Hollyojsons have been left convinced that Dillon Ray is the father of Leah Barnes’ baby despite him being in relationship with her brother Lucas Hay, who is currently in a young offenders institute

Hollyoaks viewers were left stunned as the show’s new time jump era revealed Leah Barnes’ pregnancy in the first episode, which leapt forward a year. The soap’s producers have been dropping hints about future plots on social media, including a photo of two unidentified characters with baby bumps.

The mystery was solved in Monday’s (September 16) episode, now available for streaming on Channel 4, where pregnant Leah and Leela Lomax (played by Kirsty-Leigh Porter) were seen at James Nightingale’s (Gregory Finnegan) graveside, who tragically died in a car explosion. While Leah’s father and Leela’s brother Ste Hay (Kieran Richardson) escaped the blast and was left comatose, fighting for his life.

Leela was alerted that Leah had gone into labour, and by the end of the episode, Leah welcomed her beautiful baby. Dillon Ray (Nathanial Dass) was highlighted as being a “really good friend” during her pregnancy, especially since her brother Lucas Hay (Oscar Curtis) is currently in a young offenders institution.

As the pieces fell into place, some fans speculated that Dillon might be the father of Leah’s child, having betrayed his boyfriend Lucas. One viewer expressed their shock on X, previously known as Twitter: “I swear to god if Hollyoaks has made Dillon get Leah pregnant during the time jump #hollyoaks.”, reports the Mirror.

Another speculated: “If Dillon is Leah’s baby daddy, I will scream! Dillon betraying Lucas like that is so out of character in my opinion.” A third chimed in: “I hate to say this but Dillon is DEFINITELY the father of Leah’s baby.” Echoing the sentiment, a fourth social media user posited: “Does anybody else think Dillon could be the dad of Leah’s baby? “.

As Leah went into labour and shouted “Dad”, viewers were on the edge of their seats when they saw Ste open his eyes, waking from a coma he’d been in for a year. But the big question remains: what’s Ste going to say about his daughter’s pregnancy? And why is Lucas stuck in a young offenders institution?

Although still unconfirmed, there is rising speculation regarding who the father of Leahs child could be. As actress Ela-May Demircan, who has portrayed Leah for 13 years, is rumoured to be exiting, fans are left wondering about her character’s fate.

This follows reports of staffing alterations and numerous departures from the show, coinciding with its reduction to airing three nights a week.

Hollyoaks airs Monday to Wednesday on E4 at 7pm and first look episodes can be streamed Channel 4 from 7am