'Hollyoaks' embarks on child killer plot

Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks is to embark on one of its darkest storylines this Christmas when one village resident is exposed as a child killer.

Next month, pole dancer Loretta Jones - played by Melissa Walton - is forced to face old demons when her former best friend Chrissy (Amber Hodgkiss) suddenly arrives in the village.

Her evident panic and unease is quickly explained when Chrissy reveals that she and Loretta killed a child when they were both 12 years old - and they have been living under new identities ever since.

Deeply concerned that her secret is about to be exposed to the rest of the village, Loretta - whose real name is Joanna Norman - attempts to force Chrissy out of her life again.

A show source told The Sun: "We appreciate the episodes deal with a sensitive subject but it has been thoroughly researched. The drama is about how Loretta reacts to Chrissy's arrival back in her life and how she copes with all the memories coming flooding back."

They added: "She's tried to move on, but Chrissy won't seem to let her."

The plot allegedly echoes the real-life murder of James Bulger, which saw 10-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables kill the 2-year-old in Merseyside in 1993.

> Click here to have your say about controversial story on the DS forums