Hollyoaks' James faces backlash as Ste disappearance plot kicks off

As Hollyoaks kicks off Ste Hay's disappearance plot, James Nightingale has received backlash from the villagers, who suspect he might be behind it all.

In last week’s scenes, Ste went missing during a road trip to a spa with Mercedes and Leela after asking them to stop the car at a shopping centre.

Ste vanished without a trace, and in tonight's episode Leela and Mercedes returned to the village in search of answers.

Related: Best streaming services

After their long night of the souls, Leah and Lucas were asleep on the boat when Imran woke them to say that Leela had been calling.

Imran explained that Ste never came out of the toilet, with Leah saying people don’t just vanish into thin air and that he must be sleeping off his relapse.

After their search for Ste proved fruitless, Mercedes and Leela returned to Hollyoaks hoping to find him at home.

Leah and Leela went to confront James, only to find him burying the hatchet with Cindy over a glass of wine. After questioning Cindy about how long she had been there, it seemed that James had an alibi.

James threw Leela and Leah out, and Leela said: "I'm not going to rest until I find him. And when I do, if I find out that you've lied or had anything to do with it, you're going to pay."

Meanwhile, Darren told Mercedes that he had seen James driving through the village, and Imran found Lucas distraught and having a panic attack, while Leah hoped he had come looking for her.

Tony opened up to Darren about his grief and Ste’s disappearance, while Mercedes and Leela tried to find out more about James’ movements, questioning Abigail and, later, Jonah and Beth.

Lucas told Leah he was leaving the village for Xander’s, while Darren discovered the CCTV outside The Dog had been disconnected.

At The Dog, Ste’s friends and family turned on James and interrogated him about the disappearance.

Related: Hollyoaks confirms four suspects in Ste mystery in dramatic autumn trailer

When Mercedes said there had been "further developments", Leela questioned James about his claim that he had been with Cindy all afternoon. She said Abigail had seen Cindy leave the flat an hour before Leela and Leah arrived, and Darren had seen James driving.

James said their evidence was circumstantial, saying to Leah: "You believe me, don't you?"

She said: "Ever since you've come into my life all those years ago, you've been like a second dad to me. But right now all I want to know is what you've done to my real dad."

Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.

Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.

Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage

Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Ariana Grande, is here! Buy Ariana Grande in newsagents or online.