Hollyoaks spoilers follow for Friday’s (August 9) episode that is now available to view on Channel 4 streaming. The episode in question will air on E4 on Monday August 12 at 7pm.
After weeks of speculation, Hollyoaks has revealed the identity of notorious gangster Blue, confirming that the supposedly cold-blooded killer is none other than family man and former board game enthusiast Dave Williams (Dominic Power).
Blue, who first received a mention last month, has wreaked havoc on Warren Fox’s (Jamie Lomas) life with a meticulous and well-thought out plan to destroy the long-serving mainstay, which prompted speculation among fans that the villain was an old face in the vein of scheme queen Clare Devine or the devilish Brendan Brady.
Though there have been hints of him possessing a dark side in the past, Dave has – for the most part – proven to be a laid-back family man. Albeit, an unreliable and hapless family man who always says the wrong thing, puts his foot in it and lets people down.
Him being capable of a revenge plot this meticulous – let alone cold blooded and calculated murder – is certainly unexpected, especially when you factor in how proud he was of policeman son Sam (Matthew McGivern), not to mention how hard he came down on Ethan (Matthew James Bailey) for accidentally killing Maya, despite the fact he was simply trying to save the family (pot kettle blue eh, Dave?).
Upon the big reveal, a flashback sequence was employed to explain away any plot holes, showcasing a number of Dave moments from years gone by, isolating particular lines of dialogue (‘I’m not the man you need’) plus a past showdown with Ethan to try and retcon in that he was always capable of such brutality.
Whether it fully holds up when the scenes in question are analysed in context is up for debate but, out of context, they aid a little in building a picture that Dave isn’t the nice guy he pretends to be.
Last month, he confessed to Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) that he was responsible for the death of Lizzie’s baby, revealing that he accidentally drove a social worker off the road years ago, killing both the social worker and the child.
He claims that this was the catalyst in him turning his back on criminality. In a candid chat with co-conspirator Rex (Jonny Labey), Dave revealed that he brought his Blue persona out of retirement for one reason and one reason only – to destroy Warren following his role in Lizzie’s demise.
Rex, it turns out, is an old associate of Dave’s from back in the day, with the two having unexpectedly crossed paths for the first time in years during the Hannah Ashworth (Emma Rigby) story.
This chance meeting sparked the beginning of Blue’s comeback, with Rex revealing that he was inspired by the legendary killer, promising to be his ‘soldier’ once again as they embarked on a revenge plot to take Warren down once and for all.
There are still questions aplenty, such as how Ethan – who we have not seen enough of lately – fits into this equation in respect to Dave’s new backstory.
The co-owner of The Loft would surely be old enough to remember the days where his hapless and incompetent older sibling was somewhat less hapless and incompetent and more cold-blooded, so expect to get those answers soon.
There’s also the question of why Dave never revisited Blue when Ethan was in danger in the past with Norma or Maya or when incel Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty) spiked Lizzie and targeted Mason (Frank Kauer) as part of his twisted mission?
And where does his relationship with Trish Minniver (Denise Welch) and fathering Maxine (Nikki Sanderson) factor in in this new timeline?
So many questions!
It turns out that Donny was present at the scene when the social worker and Lizzie’s baby were killed, with Blue taking a shot at him, which ultimately hit Andre (David Joshua-Anthony), hence his desire to catch the gangster.
The question is: Will Donny succeed in his mission? Will Blue – aka Dave – be caught out and his identity uncovered? And more importantly, will this play a role in the departure of Cindy?
Hollyoaks streams weeknights at 7:30pm on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.
