Frankie reveals JJ is sexually abusing her in powerful Hollyoaks scenes as Darren reels

Trigger warning: This article contains discussion of child sexual abuse.

Hollyoaks spoilers follow for Thursday’s (August 15) episode that is now available to view on Channel 4 streaming. The episode in question will air on E4 on Friday August 16 at 7pm.

Frankie Osborne (Isabelle Smith) broke down in tears as she confided in Darren (Ashley Taylor Dawson) about the abuse she’s been suffering at the hands of twin brother JJ (Ryan Mulvey).

JJ, as viewers know, has been sexually abusing Frankie for months, with the Channel 4 soap tackling a storyline that explores the common but under-recognised form of child sibling sexual abuse.

Frankie was first subjected to such abuse – which JJ refers to as ‘school discos’ – when she was just nine years old. Her ordeal was revealed to audiences back in March when JJ invaded his sister’s personal space after hours.

The teen has suffered in silence, feeling unable to confide in anyone about what she’s going through, with JJ having groomed her into thinking that no-one would believe her.

Things escalated in June when Nancy (Jessica Fox) was accused of attacking Frankie when JJ was really to blame for what transpired.

Frankie agreed to point the finger at Nancy in exchange for JJ stopping the abuse and leaving both she and Oscar (Noah Holdsworth) alone.

With Nancy’s day in court imminent, Darren took it upon himself to investigate, knowing full well that there’s more to this than meets the eye.

Thursday’s streaming offering of the Channel 4 soap saw JJ’s big day arrive as he and his family headed to a football stadium for a photo op as he signed with United.

As the abuser put his arm around her, Frankie flinched, which didn’t go unnoticed by Darren. JJ later cornered Frankie in the changing rooms and made it quite clear that he was going to assault her once more, claiming that she was ‘unloveable’.

Frankie fought back, kneeing JJ where it hurts before locking herself in toilet, breaking down in tears. From the window, she was able to notify Oscar of her distress, with Oscar informing Darren, who arrived in the nick of time to find JJ absolutely losing it.

JJ claimed that Frankie had got locked in, with Frankie backing up such a story, but Darren was once again left confused.

Upon arriving back at The Dog for JJ’s celebratory party – which was taking place upstairs due to electrical difficulties – Frankie decided to stay in the pub area, clearly not in the party mood.

Feeling for his daughter, Darren retrieved some food from upstairs before taking a seat beside her, hoping to get her to open up.

Frankie relaxed in her dad’s presence, touched by the effort he made to spend time with her, asking him why he’s so nice to her. ‘Because I love you’, replied Darren, which meant a great deal to Frankie given what JJ had branded her hours earlier.

Darren reassured Frankie that he was there for her, asking her what’s wrong. Frankie fought tears and took a deep breath and in emotional scenes – helmed by an incredible performance from powerhouse Isabelle Smith – the character revealed what she’s been going through.

‘It’s JJ’, she said. ‘He’s sexually abusing me.’

Darren was left utterly reeling by the revelation. Spoilers for the subsequent episode have confirmed that, despite his shock, he one hundred percent believes her, and wastes little time in confronting abuser JJ.

Hollyoaks streams weeknights at 7:30pm on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.  

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