Zak Ramsey (also Barnes) is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kent Riley. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 6 September 2004. The character was originally credited as "Zak Barnes". After only four months, Riley was written out of the show. Producer Bryan Kirkwood reintroduced him in 2006 and was then credited with the surname Ramsey. Zak was introduced into the series as one of three new student characters, who arrive to study at the Hollyoaks Community College. Joining Zak were Bella Manning (Kim Bourelle) and Stuart Harding (Dan Cryer). When the character was reintroduced, a new set of students were created for Zak to share stories with. Zak is portrayed as a Scouser / Liverpudlian character, with a "fun-loving" persona and enjoys partying rather than concentrating on his studies.

In 2008, producers invested more in the character and created Zak's most prominent relationship storyline. Paired with Michaela McQueen (Hollie-Jay Bowes), Riley believed that the two characters were embarrassed about their unlikely relationship but later fell in love. Producers also introduced Zak's sister, Hayley Ramsey (Kelly-Marie Stewart), a disabled character who has the illness, Guillain–Barré syndrome. The topical story allowed writers to explore the impact that new disabilities have on family members. Riley explained that Zak and Hayley shared a close relationship until she became reliant on her wheelchair because of her disability. Other notable stories include the exploration of national discrimination when Archie Carpenter (Stephen Beard) accuses Zak of theft because of his Scouser heritage. Beard confirmed that his character was not politically correct in his accusations of Zak, just because he is from Liverpool.

Following the arrival of producer Paul Marquess in January 2010, the series underwent a rejuvenation. As part of cast changes, it was announced that Riley had been axed from the series for a second time. Marquess claimed that he removed Zak and fellow characters from the show because writers had run out of storylines for them. Zak's final stories focused on his break-up with Michaela and his involvement in a racism storyline in which his friend, Des Townsend (Kris Deedigan) convinces Zak to help him target ethnic minorities. Zak was grieving the death of his brother during the story and turns to alcoholism. Zak exposes Des' crimes when he realises the extent of his hate campaign. Zak made his final appearance during the episode broadcast on 6 August 2010.

Auditions were already underway for the part of Zak when actor Kent Riley received a call from his agent and he auditioned for the role, later going on to be cast as Zak. After his initial departure, Riley was asked by producers to return to the role.

The character of Zak was created as one of three new characters written into the series. These consisted of Zak, Stuart Harding (Dan Cryer) and Bella Manning (Kim Bourelle) and are new students who move in to the halls of residence at the Hollyoaks Community College. He was originally described by Hollyoaks' publicity team as "footie-mad" and "a Scouser with attitude and more than an eye for the ladies!" After the character's initial stint, he was brought back into the series. During the character's first stint he was credited as Zak Barnes. When he was reintroduced into the series in 2006, his surname had been changed to Ramsey. A separate family with the surname Barnes was introduced during the intervening period of Zak's on-screen absence.^{[citation needed]}

An excerpt from the official Hollyoaks website detailed how Zak was not interested in studying during his first year at college. The writer added "Zak's determined to spend as much time polishing his student credentials and as little honing his academic skills as he can." Channel 4 publicity described him as a "fun-loving" man who likes 'a good knees-up' with his friends. They also detailed how he looks after his sister, Hayley Ramsey's (Kelly-Marie Stewart) love life, alluding to Zak being protective of his sister. Zak has always been unlucky in his love life, even though he Riley described him as "has his eye on most of the ladies" featured in the show.

When Zak was reintroduced, writers featured him in the student group consisting of Jessica Harris (Jennifer Biddall), Will Hackett (Oliver Farnworth), Zoë Carpenter (Zoe Lister) and Kris Fisher (Gerard McCarthy).

In late 2008, writers invested more in the character romantic and family stories to play out during the following year. They created Zak's relationship with Michaela McQueen (Hollie-Jay Bowes) and introduced his sister, Hayley. Her arrival created added drama in his stories with Michaela. Both Zak and Michaela are portrayed as embarrassed about their relationship. Riley told an Inside Soap reporter that they "really like each other" but "I don't think either of them knows why!" Riley believed that Zak was more embarrassed than Michaela which is why he hides their relationship from friends. He added that an argument between the two results in them declaring their love for each other. This worried Riley, who was unsure that Zak could truly commit to Michaela. He added knew "I'm not sure he knows the meaning of the word love."