Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks has sparked confusion with recent episodes, which have seen Maxine Minniver fall victim to sinister Eric Foster's behaviour, but there's a fairly simple explanation.
Maxine has been targeted by villain Eric in this week's scenes, as part of the show's ongoing issue-based story exploring radical misogyny.
Back in July, Hollyoaks revealed that Maxine would be taking centre stage in a powerful episode, highlighting several scenarios women face on a night out.
This has sparked a slight mix-up among fans, who were left believing that the episode had aired earlier this week, and in a different guise to the original announcement.
However, we can confirm that the two stories are not actually related – with Maxine's special episode still yet to air.
What to Read Next
In scenes airing earlier this week, Maxine was alarmed to find a frightening note in her textbook following a disastrous date with Eric. Things then took a further dark turn when she passed out in a pile of rubbish following a drinking session with Theresa and Romeo.
When Maxine awoke, she was horrified to find a derogatory term written across her forehead, leaving her to fear she'd been sexually assaulted.
Misbah was able to confirm that this wasn't the case following a visit to the hospital, but Maxine started to have flashbacks of Eric's involvement at the scene.
Digital Spy understands that Maxine's special episode – titled 'The Long Walk Home – will actually be airing in November.
The groundbreaking edition will follow Maxine as she becomes separated from a group of friends on a night out and has been produced and directed by a team of women.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other media at a Hollyoaks press event back in July, show boss Lucy Allan said: "This came from the writers' room; someone talked about it being two o'clock in the morning, a guy is walking home and he bumps into a group of girls.
"A girl is walking home and she bumps into a group of guys. What's the difference in those two scenarios? A guy might be worried that somebody is going to laugh at him. A girl is worried that she's going to be raped and murdered.
"When it was put in front of us in such a stark way, it felt really imperative that it was a story we got behind, and got behind with a character that our audiences knows and loves, but also recognises themselves in. That will be a big one coming up for us in autumn."
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.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Organisations including Women's Aid can provide further support and information on coercive control or coercive behaviour.
