After a fight in jail with vicious inmate Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty), Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) was left holding her face in pain in Hollyoaks.
As viewers are aware, Eric is presently incarcerated for a significant amount of time for terrorising the ladies of the titular town during a reign of terror that ended in a siege at The Dog.
The incel used a crossbow to kill Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher), then turned his attention to Maxine, who—despite her wounds—played a key role in taking him down like the genuine survivor and hero she is.
Since then, Eric has been rotting in jail, threatening to turn James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan) in to the police if he doesn’t fulfil his half of the bargain in exchange for a reduction in his sentence.
James followed Eric’s instructions in an attempt to connive Maxine into seeing his client in jail.
Despite Eric’s cunningness, Maxine agreed to meet with him in an effort to save him from having to spend the rest of his life in prison, particularly at a time when Juliet (Niamh Blackshaw), who is facing cancer, needs her older brother. Maxine learned what James was up to and it’s fair to say she was horrified. However, despite his cunningness, Maxine consented to meet with Eric.
In Friday’s (May 5) first look E4 episode of the Channel 4 soap, Eric confronted Maxine. He put up a front and seemed to have changed his ways, but Maxine quickly said she knew he was just looking for a lighter sentence.
Maxine commanded James to leave her and Eric alone as she pressed the incel to explain why he thought women were the main source of his problems, seeking to comprehend his reasoning—or lack thereof—before deftly dismantling the viewpoint he held in such high esteem.
Eric became angry and furious after realising Maxine was correct, demanding her to stop speaking.
The violent misogynist was eventually apprehended by the guards, but not before he had driven Maxine into a table and to the ground, causing her to cry in pain and suffer a facial injury.
How is Maxine doing? Will Eric be held accountable for his actions?
The next episode of Hollyoaks will air on Monday, May 8 at 7 p.m. on E4, or you can watch it starting at midnight on Monday on All4.