Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (11th-15th November 2019)

It was a big week for Ste as he finally took his first steps towards leaving the far right group. At the end of last week, we saw Ste throw a note begging for help over the Maalik’s fence. The note was found by Azim, who went out to speak to Ste through the fence and agreed to try and help him. After some persuading, Azim was able to get Leela and Peri on board and, together, they arranged to meet with Ste in The Dog car park to take him to speak to someone from Prevent. As Jonny and Stuart left the house to meet with a rival gang, Ste looked to have found a way to escape. However, young Sid had been left in charge, and was under strict instructions not to let Ste out of his sight. Luckily for Ste, Sid had arranged a date with Juliet and it didn’t take Ste much time at all to convince the youngster that he would be fine on his own. Upon Sid’s departure, Ste prepared to leave, however, he was dismayed to discover that he was locked in. However, he was able to escape and made his way to The Dog, where he was spotted by Sid getting into a car with Leela and Peri...

Ste was taken to speak with a ‘Prevent’ officer and it was arranged that he would leave the village for Newcastle. However, this couldn’t happen right away, and in the meantime, Ste was instructed to return home and carry on as ‘normal’ with Stuart and Jonny. Ste was much happier as he returned home, however, his secret was discovered when Juliet turned up at the house and Stuart and Jonny realised that Ste had been out. Furious that Sid had disobeyed him, Stuart punched his son before turning on Ste and demanding to know where he had been. Despite initially insisting that he’d stayed indoors, Ste eventually told Stuart and Jonny that Leela had taken him to Mike’s to see Leah and Lucas. The pair appeared to be satisfied with Ste’s excuse and were soon heading off again to meet with the rival gang, with Stuart taking a knife from the kitchen drawer on his way. Later, Peri was shocked when a seriously injured man was brought into the hospital after a gang fight in town, and Johnny later arrived back home also having been stabbed. With Stuart insisting that Jonny refrain from getting medical attention for his wound, Jonny told Ste that he wanted out...

The following day, Jonny began pressing Ste for information about the escape he knew he was planning, but Ste refused to be drawn in and insisted that there was no escape plan. However, Jonny continued to push Ste and he eventually confessed that he was off to Newcastle and that Jonny could come with him. Not only that, but Ste admitted that he’d been stealing money from Stuart to fund his escape. Later, Ste and Azim came face to face for the first time and the pair ended up kissing when Azim offered him his support. However, back in the house, Jonny informed Stuart about Ste’s plan to escape. Yep, Jonny was lying and it looks like Ste’s now in grave danger...

Meanwhile, preparations for Sami and Sinead’s wedding were well underway, despite Misbah having to jet off to care for her sick Mother and the bride-to-be being missing in action. Yasmine was feeling left out as Sami, Azim and Imran larked about and headed off to meet with Finn. Imran was later shocked when he realised who his Sister was hanging out with, but he agreed to keep quiet when he realised how much Finn’s friendship meant to her. However, their friendship soon hit a Sami shaped bump in the road when Edward informed him that Yasmine and Finn were getting close. Understandably horrified that his Sister was spending time with a convicted rapist, Sami ordered them to stop seeing each other, leading to Yasmine telling him that she wasn’t coming to the wedding if she couldn’t be friends with Finn...

Elsewhere this week, Mercedes remained in a coma following the shooting whilst Grace begged James to help get Liam released from custody. Finally, Darren struggled to hide his jealousy when Mandy allowed Luke to spend some time with DJ.

This Week’s Cast:

Azim, Bobby, Courtney, Darren, Diane, DJ, Edward, Finn, Goldie, Grace, Imran, James, Jonny, Juliet, Leela, Liam, Liberty, Luke, Mandy, Marnie, Mercedes, Nana McQueen, Peri, Sally, Sami, Sid, Sienna, Ste, Stuart, Sylver and Yasmine. 

