1 day Ago By [email protected] (Dan Laurie)
Hollyoaks fans were left on the edge of their seats with a gripping Cleo McQueen cliffhanger that had viewers "shaking" and "screaming". The Channel 4 soap recently unveiled a shocking twist where Cleo (Nadine Mulkerrin) was discovered to have been held captive in a secret bunker by her abusive boyfriend Abe Fielding (Tyler Conti) for a year, after he convinced her she'd killed his mother Marie Field (Rita Simons) - who is actually alive - in a motorbike accident. After finding out her family member Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) was fighting bowel cancer, Cleo stabbed Abe with a shard from a CD in a desperate bid to escape.
In the episode streamed on Wednesday (September 18), viewers watched as Cleo managed to lock a bleeding Abe in the bunker and attempted to flee. But when confronted with freedom and Abe's pleas, she hesitated and ultimately returned to the bunker with a first-aid kit to tend to his injuries. Social media was abuzz with concern for Cleo's well-being as she chose to return to Abe instead of seizing her chance to break free.
One fan wrote: "I was shaking when she got out. but ..
. OMG what? ? ? " Another exclaimed: "I was screaming for her to run.", reports the Daily Star .
A third commented: "Poor Cleo hope she gets out of there." Cleo herself expressed her desperation, saying, "I've tried to leave, and I can't," pleading, "Please will you help me? I'm sorry." In the meantime, Marie was seen trying to persuade Joel Dexter (Rory Douglas-Speed) and Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter) not to oppose Abe's relationship with Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell).
Marie reminded Joel of her support during his past struggles with heroin, insisting that "Peri and Abe are perfect for each other," Later, viewers saw Peri at Abe's flat, where she noticed an "ex" Cleo's top draped over a chair. Abe reassured her, saying: "Listen, you are not a rebound," "You are not a fling. You are not a distraction.
I really, really like you, Peri." However, when Peri discovered a wound on Abe's back, he lied about injuring himself while running, leaving Cleo trapped alone in the bunker. Abe later confronted Cleo angrily, accusing her of returning out of guilt.
In the ensuing argument, he pushed Cleo, causing her to fall and hit her head on a beam. In other parts of the episode, updates were given on several characters. Misbah Maalik (Harvey Virdi) explained to Ste Hay (Kieran Richardson), who had just woken from a coma, that his son Lucas Hay (Oscar Curtis) was sent to a youth offenders home for attacking JJ Osborne (Ryan Mulvey) after discovering that JJ had abused his twin sister Frankie Osborne (Isabelle Smith).
Hollyoaks airs Monday to Wednesday on E4 at 7pm and first look episodes can be streamed Channel 4 from 7am.
