Cheryl Brady's moral dilemma

Hollyoaks' Cheryl Brady will face a moral dilemma when she realises her best pal is being "tortured" by evil Silas Blissett.

The mouthy minx - played by actress Bronagh Waugh - initially thinks her chum Lynsey Nolan (Karen Hassan) is being "paranoid" when she expresses her fears about the slippery character, but will end up "devastated" when she learns the traumatic truth that he attempted to murder the nurse.

Bronagh exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Lynsey, her best friend who has moved over from Ireland, starts getting tortured by a really bad man, Silas. Everyone thinks she's crazy and making it up, as does Cheryl at first. Lynsey's really upset about it and asks Cheryl for some help.

"While she hates seeing her best friend in that kind of state, she thinks Lynsey's just being paranoid and Silas is a really upstanding member of society. It will all be quite dark and will escalate to a boiling point when Cheryl is devastated to find out she's been attacked. She'll try to look after her and protect her but she does feel a little guilty that she didn't do anything sooner."

However when bolshie Cheryl and a very nervous Lynsey confront the Costello family during a very public showdown in the Dog in the Pond pub, it will spell trouble for Riley (Rob Norbury), who has a secret "soft spot" for Lynsey, despite being Silas' grandson.

Bronagh added: "It all comes out and we all have a massive stand-off in the pub. It's tricky because it's Riley's granddad she's making the allegations against, but he also has a soft spot for Lynsey and ends up getting caught in the middle.

"Silas is cornered in the pub and when Lynsey hears his voice she realises it wasn't a stranger who attacked her, as she previously thought, but him. It's all very dramatic and I'm sure it will have viewers shouting at their TV screens."