Blasts From The Past:

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (18th-22nd November 2019)

It was the end of Stuart and Jonny this week as Ste finally managed to escape from the far right group. When Jonny told Ste that Stuart was onto their escape plan, he said that they would have to leave there and then. But little did Ste know that Jonny was lying to him, and he lead him straight to a car being driven by Stuart. However, Jonny was horrified to realise that Stuart had brought Sid along and grabbed the car keys from Stuart’s hand, telling him he didn’t think Sid should see what they were planning. As Jonny and Stuart argued, Ste grabbed the keys and made a run for it. Sid also made his escape and headed to The Hutch, where everyone was gathered for Sami and Sinead’s wedding, to beg for help. Leela, Peri, Sami and Sid went off in search of Ste, but Sami soon found himself in grave danger when Stuart knocked him out and bundled him into the car. He was soon joined by Ste when Jonny managed to track him down whilst Leela, Azim, Peri and Sid could only watch on in horror and Sami and Ste were driven away...

The group gave chase and eventually caught up with Stuart and Jonny, who had Ste cornered on a cliff edge. Realising what his Father was about to do, Sid ran at him, causing Stuart to fall backwards over the cliff. As Stuart’s body was taken away, Ste, Leela, Azim, Peri and Sami all spoke up for Sid and insisted that Stuart’s death had been an accident. Whilst Jonny may have been prepared to fight Sid’s corner before, with Stuart dead, he wasn’t willing to do so now, and spitefully told the police that Sid had deliberately pushed Stuart. Sid was arrested but soon released once the police were satisfied that Stuart’s death had been an accident. Jonny, however, wasn’t so lucky and he found himself arrested for Ste’s kidnapping. 

Relieved that his ordeal was finally over, Ste did what Ste does best, and hurtled full speed ahead into a new relationship. However, after spending the night with Ste, Azim was freaked out to catch a glimpse of his tattoo and told him he didn’t think they should see each other any more. Ste was later dealt another blow when Martine gave him an ear bashing in the shop and refused to serve him whilst Yasmine also gave him a piece of her mind when the pair came face to face. Realising he needed time away to sort himself out, Ste contacted the ‘Prevent’ officer he’d spoken to last week and left the village for Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Mandy was horrified when some unicorn cake monstrosity turned up at the restaurant for Sami and Sinead’s wedding. Not realising that it wasn’t a mistake and that Sinead just really loved unicorns, Mandy sent Darren and Nancy off to bake a replacement round at the Osborne’s. As Darren and Nancy got to work, Charlie was busy recording himself gaming in the living room. Of course, we can’t possibly have a camera set up without it capturing something it’s not meant to and it didn’t take long for Charlie to discover what had gone on between Darren and Nancy in the tunnels a few weeks back. Darren was horrified when Charlie confronted him with the information and begged him to keep quiet. An upset Charlie reluctantly agreed, but made it quite clear to Darren that he was only doing so for the sake of Mandy and the other kids before telling him that Luke would be a better Father to DJ than he could ever be...

Later, Darren was left furious when he overheard Luke joking with Cindy and Mandy that he was going to change DJ’s name to Luke Junior. With Charlie’s words ringing in his ears, Darren, punched him, knocking him out cold. As Luke took a while to come round, Mandy and Cindy insisted that Darren take him to get checked out at the hospital. However, Luke got more than he bargained for when his brain scan showed some abnormalities due to a pre existing condition and he was told he would need to come back in for more tests. In order to take his mind of things, Luke ended the week by proposing to Cindy, who was over the moon! 

In other news this week, Sami was devastated when Sinead failed to turn up to their wedding whilst Sienna was also dealt a blow when Ollie told her he wanted to keep his and Brooke’s baby. Finally, Marnie decided to buy The Teahouse, but was devastated to discover that someone had beaten her to it. Luckily for her, that someone was James! 

This Week’s Cast:

Azim, Brody, Brooke, Charlie, Cindy, Darren, Diane, DJ, Edward, Finn, Imran, Jack, James, Jonny, Kyle, Leela, Liberty, Luke, Mandy, Marnie, Martine, Nancy, Oliver, Peri, Sami, Scott, Sid, Sienna, Stuart, Tom and Yasmine. 

