5 Hollyoaks spoilers for next week: Warren vs Liam, and dark times for Darren

• Hollyoaks: who is leaving, joining and returning to the cast?

Warren vs Liam

Chests puff, nostrils flare and eyes narrow as Warren seeks revenge on Liam for his threats against Mercedes. With Foxy back on with old flame Mercy (surely these two are just passing the time until another love interest comes along) he's gallantly fighting battles for someone who is more than capable of fighting her own.

Since Warren returned it's been somewhat inevitable he'd face off against Liam, who basically took his place as Chief Village Gangster while Jamie Lomas took a break. Turning up at the Loft with a bunch of heavies, Warren threatens to trash the club to teach Liam a lesson. The last strong male character to make a stand against Mr Donovan was James Nightingale, who unexpectedly found himself in bed with the bad boy. Might Warren suddenly find his rival irresistible? Anything's possible.

Darren's depression

On a slow burn elsewhere is Darren's depression storyline, which has been seeded since around stunt week in October 2019. Cheeky Dazzle still has that 'live fast and always go for the gag' impulse that's made him the Peter Pan of Hollyoaks, but slogging through the responsibilities and enforced maturity of a man in his 30s is pushing him towards a midlife crisis. Struggling with his emotions and not really understanding why, Darren begins to quietly fall apart. Ashley Taylor Dawson's natural empathy will have you weeping and urging his alter ego to seek help - and the plot is only just getting going.

Tony's sister act

In trying to distract himself from his mental health woes, and help best mate Tony Hutchinson through his marital strife, Darren declares a boys' night out is just what's needed. But when both the boys in question are teetering on the edge of a breakdown, it's probably not the best idea.

Tony's paranoia peaks thanks to dastardly dad Edward Hutchinson fuelling suspicion that wife Diane Hutchinson cheated on him while he was chained to Breda McQueen's pig pen. He's right, of course, because Dr Edward is the man Di cheated with. Twisted Edward is desperate for Tone to find out so he can have Diane all to himself, then Tony gets tanked up on his blowout with Darren and drunkenly propositions another woman - not realising until she turns round it's actually his half-sister Verity, who's come to visit for the first time since Hollyoaks Later. Now that's quite a welcoming committee.

Edward and Marnie make sweet music

Reunited with spoilt Verity, Edward fills her in on his plot to wreck her brother's marriage. Think of the father and daughter duo as Hollyoaks' answer to Donald and Ivanka Trump. There's another string to Edward's bow in his Get Diane plan, which involves his talent for the cello. Impressing lovesick Marnie Nightingale with his musical prowess at a recital held in her gloriously pretentious Salon de The, Edward unashamedly plays on her obvious attraction. Actually, make that desperation. Soon the pair are making a different kind of music together, but Marnie's heading for a fall as her beau is merely using her to make his daughter-in-law jealous. Quelle dommage…

Toby's temper tantrum

Finally, to the ongoing saga of creepy Toby and Celeste Faroe and their sinister plan to take down Kelle from Eternal, aka Toby's mum Martine Deveraux - who doesn't actually know she's his mum and he's the baby she gave away at birth all grown up and ready for revenge on her and the twin brother, Mitchell Deveraux, she kept… Keeping up? This week they're playing with fire by staging a fake argument hoping to elicit Lisa Loveday into spilling the tea on Auntie Martine's past, but sloppy Celeste's carelessness around hiding her fling with hunky teen Romeo Nightingale provokes Toby's temper once more…

Visit our dedicated Hollyoaks page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.