Lydia Hamilton

Lydia Hamilton is a major character in ''After the Fall. ''She is the ex-wife of Tony Hamilton and the mother of David and Tanya Hamilton. It is eventually revealed she was behind the plot to discredit and murder Nikki Alexander, in revenge for helping convict her husband of attempted murder. She is portrayed by Geraldine Somerville.

Background
Lydia had a successful career, a relatively happy marriage and two children. However, Lydia and tony began experiencing relationship problems and its implied she was absorbed by her work, having little time for her husband and children. Tony ended up having an affair with a co-worker, Suzie Banks. In 2005, Suzie fell pregnant with his child and Tony decided to leave Lydia and move in with Suzie. As a result, Lydia barred Tony from seeing their children, eventually leading to Tony going back to her. When he told Suzie he was leaving, however, it lead to a heated argument which ultimately resulted in Suzie falling from her apartment window, leaving her with permanent injuries. Tony was arrested for attempted murder. Lydia believed Tony to be innocent, though she filed for divorce after he was charged to save her career. Tony was found guilty, largely due to the testimony of forensic pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander and the resulting discrediting of the defense's pathologist Professor Belinda Roach. Tony was imprisoned for ten years. Lydia grew increasingly resentful because of Tony's guilty verdict, finally snapping when, a year before his release, their daughter, Tanya, committed suicide - it's implied she did so due to the harassment and ostracisation she and her family endured because of Tony's conviction.

Lydia sought to get revenge against everyone she believed had a hand in Tony's conviction, with Dr Alexander at its centre-point. She paid William Carmichael, a recently released convict who shared a cell with her ex-husband, to commit a series of murders designed to discredit Dr Alexander, beginning with DI Murray Porter, the leading investigator on the case - his deliberate drowning was made to appear as an accident. The following year, three months after Tony was released from prison, Lydia had Carmichael kill terminal cancer patient Irene Dawes and make it seem like suicide - Nikki was the pathologist on the case and ruled the death as suicide, thus kickstarting Lydia's ultimate plan to get revenge on Nikki.

After the Fall
Three months after Irene's death, Lydia has Carmichael kill Max Walsh and make it seem like suicide, though it was quickly discovered to be a murder. Nikki recognised the similarities between the cases and realised she'd been wrong about Irene's cause of death. Lydia tried to reconnect with Tony, encouraging David to spend time with him, but to her disappointment, Tony seemed distant and unresponsive. Lydia had Carmichael break into Nikki's house and plant Belinda Roach's thumbprint on her kitchen clock, leading Nikki to go to Roach's house to confront her. Roach was murdered by Carmichael and Nikki framed for the crime, leading to her arrest, though she was released after the forensics team found evidence strongly suggesting Nikki couldn't have been the killer. Tony expressed concerns to Lydia about David and his anger over what had happened to his family, suspecting he may have been angry enough to kill Roach, unaware that Lydia is really behind it. Lydia has Carmichael break into Nikki's house to kill her, though she ultimately escapes and Carmichael is killed by the police after he refuses to surrender. Nikki finds recordings of Lydia making a deal with Carmichael, but chooses to confront her first, catching her as she is preparing to flee the country. Lydia admits she was behind the killings and that she blames Nikki for ruining her life. Nikki counters that whilst she did make a mistake in believing Tony was guilty, it doesn't excuse the murders of three innocent people. Nikki also points out that she wasn't to blame for Tony's affair, that Tony only came back for his children's sake and Lydia's 'perfect' life was ruined before Nikki's involvement. She also reveals she had found the recording, ultimately leading to Lydia's arrest.

Victims

 * Murray Porter (by proxy; drowned and made to look like an accident)
 * Irene Dawes (by proxy; made to look like suicide)
 * Max Walsh (by proxy; wrists slashed, made to look like suicide)
 * Belinda Roach (by proxy; bludgeoned)
 * Nikki Alexander (by proxy; attempted to kill and framed for Roach's murder)