Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks‘ Ste Hay has made another shocking discovery about his late husband James Nightingale in the show’s latest episode.
James died in the explosion that left Ste in a coma for a year – but Ste has recently suspected that James is still alive when he mistakenly thought he saw him in the village.
Rex has also given Ste cause for concern after he overheard him on the phone to someone, where he said that Ste thought James was dead so there was no need to tell him otherwise.
In today’s episode, Ste investigated online for clues about James’ death, reading articles about the tragic explosion which claimed his life.
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He told Leela that he thinks James is still alive but she said his mind was playing tricks on him – reminding him that she had to identify James’ body, so she was sure that it was him who died.
However, Ste still wasn’t convinced and shared his latest theory that they cremated the wrong person, and she might not have recognised James after the explosion.
As the family went for a meal to celebrate Lucas’ return to the village, Ste spotted Rex on the phone again and his suspicions were raised further.
He decided to investigate the Love Boat, and Rex later returned to find that Ste had discovered James’ tie – and wanted to know why he had it.
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Rex explained that he’d found it at the market and had picked it up to give to Ste, but Ste became convinced that Rex had James kidnapped and is holding him somewhere.
When Ste brought up the mysterious phone call, Rex made it clear that it had nothing to do with James and urged him to forget what he heard.
Ste threatened Rex with a wrench, but Joel managed to talk him down, and he broke down and collapsed on the floor in tears.
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As Joel comforted a confused Ste, Rex stepped outside and made another phone call, where he told whoever was on the other end of the line that they had a problem.
Later, Joel told Lucas that he thinks he’s managed to get Ste back on track – but meanwhile, Ste went to the graveyard to dig up James’ ashes.
He opened the urn and was shocked to discover that it was empty, before calling out to his late husband.
What has happened to James, and what is Rex hiding?
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.
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