Hollyoaks SPOILER: Alcoholic John Paul suffers a shocking relapse

John Paul McQueen will suffer a dramatic relapse in his battle with alcoholism in Hollyoaks next week, and one of his own family members will be to blame.

Having previously overcome his battle with the bottle last year, shocking scenes will send John Paul down a dark path when he accidentally picks up the drink at the McQueen’s anti-Valentine’s Day party.

His behaviour will immediately spark concern among his loved ones as John Paul pins the blame on his sister Mercedes for filling her mocktail with booze and leaving it lying around.

Mercedes quickly delivers John Paul some home truths after he puts his son Matthew-Jesus in danger.

Will he listen?

Hollyoaks SPOILER: John Paul McQueen will suffer a dramatic relapse in his battle with alcoholism in Hollyoaks next week, and one of his own family members will be to blame

Worrying: Shocking scenes will send John Paul down a dark path when he accidentally picks up the drink at the McQueen’s anti-Valentine’s Day party

In the upcoming scenes, the McQueens decide to throw an anti-valentine’s day party that everyone can enjoy. 

But when Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe), missing Bobby, sneaks booze into her mocktail before leaving it on the side, an unaware John-Paul (James Sutton) picks up the wrong cup.

Later, he desperately tries to cover up his drinking relapse, but when he doesn’t remember telling Matthew-Jesus they’d spend the day together, his son lashes out feeling let down. 

Tension brews in the McQueen’s as a clean-up party leads Mercedes to discover that John Paul had continued to drink.

When he returns home with more alcohol he points the blame at his sister, and a concerned Mercedes immediately issues some home truths.

After continuing to drink John Paul takes his son out of school and to the park, but with his dad drunk and unstable on his feet, Matthew-Jesus is knocked to the floor.

The bruised youngster takes himself and his dad home where he is confronted by his worried family, but will John Paul be able to overcome his relapse?

John Paul’s alcoholism is being revisited after Hollyoaks released another episode of its online documentary Hollyoaks IRL, which explores real-life stories similar to plots that appear in the soap.

Scary: His behaviour will immediately spark concern among his loved ones as John Paul pins the blame on his sister Mercedes for filling her mocktail with booze and leaving it lying around

Close call: Mercedes quickly delivers John Paul some home truths after he puts his son Matthew-Jesus in danger

Worrying: After continuing to drink John Paul takes his son out of school and to the park, but with his dad drunk and unstable on his feet, Matthew-Jesus is knocked to the floor

The most recent episode, titled Alcohol Free at 23 – Sobriety Saved My Life, explores alcohol problems with the real-life story of Dominic McGregor, co-founder of marketing agency Social Chain.  

Actor James, who plays John Paul meets Dominic and hears his story of excessive alcohol consumption – and how he ultimately overcame his problems to become completely sober.

Dominic says: ‘I kept making tons of mistakes, upsetting friendships, upsetting relationships. It kind of all accumulated into one blow-up, really, where it took other people around me to say you’ve got a problem.

 ‘There was a line for me where I knew I couldn’t go any further, it’s when I started to hurt other people.’

James added: ‘At Hollyoaks, a lot of the issues that we raise on the show, addiction or domestic violence, or drugs, or alcohol, one of our big things is about talking and having those conversations.’

Hollyoaks is released first on All4, with new episodes dropping each weekday morning. It also airs Mondays to Fridays at 6:30pm on Channel 4, and 7pm on E4. 

What’s next? The bruised youngster takes himself and his dad home where he is confronted by his worried family, but will John Paul be able to overcome his relapse?