Hollyoaks' James Nightingale gets surprise lifeline after dark scenes

The following article contains mentions of gambling addiction that some readers may find upsetting.

Hollyoaks spoilers below.

Tonight’s (September 30) episode of Hollyoaks was a heavy one, especially for James Nightingale.

As fans may recall, amid all the chaos of the explosion, James was stuck inside the city walls after being placed there as payback for betraying Norma, AKA the Undertaker.

Tonight’s episode opened with James still stuck in the walls as he begun to hallucinate his own funeral. And amidst all of that, he was taunted by a sober version of himself.

As James watched his entire family stand around his coffin, he tried to call out for help, only for the sober version of himself to tell him that he couldn't be heard.

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"Read the room. They can't stand you! They're here for your funeral," sober James told him.

hollyoaks james nightingale look glum while wearing a pink shirt

Lime Pictures//Channel 4

Upon hearing this, the real James vehemently denied having died yet, crying and begging for sober James to tell his family that he was not dead.

Later we saw James try to shake himself out of having a conversation with his own self, to which sober James responded by calling him an "insufferable narcissist".

As the hallucinations of James’ family started to fade away from the coffin, James sobbed: "I can change. Please don't leave me! You're my family!"

Then sober James hit him where it hurt – by calling out his tendencies as an addict.

"You're such an abject failure as a human being," he taunted. "Without mummy to hold your hand, you're just a gutter level gambling addict."

Lime Pictures

Throughout this entire ordeal, time was ticking for James. But just as it seemed like James was going to be left to die, a surprise lifeline reached out in the form of Sid Sumner, who found him before it was too late.

But what's next for James? Guess we'll find out in the next episode.

Hollyoaks streams first on All 4, with new episodes dropping each weekday morning. The show airs Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, and at 7pm on E4.

Selected omnibus episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video.

The National Gambling Treatment Service offers free, confidential help for anyone who is worried about their gambling, or someone else's gambling. Call the 24-hour freephone National Gambling Helpline on 0808 802 0133, or visit begambleaware.org. Further information and resources can be found on the Gambling Commission's website.