Hollyoaks airs huge cliffhanger after deadly explosion

 More than one resident has died...

Hollyoaks has confirmed two major deaths and teased more to come in its stunt episode.

In the final episode before the one-year time jump next week, the aftermath of Cleo McQueen's bike crash and a car bomb explosion rocked Chester.

The episode picked up with Cleo crashing a motorbike through the front window of the McQueen house, where Frankie, Suzanne and Jack were talking through their issues.

Viewers discovered that Frankie had managed to push Jack out of the way of the collision, but Suzanne was struck head-on by the careening motorbike.

An unconscious Jack had to be rushed from the rubble to the hospital, while Frankie crawled to a gravely injured Suzanne's side.

A heartbreaking scene saw Suzanne apologising to Frankie for not standing up for her against the abusive JJ, before she lost her pulse and died in front of her daughter.

Outside the McQueen house, Abe swiped the unconscious Cleo's tablet and raged at her for causing the accident. He then rushed his injured mum Marie to the hospital.

Warren Fox was nursing a stab wound after seemingly killing Dave Williams (aka Blue). He returned from the woods to tell Mercedes he would need to leave without her and the twins.

Warren explained that Mercy would never be safe with his lifestyle. After sending Mercedes back to the village to warn the others of Dave's revenge, he left in a van with Fraser's fortune.

At the hospital, the Osbornes were told that it didn't look like Jack would survive his injuries. Darren went to his father's bedside, where he reflected on all their years together in the village.

"Come back to us," Darren begged. "Come back to your home, where you belong."

Cleo had also been taken to the hospital, and once she'd regained consciousness, she finally opened up to Joel and Leela about Abe abusing her.

Joel went off, in a rage, to find Abe. The brothers rowed in the hospital until their mum Marie's vital signs suddenly crashed.

Abe later visited Cleo and claimed she'd killed his mother Marie. In an ominous moment, Sally St Claire soon arrived in the hospital room to find Cleo's bed was empty.

Elsewhere in the village, Mercedes called Grace to warn her that Dave had revenge in mind for everyone who'd tried to expose him.

In the woods, it turned out that Dave was still alive until he was confronted by Robbie Roscoe, who'd found Cindy's warning note in The Dog. Robbie fired two more shots to kill the gangster before fleeing.

While Dave had met his demise at Robbie's hands, his revenge plot against the village was ongoing. Donny spotted Blue's henchman Rex in the village and tried to have him arrested.

Rex desperately tried to warn the police that there was genuine danger in the village, claiming he'd already disabled a bomb under James Nightingale's car.

At that same time, James had delivered the good news to Ste Hay that he was given the all-clear following his recent health scare.

Donny told Ste and James that their car was out of commission, so he offered to lend them his car to go for dinner. Grace and Freddie rushed to the scene to warn Donny, but it was too late.

The episode ended with James turning the key in the ignition before the car exploded with both himself and Ste inside. A post-credits scene then confirmed lives will be changed forever by what happens next…

By the time Hollyoaks returns next week, a year will have passed in the village — and viewers will learn whether or not anyone else has joined Suzanne and Dave on the death toll.

The soap has confirmed that Mercedes McQueen and Ste Hay will survive the car explosion, but everyone else in the village is in danger…