Hollyoaks has confirmed details of a major new storyline involving child sexual abuse between twin teens JJ and Frankie Osborne.
The youngsters - kids of Darren (Ashley Taylor Dawson) and Suzanne (Suzanne Hall) - returned to the village with their mother earlier this year to reconnect with their dad, moving in to join him in the Osborne household.
Recently, Frankie (Isabelle Smith) accused granddad Jack (Jimmy McKenna) of touching her inappropriately after a dance triggered previous moments of abuse that she had suppressed.
In next week's episodes it will be revealed that her historic abuse came at the hands of her own brother JJ (Ryan Mulvey) when they were younger, kickstarting a new long-running storyline developed in conjunction with the charity SARSAS.
"Sibling sexual abuse is a subject matter that desperately merits attention and recognition," said the soap's executive producer Hannah Cheers. "It's one of the most infrequently disclosed forms of sexual abuse, yet the statistics are startling.
"Hollyoaks is shining a light on this issue for the first time in a longterm soap storyline because we need to get this conversation started amongst our multi-generational audience.
"Our research, story, script and writing teams have devoted themselves to telling this story truthfully and passionately. Huge thanks goes to SARSAS for their unwavering support in helping us take this on.
"The performances delivered by our brilliant newcomers Isabelle Smith and Ryan Mulvey are breath-taking. I believe this story will make an impact for years to come and I am proud that Hollyoaks is still breaking new ground almost four decades on. That's what we're here for."
Hollyoaks continues weekdays at 7pm on E4 with first-look episodes from 7.30pm via Channel 4 streaming.
Neil Wilkes
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