*This article contains spoilers for tonight's (Tuesday, January 16) episode of Hollyoaks on E4 and is yet to air on TV*
Hollyoaks fans were left "screaming" at a huge and unexpected twist in tonight's explosive hour-long episode which claimed the lives of three characters.
Fans were on the edge of their seats as two intense car journeys unfolded, which ended in catastrophe. In one car, Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) was panicking as his drunk teenage daughter Leah Barnes (Ella-May Demircan) was unconscious and vomiting in the backseat.
Earlier, Ste was called away from Sienna Blake's (Anna Passey) wedding after receiving a phone call from Leah, who was lost in the woods after binging on alcohol at a rave.
Leah had fallen out with her friends and they left her in the woods before she called her dad for help. Ste later found Leah collapsed in a field and sped off to get her to hospital.
In another car, Felix Westwood (Richard Blackwood) was furious with his bride-to-be Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) after seeing her kissing another man on CCTV on their wedding day.
He was oblivious to the fact that the man in question was actually his best friend Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas), who was sitting in the backseat.
As Felix shouted at Mercedes, demanding to tell him who she was having an affair with, he kept speeding and took his eyes off the road. Ste was coming from the other direction and while he diverted his attention to Leah in the backseat, he hurtled across the roundabout, causing the other vehicle to swerve and flip over.
Ste drove away, having no idea about the chaos he had caused, which resulted in two other cars to crash.
As Warren, Mercedes and Felix regained consciousness, she begged for help as her leg was trapped in the car, before confessing that she was still pregnant. Warren couldn't contain his emotions and let slip that he could be the dad, exposing their affair to a seething Felix.
When they pulled her out of the car, Mercedes had a cardiac arrest and Warren saved her by performing CPR. As Mercedes was carried away by the paramedics, Warren shouted out that he loved her as Felix was crushed to hear her call back that she loved him too.
Another wrecked car contained a mysterious newcomer, who saw that her friend was dead and stole her ID. She fled the scene and ignored the screams from other casualties.
Fireman Joel Dexter (Rory Douglas-Speed) cut open the final car and found his ex Cleo (Nadine Mulkerrin) inside, along with Myra (Nicola Barber-Lane) and Theresa (Jorgie Porter).
His partner Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter) watched on with worry at their reunion, as Cleo confessed to Joel that she was back for him.
However, fans were left gobsmacked at another jaw-dropping twist during the chaotic episode as Joel was unexpectedly struck by a van, leaving him fighting for his life.
Fans couldn't believe what happened and were left "screaming" at their screens!
OMG THAT BIT AT THE END WITH THE TRUCK HITTING JOEL I LITERALLY SCREAMED! #hollyoaks #whenworldscollideJanuary 15, 2024
Anyone else scream when Joel just got run down. Warren losing Ella and potentially Joel. Ste killed Ella Dilly killed Rafe Third person is the other girl in the car. So glad Cleo & Myra came back 🥰 #HollyoaksJanuary 15, 2024
The scream I let out when Joel got knocked down! Then the gasp at Ella's body! Then the boot in ste's car! #Hollyoaks is well and truly back!!!!January 15, 2024
The way Joel got hit by that truck had me shook #HollyoaksJanuary 15, 2024
okay but out of everyone in the show i was NOT expecting joel to get hit like that i gasped so loud i think that was the first time hollyoaks has ever truly gagged me with something #HollyoaksJanuary 15, 2024
Not only was Warren's son left in a perilous state, he was devastated to discover that his teenage daughter Ella Richardson (Erin Palmer) had died after being hit by Ste's car.
Outside the hospital, Ste found Ella's red boot lodged in the front wheel of his car, realising that he was responsible for the teen's tragic death.
There was more death in the village too, as Dilly Harcourt (Emma Johnsey-Smith) found her husband Rafe dead (Chris Gordon) after their showdown which saw her hit him over the head with a bell and tie him up in the cellar.
Hollyoaks airs on Channel 4 and you can stream or watch live on weekdays at
7 pm on E4.
