Hollyoaks boss reveals huge step for Frankie as she exposes sex abuse from twin brother JJ
Hollyoaks fans have been understandably desperate for someone to notice the horrendous ordeal of sexual abuse inflicted on Frankie Osborne by her brother JJ (Ryan Mulvey) – and now the show’s boss has confirmed that the truth will be exposed.
And viewers don’t have long to wait. Triggered by the mass celebrations of JJ’s football skills when he lands a signing from a club which could shape his sporting future, Frankie is sickened as he is able to get on with his life.
Darren (Ashley Taylor Dawson) begins to notice more and more how reserved Frankie is and how she behaves flinchingly around her brother – and this will lead to Frankie opening up to him, setting in motion a series of emotional events that will lead to JJ’s horrific acts coming to light and sending shockwaves through the village.
‘We are very proud to be playing the story about sibling sexual abuse and are paving the way to Frankie’s disclosure in August,’ producer Hannah Cheers told Metro.co.uk in an exclusive interview.
‘These are the scenes that I have been imagining ever since we conceived the story last September, and they go above and beyond what I had hoped for.
‘The cast are phenomenal and deliver performances that take your breath away. Most importantly, the story has normalised conversations about a rarely-talked-about form of abuse within the home.’
Addressing how the events will unfold, she shared with me: ‘We’ve got two special episodes where we follow Frankie’s journey to the point of disclosing the abuse that she has suffered at the hands of her twin JJ.
‘Isabelle Smith and Ryan Mulvey, as newcomers, have worked incredibly hard on this very sensitive storyline.
‘Ashley Taylor Dawson, playing Darren, a father reeling from being confronted with the truth, takes the audience with him through every emotion possible.’
I can also share brand new pictures from the scenes which pack a punch even on their own, with Frankie clutching her dad close for safety after exposing her vulnerability.
And he holds her equally as tight, digesting the horrors of what he has discovered, and wondering where he can possibly go from here to help her.
The storyline will still have a long way to go, with Frankie confiding the abuse just one major step that will lead to emotional consequences and ramifications.
Will everyone believe her? Will JJ be punished? How will various members of the family react to them both and where that leaves everyone’s relationships?
It’s not the only thing going on at Hollyoaks, which recently celebrated its highest ratings of the year in July, with numbers up year-on-year.
It comes ahead of the game-changing time-jump and change to a digital led three episode model.
And Hannah spoke with passionate enthusiasm as she sold me the excitement to come.
‘The next few months in Hollyoaks are unpredictable, joyous, heart-breaking, adrenalin-filled, edge-of-your-seat drama. I think we have got three months of everything that makes Hollyoaks unique.
‘Summer in Hollyoaks is a non-stop ride. We don’t shift in pace in the school holidays at all, which soaps traditionally do as viewers change their routines.
‘Hollyoaks no longer has that constraint thanks to streaming first – you can even watch on YouTube on holiday now – it’s changed the way that we look at the calendar year.’
