Hollyoaks is certainly no stranger to pushing boundaries and making bold drama, a true testament to the cast and crew of 30 years. This set of special episodes has delivered plenty of nostalgic moments without feeling forced – a highlight being the cameo appearance of Sir Phil Redmond, creator of Brookside and Hollyoaks.
Away from the carnage that’s devastated Hollyoaks village, the teens were living it up in Liverpool, where drugs and dancing were high on the agenda. Esme (Yasmin Davies) was a welcome addition to the group and had just minutes of screen time to feel like she had always been there.
Sadly nothing is in place in regards to if we shall see Esme again with Yasmin saying ‘That’s not to say Esme can’t come back, so maybe in the future we will see her again. It would be funny if she had a scene with Diane; people’s heads will be wrecked.’
Speaking to Eastieoaks.com, Oscar Curtis told us, ‘It was epic and felt like a movie’ after a packed episode that saw troubled Lucas take a bad pill and almost come to serious harm on a club balcony. He was saved just in time by Dillon, who, obviously worried, told him that he wasn’t going to leave him.
However, when Ste did show up, all the feelings Dillon had for Ste came out. Despite trying to get Dillon to back off and understand it changed nothing for them, pursuing Ste out onto the streets of Liverpool, the pair embraced.
Unfortunately, Ste and Dillon ended up caught up in another mess when Warren and Donny ended up in a car chase with gangsters Sully and Griff. This gave us the sweary moments that Hollyoaks Later is known for, with Donny yelling, “Get up his arse and ram him off the fucking road!”
Hollyoaks has showcased a number of male rape storylines over the years with Luke Morgan in 2000 and John Paul in 2014 by a student at Hollyoaks High. Hollyoaks continues to work with We Are Survivors to highlight the impact of male sexual violence. After Gemma (Tisha Merry) set up a robbery to fleece Warren, she didn’t count on Donny and then Dodger getting invovled.
In scenes that were some of the most powerful and brutal to probably ever air in Hollyoaks, Dodger played by Danny Mac, found himself on the end of a horrific sexual assult by Griff (Nathan Hubble).
Hollyoaks continues Monday at 7pm on E4 and dishes up a week of special episodes as Hollyoaks Does Come Dine With Me at 7.30pm with Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra McQueen), Anya Lawrence (Vicky Grant), James Redmond (Rory ‘Finn’ Finnigan), Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne) and Charlie Wernham (Robbie Roscoe).