E4 viewers were left in disbelief following tonight’s episode of the Channel 4 soap.
This week, as teased by spoilers, Hollyoaks tackles violence against women with a devastating storyline involving Maxine Minniver.
Maxine Minniver is at the core of a new hard-hitting storyline this week
The character is brutally assaulted by an unknown man as she walked home alone from a night out
The character portrayed by Nikki Sanderson was out in Liverpool with Verity Hutchinson and Theresa McQueen as they tried to get away from a mystery spiker in Chester.
While there, the girls ventured into a nightclub with their own hip flask, trying their best to avoid being taken advantage of.
Unfortunately, Maxine was caught red-handed with the flask and immediately kicked out of the club – unbeknownst to her friends.
In scenes aired tonight on E4, a vulnerable and drunk Maxine was seen staggering home alone, without money or a phone.
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After missing a bus in which she could have caught up with a hen party and Romeo Nightingale (played by I’m A Celebrity‘s Owen Warner), Maxine was allowed to get on to a second bus which took her straight back to Chester.
But her return home took nightmarish proportions when she was followed by a hooded man who brutally assaulted her.
Maxine managed to get away but not without a fight and she returned home in shock.
She eventually decided to take the bull by the horns and report her attacker to the police.
Hollyoaks viewers were heartbroken for the character as she had to undergo the difficult process of giving evidence and recalled the events of the night.
Thankfully for her, Maxine could count on her friend and copper Zoe Anderson’s (Garcia Brown) support.
“I’m lucky he didn’t rape me”, she said, adding: “I’m lucky I got away.”
“When he was pulling me by the hair, I thought ‘this is it, I’m going to die.'”
But much like any other victim of such an assault, a distraught Maxine blamed herself.
She began to go over every decision she could have made differently to avoid being attacked.
“I should never have gone out dressed like that. It was asking for attention.”
“If I hadn’t worn such a short skirt, none of this would have happened.”
“I should never have worn my hair in a ponytail, I read it online. It made me an easy target.”
As Maxine blamed herself for getting drunk and not charging her phone fully, Zoe was bringing her back to her senses, insisting she had done nothing wrong.
Viewers also reacted to Maxine’s words.
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Good news eventually came to Maxine when Zoe received a call announcing the attacker had been caught – and viewers, once again, had many thoughts.
Most of them were in disbelief that Maxine’s aggressor was caught so quickly.
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How will she cope with her attack?
Hollyoaks airs from Monday to Friday on Channel 4 and E4.
Maxine went over all the decision she could have made to avoid being attacked
