Hollyoaks is not slowing down on the drama. Jeremy Sheffield is making an incredibly dramatic return, but he won't be playing his original character Patrick Blake. Instead, he will be playing Patrick Blake's twin brother, Jeremy "Jez" Blake.
As we know, the character Patrick Blake died in 2016 as he was killed by his granddaughter, Nico. What will Patrick Blake's twin Jeremy have in store for Hollyoaks?
Who was Patrick Blake on Hollyoaks?
Patrick Blake left an empty space when he died. He was arguably one of the soap's biggest, most notorious villains. Patrick was the epicentre of some of the most disturbing storylines with themes of domestic abuse and manipulative behaviour.
One of the main storylines which impacted viewers was the domestic abuse involving his wife Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson). Maxine suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Patrick, as he controlled every aspect of her life.
His family dynamics were strained. He was the father of Dodger Savage, Sienna Blake, Dilly Harcourt and Minnie Minniver, and the grandfather of Nico Blake. They weren't the perfect family, far from it! He was extremely manipulative with his daughter Sienna and set her up to do his bidding which wasn't anything pleasant.
Some may say it was karma, but Patrick Blake was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). It's an incurable condition that slowly leads to health decline and eventual death. He was a proud man and decided to take fate into his own hands and asked his loved ones to help him die. However, he wanted to frame his ex Maxine for his death, but his granddaughter, Nico, had other ideas.
When Nico learned Patrick had a video which showed her confessing to crimes she committed, she decided to kill Patrick.
Say hello to Jeremy Blake
Fans have been on the edge of their seats eagerly awaiting Jeremy Sheffield's return to Hollyoaks. Patrick was certainly a memorable character and fans are eager to see how Patrick's twin, Jeremy "Jez" Blake, will be portrayed, especially since Patrick was such a dark character.
Jeremy's character is said to bring more context to why Patrick was the way he was, but apparently Jez isn't a saint and allegedly has even darker plans in store. In an interview with Digital Spy, Jeremy Sheffield explained more about his character's backstory:
"A huge event blew the brothers apart and Jez disappeared — whatever went on was so traumatic he just had to escape. I imagine Jez was Patrick's first victim. They have a terrible, toxic relationship, but we don't know why yet. And it's not even clear who is the good guy and who is the bad guy."
It's clear that Jeremy's storylines will have a huge impact. Will he cause more chaos and mayhem during his time on the soap?
Hollyoaks airs on Channel 4.