Hollyoaks [News, Spoilers and Discussion]

Maxine Minniver terminates Dodger Savage's baby next week, after their shock one-night stand last month.

Despite the fact that Maxine (Nikki Sanderson) and Patrick (Jeremy Sheffield) seem to be back on track, Maxine secretly heads to a family planning clinic where she bumps into Cindy.

As Maxine heads back home after having the termination, she is greeted by an unknowing Patrick.

However, when Patrick finds a post-care leaflet in her bag, he realises what she has been up to and his shock turns to rage.

Knowing Maxine is in pain after her procedure, Patrick decides to make her pay, so tells Sienna they will both look after Oscar for the day. However, later on, Patrick finds Maxine unconscious on the floor.

Hollyoaks will explore the issue of domestic violence in a new storyline as Patrick Blake starts hitting his girlfriend Maxine Minniver.

Next week's episodes see school headteacher Patrick (Jeremy Sheffield) lash out at Maxine for the first time after discovering that she had a one-night stand with his son Mark 'Dodger' Savage when they were recently separated.

Viewers of the Channel 4 soap have already seen a slow build-up to the shocking moment, as Patrick has often been shown as possessive and controlling in his relationship with Maxine.

Nikki Sanderson, who plays Maxine, told Digital Spy: "I feel very honoured to be part of this storyline, because it's such a serious issue. Obviously there are many people out there who are going through the exact same thing at the moment.

"There are also probably people who are in the beginning stages of it, but don't recognise the signs that it will turn into a domestic violence relationship.

"I'm really honoured that myself and Maxine have been chosen to do this. I hope that me and Jeremy can really do the storyline justice and make it as realistic as possible."

Sanderson has been preparing for the storyline by thoroughly researching the issue, and is hoping that the upcoming scenes will raise awareness among viewers.

She continued: "I'm hoping it will be quite insightful for the audience and people might learn a lot more about domestic violence relationships.

"We've been very subtly brewing this story over the past six months. Up until now, Patrick has lost Maxine her home because he bought the flat that she rented. She's also lost all of her friends, because Patrick has alienated them all.

"She has no financial independence, because Patrick made her quit her job and become a housewife. He's also been encouraging her to change her appearance and how she dresses, so it's been very, very subtle. It's not just an overnight thing. In order to make the story real, it had to take time to build up."

Joe