Blasts From The Past:

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (4th-8th November 2019)

It was time for Hollyoaks latest ‘whodunnit’ this week as someone tried to do us all a favour and kill Mercedes McQueen. The action unfolded as the village came together for Harry’s funeral and whilst everybody headed to the church, Grace was busy trying to find out the identity of the hit and run driver. With Joel having told her last week that the culprit lay close to home, Grace was convinced that it was Liam. When confronted, Liam admitted that, although he’d been present, Mercedes had been driving. Armed with her culprit and a recorded confession (which I can’t remember how she got hold of) Grace transformed herself into the Grace Black of old and headed to Harry’s wake...

Harry’s wake was underway at The Dog when Grace took to the mic and played the confession to the shocked mourners. Not only that, but Mercedes had to contend with everyone believing that she’d killed Harry to keep him quiet about her role in the hit and run. Sylver surprised Mercedes by taking the news about the hit and run well. However, he was left devastated by Grace’s claims that Mercedes had been sleeping with Liam. Mercedes swore on Bobby’s life that she hadn’t cheated and begged Sylver to run away with her. 

Outside the pub, James was having trouble coming to terms with events, and told Grace that she should have come to him before confronting Mercedes. The police were soon on the scene, but in true Hollyoaks fashion, proved themselves to be absolutely useless as they failed to track down their culprit. As Mercedes and Sylver prepared to leave the village, they were stopped in their tracks by Brooke, who had been unsettled by the police presence.  Not wanting to be held up any further, Mercedes told Brooke that she and Sylver were going on holiday, leading to Brooke bringing up Mercedes recent abortion, unaware that Sylver did not know. Sylver was heartbroken by the revelation and refused to leave the village. With nothing to lose, Mercedes headed back to the pub and was furious to hear the mourners bitching about her. Mercedes pointed out what hypocrites they were before taking the keys to The Loft from Grace and heading over there for a coke fuelled party for one.

The following morning, Mercedes had failed to come home and the police were still on the hunt for her. Knowing that she’d gone to The Loft, Goldie headed round there but was left horrified when she discovered Mercedes lying unconscious on the dance floor, having been shot. But who could have done such a thing? Official suspects are Goldie, Breda, James, Diane, Liam, Grace and Joel. Grace and Sylver claimed to be in bed together at the time of the shooting whilst Marnie had been planning to drug James to prevent him from leaving the house at the same time. But of course, this is Hollyoaks, so we surely cannot rule them out just yet. The police started the investigation by arresting Liam after finding a gun in his car. But did he do it? 

Elsewhere this week, The Maalik’s prepared to return home whilst Yasmine found an unlikely friend in Finn. Finally, Ste was devastated to learn of Harry’s death and was then dealt a bigger blow when Diane ordered him to stay away from the funeral. Fed up with being kept under lock and key by Stuart and Jonny, Ste threw a letter begging for help over the Maalik’s fence. 

5 Things We Learned This Week:

1. The residents of Hollyoaks will turn a blind eye to many crimes, but they’ll draw the line as racism. With no one wanting to dine at The Teahouse anymore, Stuart prepared to put the business on the market. Nice to know that the good people of Hollyoaks do have some sort of moral compass, even if they don’t show it very often.

2. It amazing what a bit of make up and having something to get riled up about can do! Having found out that Mercedes had left her for dead, Grace got herself dolled up before ditching her crutch and heading off to have it out with Mercedes. Amazing how the crutch was no longer needed from that point on and she was back to walking perfectly! 

3. If the Hollyoaks police force can’t find you straight away, they will give up and go home. How was Mercedes able to swan right back into the pub and then head to The Loft despite the fact that the police were looking for her?

4. The residents of Hollyoaks really cared about Harry. It was nice to see so many characters turn up at Harry’s funeral. They may not all have had dialogue, but it was a nice touch to see them sitting there in the background. What a shame that Harry’s own Mother couldn’t have shown the same courtesy! Maybe Peter Kay doesn’t drive as far out as Chester?

5. Nana cannot believe that someone would want to kill Mercedes. I can...

This Week’s Cast:

Azim, Bobby, Breda, Brooke, Cindy, Cleo, Darren, Diane, Edward, Finn, Goldie, Grace, Imran, James, Jesse, Joel, Jonny, Juliet, Leela, Liam, Luke, Mandy, Marnie, Misbah, Mitchell, Nancy, Nana McQueen, Peri, Romeo, Sally, Sami, Sid, Ste, Stuart, Sylver, Tony, Walter and Yasmine.

