(Monday 25^th & Tuesday 26^th May 2020)

It’s been a really powerful couple of episodes from Hollyoaks this week, tackling mental health and addiction in a very serious way through Kyle, who has massively evolved as a character, both through the writing and through Adam Rickett’s portrayal.  He began as such a cheeky, naughty guy, always there with a quip or two.  He misbehaved and really held as much water as a colander before but Hollyoaks clearly knew what they had with the actor and the character and have developed him into someone so gripping to watch.  His battle with depression, his dependency on weed, his desperation to be loved by Nancy and devastation at rejection is breaking my heart.

Nancy can be quite a harsh character at times but ultimately, she is a very kind character too and retrospectively, I think she’ll be shattered to look back and think of the way she has cut him down and spoken to him over these past weeks, knowing how far it has pushed him and added to his dark thoughts.  At a time when she would have wanted to love and support him, she has only pushed him away, deeper into his sadness and sorrow.

This all came to a head this week when Nancy completely dismissed the idea of him looking after Oscar but after Charlie rather astutely picked up on how he was feeling (and was feeling rather grateful that he didn’t dob him in over the drugs), Darren intervened.  Unfortunately, the writing was already on the wall.  Kyle had already arranged to buy from Jordan and he couldn’t resist the temptation to smoke before he got into the van – with Oscar.  He then ended up in an accident, with none other than Jordan himself.

Of course, Nancy was absolutely furious with Kyle, which of course is understandable, as he had put her son in danger.  However, she was compassionate enough to take the blame for the accident (despite not even being there at the time) so that he wouldn’t get into trouble with the police for driving under the influence.  She took a very hard line with him – weed or her and tragically, he didn’t choose her.  Later, in a truly heartbreaking moment, he left her a voicemail attempting to explain himself and begging for help.  Now, I just hope that next week, Nancy will step up and support him and help him find a way through this darkness.  There are some things that Hollyoaks do really well and this is the kind of story that really hits the mark.  Well done to all involved.

Leela was on duty at the time of the crash and helped to free Jordan from the car.  At the crash site, she discovered that the usually cocky lad has been sleeping in his car, forming a bond with him and inviting him to move into the house.  How many bedrooms do they have exactly or will he just be flitting between her room and Peri’s?!  I think they’ve got eight people living in that house now (Leela, Peri, Daniel, Leah, Lucas, Sid, Juliet and now Jordan)! 

Speaking of Peri, she too was in the car but Jordan sent her away from the scene as they weren’t meant to be together at the time.  She arrived back home, pretending she didn’t know anything that had happened.  The irony was that she truly was oblivious to the fact that she had just interrupted a near-kiss between her boyfriend and her mother.  Oh well, she’ll be snogging Juliet by the end of the year!

Tom proved himself to Misbah and she agreed to go away on her trip, leaving the kids unattended at home.  Mercedes was suspicious of Sylver’s odd behaviour, prompting him to admit that he had arranged a surprised wedding vow renewal.  Little does he know, his long lost daughter is lurking round the corner!

Due to the Coronavirus, Hollyoaks has had to suspend filming

Hollyoaks now airs Mondays & Tuesdays, 6:30pm on Channel 4 (sneak peek on E4, 7pm)

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes

In place of normal episodes, Hollyoaks airs ‘Hollyoaks Favourites’, Wednesdays-Fridays, 7pm on E4