Hollyoaks boss reveals all on ending and aftermath of Eric incel storyline

Hollyoaks fans may be about to witness the storyline of dangerous incel Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty) reach a terrifying peak when he takes women hostage in The Dog while armed with a crossbow, but show boss Lucy Allan has confirmed that this is not the end.

She told Metro.co.uk in an interview that the hour long special sees a huge moment and plot crescendo, but the ramifications for Eric and those he has impacted will go on for some time.

This counts particularly for 15-year-old Mason Chen-Williams (Frank Kauer), who has been pulled into that online world.

‘Mason has been very much the person that we’ve watched on that journey through misogyny,’ the producer explained to us.

‘We’ve seen how you can go from being the lonely kid in school to being on a journey of subscribing to this radicalisation, being in this echo chamber, existing in this online world and hearing all of that.

‘The episode that goes out after the siege – you see the ramifications of what can happen when you realise what a 15-year-old has been up to under your roof.

‘A couple of the Chen-Williams find themselves in that siege, quite unexpectedly. Dave has this dawning realisation that some of those casual comments that men might make, without understanding the consequence of someone who is already as damaged and vulnerable through that grooming – what he hears and articulates that, is quite important.’

She continued: ‘One of the things we didn’t want to do was villainise the online world – there is a lot of good and inclusive spaces on there.

‘But for Mason, it’s that echo chamber that’s just nipping in and finding that moment of weakness and preying on him. We will see a big journey for him and an explosive fallout in that family as a consequence of all this coming out.

‘Whether you are the 15-year-old or the parent, the lack of knowledge you might have about the online world and where people are inhabiting is fascinating to look at.

‘We’re also fascinated about what happens when you take away the online world.’

While the outcome of the siege is not revealed – although a trailer has aired the shock of Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) declaring wife Diane (Alex Fletcher) dead – the storyline will not be over for Eric either.

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‘In terms of the Eric stuff, we’re not quite at the end of that story for him as yet,’ Lucy confirmed. ‘This is a huge peak, but it’s not quite the end.’

And she is full of praise for Angus, who recently discussed with Metro.co.uk his approach to playing such a complex character.

He explained that it isn’t about making Eric out and out evil, but discovering the nuance of how he came to be that way.

And Lucy is in agreement.

‘One of the things you’ll know from talking to Angus is that, for him to inhabit and play that character, he’s always had a degree of sympathy for Eric and understand him,’ she mused.

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‘So one of the big things for us is finding the balance in that – the understanding but also the damaged, troubled, caged and wounded animal.

‘His actions and his behaviours are unacceptable, so the articulation of that comes in the hour-long.’

Hollyoaks airs the peak of Eric’s story in an hour long episode at 7pm on E4 on Tuesday January 10. It can also be viewed on All4 and will air again at 6:30pm on Channel 4 on Wednesday January 11.

On Wednesday, Lucy will share some big future storylines with Metro.co.uk and you can read her full interview by signing up for our free soaps newsletter here.

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