Blasts From The Past:

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (16th 20th September 2019)

Hollyoaks aired some of its most powerful episodes ever this week as Ste finally woke up to the fact that he’d been groomed by a far right organisation. We discovered at the end of last week that Stuart was planning something big, and this week, we discovered what that was; blowing up the local community centre. Knowing that the centre was often used by Muslims, Stuart planned to detonate a device when the centre was empty, but the plans went awry when he discovered that the group were being watched by undercover officers. Deciding that the plan was too risky, Stuart called it off for now, leaving Jonny furious. Not to be deterred, Jonny decided to detonate the device anyway, only this time, the location would be The Loft, where many of the village’s residents were gathered to celebrate the recent engagement of Sami and Sinead....

Ste was horrified when he realised what Jonny was planning and desperately tried to talk him out of it. As the pair argued inside, Jonny had left the device balancing precariously on a table in the garden, and it didn’t take long for it to tumble to the ground. The device exploded, blowing a massive hole through the Maalik’s fence, just as Yasmine was leaving for the party. As Ste surveyed the damage, he was shocked to see that both Yasmine and Jonny had been injured and rushed over to Jonny. Misbah and Sami, who had heard the explosion from the village, rushed to the scene and Misbah, after establishing that Yasmine was okay, went to help Jonny. Jonny was less than impressed by the prospect of help from Misbah and told her that he didn’t want her anywhere near him. Knowing that Jonny was losing a lot of blood, Misbah went ahead and helped him anyway and kept him stable until the paramedics arrived...

Jonny’s triad of abuse continued once at the hospital as he demanded to only be treated by white British Doctors. Back at the Maalik’s, Sami took Ste aside and, in powerful scenes, finally made him see that he’d been groomed. At the hospital, Ste confronted Jonny with what Sami had said and the pair were in the middle of a bitter argument when Stuart arrived. Knowing that they only had a limited window to get their story straight before the police arrived, the three men did a runner from the hospital. After establishing their side of events, Stuart arranged for the arrest to be live streamed on the internet before the three men, plus fellow member, Dave, were taken in for questioning. Whilst Ste, Jonny and Dave stuck to the same story, Stuart decided to let Dave take the blame for everything, and Ste was left shocked by Dave’s acceptance of the situation.

With Ste finally having woken up the group’s true motives, he told Stuart he wanted to go back to his family. However, Stuart wasn’t going to let Ste go easily, and told him that if he left them now, he would go back the police station and ensure he ended up in the cell next to Dave. Ste became desperate when the police told him that extracting him from the group’s clutches, would be a slow process and so he contacted Jed for help. Having received a beating from Ste a few weeks back, Jed was understandably reluctant to help Ste, but eventually came round and instructed him to pack a bag and meet him later. Unfortunately, Jonny and Stuart discovered what Ste was planning and ordered him to phone Jed and tell him the escape was off...

Meanwhile, the Maaliks’ were struggling to come to terms with what had happened and they soon received another set-back when it transpired that Yasmine’s injuries were far more serious than first thought. As Misbah went to show Yasmine a video on her phone, Yasmine revealed that she couldn’t hear anything, and tests soon showed that she had two perforated ear drums. Yasmine and the family were left devastated when Doctors told them that they didn’t know when, or if, Yasmine’s hearing would return...

In other news this week, Diane was devastated to discover that she’d been left out of Sami and Sinead’s engagement party and decided to take Finn on an impromptu holiday to the Lake District. Marnie was enjoying posing as James online in a bid to find him a man and, finally, Maxine began using make-up to make herself look ill when James told her that her presence at Damon’s trial could help him get off. 

5 Things We Learned This Week:

1. Some people don’t have the right to look down on others. Ste had a right cheek insinuating that Sami was some sort of danger to Hannah. Even before the far right story kicked off, I wouldn’t have left Ste in charge of a blade of grass, let alone a child. 

2. Kids don’t have to get in the way of your holiday plans! Just leave them at home, which is clearly what Diane’s done with Ant, Rose and Dee Dee! That, or she’s left them with Breda. Either way, social services should be contacted at once! 

