Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Note: The following article contains discussion of themes including suicide.
Hollyoaks has revealed that Nancy Osborne will suspect that her husband Darren is having an affair, in scenes later this month.
Darren has been missing for the past six weeks, but this week’s episodes confirmed that he has been staying with Charlie in his university flat.
He was shocked to watch Nancy collapse during the TV appeal to help find him, and Charlie urged him to go back to the village, saying he had been here long enough.
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Meanwhile, Nancy is more concerned than ever that Darren hasn’t been in touch, and she is forced to face the reality that her husband might have taken his own life.
Nancy’s health scare will confirm to Darren that he needs to come home, but he doesn’t get a warm welcome from his family when he makes his return next week.
Robbie punches his brother when he first sees him again, while Nancy and Frankie are both hurt that he disappeared without a trace. Darren is in an even trickier position with his dad Jack, who doesn’t feel ready to speak to him yet.
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Nancy isn’t happy about Darren’s actions and tells her husband that he needs to seek help for his depression and prove that he is trying to recover.
But thankfully he is back home in time for the festive season, and on Christmas Eve Darren continues to try and put things right with Nancy, with his disappearance having put a huge strain on the household.
He makes it clear to his wife that his priority is family first from now on, and Nancy is doing her best to put on a brave face as she prepares for the festivities – while also facing the prospect of an MS relapse.
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The Osborne family are together on Christmas Day, but all is not quite as it seems, as Nancy is suspicious that Darren is having an affair.
There might be some truth to these suspicions, as the show’s recent winter preview teased that Darren could be feeling guilty about something other than his disappearance.
Is Darren having an affair, or is he hiding something else?
These scenes will air on Tuesday, December 24 on E4 and streaming service Channel 4.
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
We encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Information about how to access support is available via the NHS, and organisations who can offer help include Samaritans on 116 123 or Mind on 0300 123 3393.
Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
