A Nancy Osborne MS relapse is set to unfold in Hollyoaks next week, with new scenes showing the character falling ill at school while the grooming storyline around Dee Dee Hutchinson continues to darken.
Nancy was first diagnosed with the relapsing-remitting form of MS back in 2017, meaning she has lived with cycles of flare-ups followed by periods of recovery from the condition, which affects the central nervous system. After it was recently confirmed that her symptoms would return, the soap has now revealed the health scare will play out in next week’s episodes.
Nancy Osborne MS relapse unfolds at school
In the new scenes, Nancy suffers her MS relapse while at school, prompting Dee Dee Hutchinson to act quickly by calling Abigail Matthews for help. Abigail, however, turns cold towards Dee Dee, a shift that follows Dee Dee attempting to kiss her this week as part of the continuing grooming storyline.
Later, Nancy is in hospital feeling restless, and Abigail arrives to visit her, bringing a gift basket. The juxtaposition of Abigail’s warmth towards Nancy and her coolness towards Dee Dee adds another unsettling layer to a plot the show has built carefully over recent months.
Nancy actor Jessica Fox has spoken openly about what viewers can expect. ‘Nancy’s going to have a little bit of a health scare,’ she told Digital Spy. ‘We’re going to remind the audience that she has MS, and we’re going to touch on that a little bit.’
A condition with a long history on the show
This is far from the first time Nancy’s MS has shaped major storylines. The Sun previously reported that Jessica Fox revealed Nancy would become wheelchair-bound after suffering MS, underlining how seriously the soap has treated the long-running health thread.
More recently, reports confirmed that in 2024, Nancy’s symptoms returned after her husband Darren had gone missing from the village, which led to her collapsing. Personal turmoil and physical health have been intertwined for the character throughout, and the current storyline keeps that pattern intact.
Nancy’s private life has remained complicated on other fronts too. Inside Soap reported that Nancy was left devastated after discovering that Darren had been cheating on her with their friend Mandy, adding emotional weight to a character already navigating a serious chronic illness.
The grooming storyline and its creative ambitions
Running alongside the MS plot is the grooming storyline involving Dee Dee, which the show confirmed back in July. Hollyoaks has been working with the NSPCC and TDI (The Derwent Initiative) on the story. Jessica Fox has spoken about its ambition, saying: ‘We’re definitely doing a story that I don’t think any other soap has done before. We’re challenging Dee Dee in ways that I didn’t see coming, she’s such a cracking little actress and I’m excited to see what she does.’
The two storylines now look set to collide, with Abigail’s behaviour towards Dee Dee shifting just as Nancy’s health crisis gives that character fresh access to the family. How Nancy’s relapse and Abigail’s involvement develop will play out across next week’s episodes.
Hollyoaks airs Mondays to Wednesdays, with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am and an E4 broadcast the same evening at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release, and selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
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