3. Dee Valley Hospital never learns. You’d think that after they let Theresa McQueen escape from the place whilst under police guard back in 2014 that they’d be more careful with security but nope, they’re at it again! 

4. Mike Barnes likes to keep up with the goings on in his old stomping ground. Did anyone else notice the message from ‘M.Barnes’ on Maxine’s fundraising page? Who else can it be other than good old Barnsey?! 

5. Little Hannah is into Grime music. They grow up so fast...

This Week’s Cast:

Azim, Bobby, Brooke, Cleo, Courtney, Damon, Diane, Finn, Goldie, Grace, Hannah, Imran, Jack, James, Jesse, Joel, Jonny, Juliet, Leah, Leela, Lisa, Lucas, Luke, Mandy, Marnie, Martine, Mercedes, Misbah, Mitchell, Nancy, Oscar, Peri, Sally, Sami, Scott, Siena, Sinead, Ste, Stuart and Yasmine.

Blasts From The Past:

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (12-16th August 2019)

It was decision time for Ste this week as he was finally given a way out of the far right group. At the start of the week, following his little TV appearance, Sinead told Ste she didn’t want him seeing Hannah anymore, leaving him devastated. However, his sadness soon turned to anger when he discovered that Sinead and Hannah were next door, celebrating Eid with the Maaliks. Things then went from bad to worse for Ste when Leah and Lucas, upon hearing the celebrations, asked to go and join in. Unsurprisingly, Ste said no, but the kids took no notice and headed round any way. Whilst Misbah was reluctant to have them there, knowing it would add fuel to Ste’s already out of control fire, everyone else was keen. It didn’t take long for Ste to discover where the children were and he dragged them away. An argument erupted between Stuart, Jonny, Ste and Sami, leading to Leah telling her Dad how much she hated him.

Later that day, Sami was attacked with pepper spray in the village and although he and Sinead suspected that Stuart and co were responsible, the police were unable to find any evidence to charge them. Ste was shocked when he heard about the attack on Sami and so Jonny, keen to keep Ste’s mind off it, set him up with Jed again. Although less than keen, Ste went along, but was given more than he bargained for when Jed told him about the evidence he’d been compiling against the group. Whilst this was going on, Stuart’s wife, Alice, approached Sinead, and asked her to reconsider her plans to stop Ste seeing Hannah. Although Sinead refused to listen, Ste was touched by what Alice had tried to do for him, and decided to tell the group what Jed was planning. As Stuart, Ste and Jonny confronted Jed, Stuart confiscated his evidence and ordered Ste to beat him up...

In a surprising twist, it would be Sami who would convince Sinead to allow Ste access to Hannah, pointing out that, if Ste took her to court, he would more than likely be granted access, and then the situation would be out of their hands. As Sinead went to share the good news with Ste, she was shocked to see bruises on his knuckles. When pressed for information, Ste proved to be evasive and so Sinead and Yasmine broke into the house in a bid to discover what was going on. The pair discovered Jed’s USB stick, and were horrified to find floor plans of the local community centre. Believing that the group were planning something sinister, they took the files straight to the police. However, they were told that, as the USB was stolen, there was nothing they could do. As the week ended, Stuart revealed that he’d filmed Ste’s attack on Jed, and planned to use it as collateral should he ever try to leave...

Meanwhile, Mercedes’ affair with Liam was almost rumbled when Nana discovered a pair of leopard print pants in The Dog flat. Although Mercedes was able to talk her way out of trouble this time, she wasn’t out of the woods just yet, as Breda overheard her and Liam talking about their affair. A furious Breda planned to do away with Mercedes and confronted her over her cheating. However, she was brought crashing back down to earth when Mercedes lied that she’d actually been talking about Goldie’s affair with Joel. With Breda rendered speechless over her daughter having it off with a man of the cloth, Mercedes was once again spared death, although it wasn’t long before she was back in the shit when Bobby spotted her kissing Liam...

