Best Newcomer at the British Soap Awards, as well as a nomination for Best Young Actor at the Inside Soap Awards. Grant was also shortlisted for Celebrity of the Year at the National Diversity Awards, who stated that he "made history" for being the first BAME actor to portray an autistic character in a mainstream drama series. In 2021, Phoenix's first coming out scene was nominated for Feel-Good Moment at the Inside Soap Awards.
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