Hollyoaks star Nikki Sanderson has confirmed that her character Maxine Minniver will struggle to prove her innocence after her abusive ex-partner Patrick Blake is run over.
Patrick's twisted daughter Sienna (Anna Passey) drives straight at him in the village next week, setting up a fall guy in the process as she uses a car that Maxine has hired.
In a case of bad timing, Sienna's stunt comes just as Maxine has publicly threatened Patrick (Jeremy Sheffield), convinced that he is still plotting against her.
The trouble unfolds after Maxine throws a surprise party at The Loft, wanting to propose to Dodger (Danny Mac). However, when Sienna ruins the special moment by secretly setting off the fire alarms, Maxine jumps to the conclusion that Patrick was the mischievous culprit.
Sanderson told All About Soap: "Maxine comes out of the club and sees Patrick, and she just assumes Patrick was responsible. In front of everybody, she says she wishes he was dead. It's not a good move, but obviously it's just the heat of the moment and she doesn't mean that she'd actually kill him."
On the drama that follows next, the actress continued: "Patrick's run over by the red car Maxine's hired. Everyone has heard her say she wants him dead. And her engagement ring, which she thinks she's lost, is then found in the vehicle - and Maxine can't understand how it's got there.
"Maxine has absolutely no idea of who the real culprit is. She's had nothing to do with it, she's not tried to run Patrick over, but she's being blamed for it. How does she get out of that?
"There's evidence putting her in the car, there's evidence that says she wanted him dead, and then there's Patrick lying on the floor hours later. It's not looking good."
Despite still being terrified of Patrick, Maxine decides to visit him in hospital in order to support Dodger.
"Seeing Patrick still invokes fear in her, even if he's lying there unconscious," Sanderson explained. "She goes to the hospital with Dodger to support him and Nico. Nico found Patrick, so she's quite distressed and Maxine wants to comfort her."
Hollyoaks airs these scenes on Monday, October 13 at 6.30pm on Channel 4.