Elsewhere, Joel and Goldie’s relationship was on and off more times than Mercedes’ knickers this week. The pair enjoyed spending time together, but Joel freaked out when things got heated and told Goldie that he couldn’t betray the church. In order to make Joel jealous, Goldie went on a date with a hippie named ‘Hashtag’ and then threw herself at him whilst making sure Joel was watching. Her plan appeared to have worked and Joel told Goldie that he wanted them to be together, just as long as they kept things on the down low. But with Breda having found out about their relationship, that was going to be easier said than done.

In other news this week, Nancy and a reluctant Marnie staged an intervention in a bid to save Juliet and Brooke’s friendship. Whilst the pair made up, Brooke still refused to tell Ollie about her pregnancy. Finally, Breda and Jack planned a surprise wedding, but Breda called the whole thing off upon discovering the truth about Goldie and Joel, leaving Jack devastated...

5 Things We Learned This Week:

1. Sylver has no regard for safety. Who sets up a basketball net for kids in a car park? Think about potential damage to cars if nothing else!

2. Some people are as annoying as their name. He may have only appeared in one episode, but Hashtag has surely taken the award for most annoying character in Hollyoaks history. And I remember Noah...

3. Children aren’t part of the family. Poor Charlie and Oscar, yet again excluded from family celebrations! 

4. “I’m never getting married, cause there’s nothing but beef.” Wise words spoken by young Bobby, there. Clearly, the kid’s been scared for life by how many failed McQueen weddings he’s attended. Even more astonishing when you remember that he’s only lived with the family for little over a year...

5. Sylver is scared of roller coasters. This week’s impromptu trip to the Pleasure Beach must have been great fun for him then.

This Week’s Cast:

Aunty Kameela, Bobby, Breda, Brooke, Cindy, Cleo, Curtis, Darren, DJ, Goldie, Grace, Hannah, Imran, Jack, Joel, Jonny, Juliet, Kyle, Leah, Liam, Lucas, Mandy, Marnie, Mercedes, Misbah, Nana McQueen, Nancy, Oliver, Sally, Sami, Stuart, Sylver and Yasmine. 

Blasts From The Past:

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (10th-14th June 2019)

Ste’s life went from bad to worse this week as he fell further under the spell of the far right. Things were going well for Ste at the start of the week. Stuart had just invited him and the kids on an all expenses paid holiday to Florida and he also had the march to look forward to. However, Peri and Yasmine soon got wind of what was happening and contacted the police in an attempt to get the march stopped. Unfortunately, the girls were told that, as Stuart and Jonny had obtained the necessary permits, there was nothing they could do. Funnily enough, it would be Ste’s own actions which would put a spanner in the works. After a run in with Walter and Lisa at the shop, which saw the place trashed, the police were called and they made the decision to cancel the march, angering Stuart and Jonny. Keen to show them what he was made off, Ste decided to organise his own protest...

Wanting to be seen as a respectable group, Stuart had a list of known trouble makers banned from marching with them. Not caring one jot about the group’s image, Ste threw caution to the wind and invited all and sundry. As the march got underway, thugs tore through the village, trashing the place as business owners, Tony, Diane and Walter, locked their doors. As things got more and more out of hand, Ste appeared disturbed by the turn of events, but still decided to put a brick through The Hutch’s window. Ste was arrested and, on his release, Stuart informed him that he wanted nothing more to do with him, pointing out that he had done their image more harm than good. Ste then found himself even more alone when Tony finally turned his back on him too...

With Ste at his lowest ebb, Peri decided to invite him back into the bosom of his family and invited him for a meal at The Hutch. However, Ste got drunk and failed to show up. The following day, Jonny and Stuart decided to test Ste’s commitment to the group when they sent a fellow member round to pose as a policeman in an attempt to see if Ste would be tempted to spill the beans. Despite being offered money to work as an informant, Ste refused to speak about the group. Stuart was so impressed by Ste’s loyalty, that he arranged for him to get the group’s symbol tattooed on his arm in a weird sort of ceremony complete with candles.  With Ste well and truly back under the group’s spell, Peri decided to look for evidence that would prove that Jonny and Ste were not related...

