Darren Osborne (Ashley-Taylor Dawson) and Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) face a race against time to save troubled Charlie Dean (Charlie Behan) in tonight's episode of Hollyoaks on at 6.30pm (See our TV Guide for full listings).
Charlie's mental health has been spiraling in recent weeks. Consumed by dark thoughts and suffering from recurrent panic attacks, Charlie has been shutting himself away in his bedroom and rejecting the help of his concerned family and friends.
Darren and Tony made a horrifying discovery when they entered the lad's room and found it covered in disturbing song lyrics. The pair tried to reach out to Charlie to understand his anguish, but he didn't want to know.
Now at a loss how to handle his volatile son, Darren is terrified what Charlie might do next...
Tony reckons the lyrics scrawled on Charlie's wall are a cry for help, and urges Darren to let his boy know he's there for him.
Darren asks Shing Lin Leong (Izzie Yip) to call Charlie to see where he is, but she makes an excuse and says it'll have to wait until after school, thinking her boyfriend needs some breathing space.
Unbeknownst to them both, Charlie is struck by another crippling anxiety attack while on his way to school. Desperate to escape his demons, Charlie makes his way to the beach.
Later, Shing Lin receives a picture of the beach from Charlie and shows it to Darren. Fearing for his son's safety, Darren alerts Tony and the friends rush to find Charlie.
Meanwhile at the beach, Charlie starts walking into the sea fully clothed as he experiences flashbacks of his happy childhood with Darren.
As the student wades further into the water, Darren and Tony arrive at the beach. Can they save Charlie in time or is tragedy about to strike?
Elsewhere, Goldie McQueen (Chelsee Healey) gets a big shock when she discovers the object of her affections Carter Shepherd (David Ames) is the new headmaster at Hollyoaks High.
Carter was forced to call in the police to investigate Goldie's son Hunter McQueen (Theo Graham) after an incriminating video of him and student Freya Calder (Ellie Henry) went viral.
In the aftermath, Hunter goes to see DS Zoe Anderson (Garcia Brown) and apologises for the misunderstanding, begging her to give him another chance. But will she listen?
Later on in the school hall, Carter turns on Hunter, saying he hopes the gossip about him and Freya and the fact his family had to come in to fight his battles doesn’t ruin his career.
Does the newcomer have a secret sinister side?
Plus, it's the moment of truth for Ella Richardson (Erin Palmer) when she receives the DNA results to determine whether Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) is her biological father.
The teen tells Norma Crow (Glynis Barber) even the results prove they're not family after all, she'd like them to remain friends. Ella then leaves the unopened envelope with Norma and hurries off to school. Is that a wise move?
Later, Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and Dave Chen-Williams (Dominic Power) accompany Ella to lunch at Norma's and are horrified to discover she's taken a DNA test.
As the couple try to convince Ella not to open the letter, Warren and Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) walk into the drama.
Warren is furious with his mum and Ella for going behind his back and makes his feelings known. But what will the DNA results reveal?
Hollyoaks airs Monday - Friday on C4 at 6.30pm
Switch over to catch the next episode at 7:00pm on E4
Or stream the episodes first on All4
