Hollyoaks fans have been left asking 'was there a point?' as they were told of a character's off-screen death - a year after it took place. Those tuning in to the latest instalment of the Channel 4 soap on Tuesday (April 11)were surprised to learn that Justin Burton had been killed off.
Justin was played by actor Chris Fountain, who also starred in Coronation Street. The character rocked up in the village with his family back in 2003, before featuring in a number of huge storylines over a six-year period - including having an affair with his teacher Becca Dean which led to the arrival of their son, Charlie.
After the affair was exposed, Becca's husband Jake left her and she was fired from her job. Justin moved in and the pair struggled for months until Becca broke up with him. Justin exacted revenge by lying to the police that he was fifteen when the affair began and Becca ended up being sentenced to two years imprisonment and gave birth to their son behind bars.
Justin eventually admitted to the truth but Becca was stabbed to death by Fran Hathaway hours before her release. But after briefly ending up in a life of crime working for Warren Fox, as he got his life back on track, Justin signed over his rights to Jake in exchange for Jake confessing to one of Warren's murders.
He later left the village, going on the run after being framed for a fire at The Loft, which supposedly claimed Warren's life. And it has now been revealed that Justin was killed in a car accident in October 2022, having since moved to Llandudno.
Viewers watched as a struggling Charlie learned the news on social media whilst trying to track him down. In a clip posted on Hollyoaks' Twitter page in the aftermath of the death news, Charlie is seen speaking to the dad he barely knew at his graveside.
But Hollyoaks fans appeared furious with the decision to kill off the once popular character. @_skyenapped asked: "Was there a point to killing Justin except to make Charlie even more miserable???? #Hollyoaks." @HollyoaksSilly complained: "#Hollyoaks wow talk about pulling the rug out. Feels like such a kick in the teeth to long term fans. Justin was integral to one of the show's most controversial storylines and was one of the main stars during the shows most popular years."
@LexieAshmore shared: "Justin is dead???? WTF That means ALL the Burton siblings, Mel, Sophie and Justin are dead. #Hollyoaks." @lgbtoaks fumed: "The way i was actually starting to think we could have a justin return or at least a lil cameo BUT NO they had to kill him ???? #hollyoaks."
@footballxaddict wrote: "THEY KILLED OFF JUSTIN BURTON?! ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME!!!!! #Hollyoaks." @lomaxhays posted: "I can finally say this so.. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY KILLED OFF JUSTIN BURRON. IT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. #hollyoaks." @trevorsbrady added: "Can’t believe they killed justin off that’s so evil #Hollyoaks."
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