Meanwhile, there was much excitement at Hollyoaks High as plans for prom got underway. Ollie was mortified when he realised that Brooke was expecting a ‘prom-proposal’ from him, and Juliet used his lack of thought to place doubts in her mind about their relationship. Luckily, Ollie came good just in time but Juliet soon found a new way to cause trouble for her so-called friend. Knowing how much Brooke’s exams meant to her, Juliet pretended to have forgotten her calculator on the morning of the maths exam. Telling Brooke she was going home to get it, Juliet begged her to wait for her, before promptly heading inside the school. Brooke did eventually go to the exam room but was left devastated when she realised she was too late to sit her exam. Spurred on by Juliet, Brooke lied to Sally that a meltdown had caused her to miss the exam, but this had no effect, and Brooke was told that she would have to resit the exam next year. In another dastardly deed, Juliet went on to tell Nancy that Ollie was distracting Brooke from her work, causing Nancy to question whether the pair should continue to see each other...

Elsewhere, there was a special guest in the village this week when This Morning’s Alison Hammond arrived to interview Maxine about her ‘illness’. Fed up with not getting enough attention at her engagement party, Maxine orchestrated an argument with Damon before running home and contacting This Morning with her sob story. Viewers were apparently so touched by Maxine’s plight that they raised £5000 for her and Alison turned up to present Maxine with the cheque. Maxine was delighted by her five minutes of fame but her happiness didn’t last long when she received a phone call from the hospital asking her to come in. Ever since he met Maxine, Mitchell’s been determined to get to the bottom of her ‘illness’ but has since realised that he can’t do it alone and called on his former uni tutor, Levi. Apparently, he’s an expert in mystery illnesses and will be able to finally figure out what’s ‘killing’ Maxine...

In other news this week, Laurie continued to cause trouble at the school when he accused Sienna of putting up inflammatory posters about him, and later caused Sally to loose her temper with him in front of a group of students. Walter was less than impressed to discover that Lisa had spent the night with Liam and, finally, Breda panicked when Jack asked her to move in with him.

5 Things We Learned This Week:

1. There’s so much pressure put on teenagers today. Exam stress, social media, friendship and relationship issues, and now they’ve got ‘prom-proposals’ to worry about too. Who’d be a teenager nowadays?

2. Tom is terrified of dogs. I was quite impressed initially when Tom arrived home and was immediately spooked by the presence of Bronzer, thinking that the show had remembered that Tom was bitten by a dog years ago. But nope, it wasn’t mentioned. 

3.  This Morning could do a whole special about the residents of Hollyoaks’ personal lives. As Alison Hammond arrived to interview Maxine, Juliet immediately tried to hog the limelight, telling the presenter that she was far more interesting as her Mum was in prison for murdering her Dad. This Morning would have an absolute field day with those McQueen’s...

4. Hollyoaks are reusing scripts again. What is it with villains in this show getting their dodgy mates to pose as police officers in an attempt to test the loyalty of new recruits? We saw pretty much those exact scenes not that long ago with Liam and Prince and now we’re seeing them again with Ste.

5. What does Nana’s dream man look like? A cross between Popeye and a garden gnome. How lovely...

Characters Featured:

Breda, Brody, Brooke, Courtney, Damon, Diane, DJ, Goldie, Grace, Hannah, Imran, Jack, Jonny, Juliet, Laurie, Leah, Leela, Levi, Liam, Liberty, Lisa, Lucas, Maxine, Mercedes, Mitchell, Nana McQueen, Nancy, Oliver, Oscar, Peri, Sally, Scott, Sid, Sienna, Ste, Stuart, Sylver, Tom, Tony, Walter and Yasmine. 

Past Characters Mentioned:

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (3rd-7th June 2019)

It was a tough week for Harry, who found himself in a right old mess following his arrest for Grace’s hit and run. Knowing that his ex, Sadie, was his only hope, Harry called on her to act as his alibi but she had a shock of her own up her sleeve when she revealed that she was pregnant. Having been kicked out by her parents, Sadie was looking for somewhere to stay and wanted Harry to take responsibility for his baby. Harry took Sadie back to the flat but James interrupted them and was left devastated when Harry reluctantly filled him in on the situation. James initially asked Harry to choose between them but, when Romeo pointed out that his behaviour was mirroring Mac, James had a change of heart and told Harry he didn’t want him to turn his back on his child. 

