Hollyoaks crossbow terror ahead as Eric Foster holds Maxine captive

This led Maxine to believe that Eric murdered Verity - but in fact it was youngster Bobby McQueen (Jayden Fox) who did the deed.

Still, viewers have been aware for some time that Eric is a wrong-un, and he's been spiking the drinks of women and being actively encouraged by an online Incel group. Eric has also influenced local teen Mason Chen-Williams (Frank Kauer), leading Mason to do some very disturbing things.

While Mason had been taking and sharing photos of Leah Barnes (Elá-May Demircan), Eric was threatening Maxine, who he found snooping in his caravan and decided to take on a joyride.

Maxine tried her best to appeal to Eric by hearing him out, and even conceded that she didn't believe that he killed Verity after all. But Eric knew that Max was simply trying to get him to let her go, and he called her out on it.

Meanwhile, Leah confided in dad Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) over her discovery of Mason's photos, and Ste confronted the boy. But Ste chose not to make things worse by going on the attack, planning instead to report Mason to the police. Leah begged her dad not to tell them, so he asked if he could tell his boyfriend, lawyer James Nightingale (Gregory Finnigan), who might be able to get the photos removed from the website.

But when Charlie Dean (Charlie Behan) found out, he found Mason and lashed out, attacking him so badly that he ended up in hospital. Ste pulled Charlie off Mason and ensured the young man got treatment, and even lied to the Chen-Williams about the culprit.

As for Eric, he presented a crossbow to Maxine, detailing his plan to "check out" and kill Maxine - but not before killing all her friends first!

Who will fall victim to Eric's shocking plot? Hollyoaks' latest trailer featured Eric's brother Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) declaring that wife Diane (Alex Fletcher) was dead - will this be confirmed?

Hollyoaks will air an hour-long episode on E4 on Tuesday 10th January as this storyline comes to a head.

Read more:

• Silas is dead! Hollyoaks star Jeff Rawle reacts to shock exit

Hollyoaks is available to stream on All 4 and airs every weeknight at 6:30pm on Channel 4 and 7pm on E4. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.