Trigger warning: This article contains discussion of child sexual abuse.
Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) vanishes without a trace in upcoming Hollyoaks scenes, leaving a number of his loved ones concerned.
The much-loved character, as viewers know, has been left conflicted after son JJ (Ryan Mulvey), who abused twin sister Frankie (Isabelle Smith), was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Prior to the diagnosis, Darren had disowned JJ after Frankie bravely confided in him about the abuse that she had endured at her brother’s hands.
With JJ in need of a bone marrow transplant, Darren got tested but upsetting scenes this week saw the dad confirm that he’s not a match, which means that Frankie might be the only one who can save JJ.
This revelation left Frankie both devastated and confused, with the popular character having told Vicky Grant (Anya Lawrence) that she doesn’t know if she could contemplate such a thing after what JJ put her through.
Darren, meanwhile, has been struggling to come to terms with everything and upcoming scenes will see him disappear.
Jack (Jimmy McKenna) is worried sick about his son, especially when he discovers that he has left his mobile behind.
Nancy (Jessica Fox), however, is less concerned and relays such a thing to Jack, revealing that – with Morgan sick and Frankie upset in light of recent events – she has a family to look after and thus doesn’t have the time to worry about her ‘flaky’ husband.
Jack reports Darren’s vanishing to the police, while Nancy does her best to juggle home life without him.
This isn’t the first time that Darren disappeared without a trace as he previously vanished in 2021, kidnapped by Ethan Williams (Matthew James Bailey) and Maya Harkwell (Ky Discala) as part of their introductory stories.
But with Darren’s whereabouts unknown once more, the question is: just what has happened to him this time? And will he be found safe and sound?