With Harry prime suspect, Liam and Mercedes were finally relaxing, safe in the knowledge that they were off the hook. However, Liam panicked when he overheard Harry and Sadie talking and realised that Harry had a rock solid alibi. Unfortunately for Harry, Liam had a plan up his sleeve, and offered Sadie money to leave town without giving Harry an alibi. Sadie agreed and Harry was soon taken back in for questioning. It didn’t take long for word to reach Grace and she decided to get revenge when Harry was released on bail. Knowing that Harry was working as a delivery driver for The Hutch, Grace ordered some food to The Dog car park and planned to shoot Harry on his arrival. Luckily, Liam, Jesse and Lisa arrived just in time and were able to talk Grace down. However, Lisa had her suspicions; the Liam she knew would be baying for Harry’s blood, not offering to take a bullet for him. Lisa put two and two together and worked out that Liam had been responsible for Grace’s accident. Despite initially planning on telling Grace the truth, Lisa was persuaded not to, and she ended the week by falling into bed with Liam!

Meanwhile, Tony organised for an officer from Prevent to come and speak with Ste but they were unable to speak to him without Jonny present and were forced to leave. Later in the week, Kameela arrived at the Maalik’s with traditional Indian dresses for Liberty and the bridesmaids to try on. Following Farrah’s recent departure, they were a bridesmaid down and Yasmine suggested they offer the role to Peri, feeling it a shame to waste one of the dresses. Liberty agreed and Peri was delighted by the suggestion. Everyone loved the dresses and they headed down to the village to show them off however, photos posted on social media caught Ste’s attention, and he headed off to confront his niece...

Ste was horrified to see Peri in her dress and tried to rip it off her, angering Leela, who punched him. Back at home, Ste played the victim and Stuart suggested that they organise a meeting to discuss the ‘grooming’ that Peri had been a victim of. The following day, Stuart’s far right mates arrived and they organised a march in Chester for the following week. As Stuart went off on a rant about the ‘Islamification’ of the UK, Leela arrived to drop off some toys for Lucas and was disgusted by what she overheard. After confronting the group, Leela was thrown out but tried to make Ste see that what he’d been dragged into was wrong. Ste refused to listen and Leela was forced to face up to the fact that she’d lost her Brother...

In other news this week, Mercedes had yet another wild night out whilst Darren accused Kyle of stealing from The Hutch when Tony noticed that their profit margins were down. Finally, Cleo, worrying that Joel was lonely, advertised for a flat mate for him, leaving Goldie seething with jealousy when Cindy answered the ad! 

5 Things We Learned This Week:

1. Kyle exposing his backside is the worst thing to ever happen in The Hutch. Tony takes his food hygiene standards very seriously. Except when he and Diane are having a quick bunk-up in the kitchen, obvs.

2.  The hit and run story has more holes in it than a golf course. Surely CCTV would have picked up Liam and Mercedes in the car somewhere along their route? What about testing the car for DNA evidence? They’d surely find finger prints/hair fibres that didn’t match Harry’s? But what’s the point in investing anyway when we already know that Liam and Mercedes will face absolutely no consequences for hitting Grace?

3. The Hollyoaks police force could really do with getting Lisa on board. Lisa managed to do what many a police officer has failed to do, and spot a criminal with very little solid evidence! PC Loveday to the rescue! 

4. Stay away from Breda’s hangover cure. It leaves a ‘cheesy feet’ aftertaste. 

5. All hail Leela Lomax! The star of the show this week surely has to be Leela, who told Ste and Stuart exactly what we’re all thinking about this far right nonsense! 

Characters Featured:

Breda, Cindy, Cleo, Courtney, Darren, Diane, Goldie, Grace, Harry, Jack, James, Jesse, Joel, Jonny,  Kameela, Kyle, Leela, Liam, Liberty, Lisa, Martine, Mercedes, Misbah, Mitchell, Nancy, Peri, Romeo, Sadie, Ste, Stuart, Sylver, Tony, Walter and Yasmine. 

Past Characters Mentioned: