Channel 4 soap favourite Mercedes McQueen was given the devastating news that she only has 12 months to live in heartbreaking Hollyoaks scenes leaving fans emotional

Hollyoaks viewers were left in tears as beloved character Mercedes McQueen was told she had just 12 months to live in heart-wrenching scenes. Following the Channel 4 soap’s time leap, it was unveiled that Mercedes (played by Jennifer Metcalfe) had been diagnosed with bowel cancer over the past year. She has already undergone surgery and chemotherapy, but a secondary tumour was discovered on her liver which doctors are trying to treat.

In Tuesday’s episode (September 24), available to watch on Channel 4 online, Mercedes received the devastating news that the chemotherapy hadn’t worked, and without a hard-to-obtain specialist drug, she had at most a year to live.

The episode concluded with a poignant scene of Mercedes looking at herself in the mirror in a vulnerable state: in her underwear, without her wig and with her stoma bag visible. She then listened to a CD compiled by her loved ones and danced through her tears as she grappled with this frightening news.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer wrote: “That end scene was acted and put together so beautifully, but it was such a horrible watch, you could feel Mercedes pain. Jen Metcalfe needs awards for this storyline! ” Another added: “That end scene with Mercedes was such a difficult watch! She really needs Nana, Myra and Jacqui right now! .”, reports the Mirror.

A third person posted: “I’m crying at #Hollyoaks having Mercedes dance to Beenie Man’s Rum and Redbull, bless her.” Another individual expressed their emotion, commenting: “Actually cried watching today’s @Hollyoaks so powerful.”

A fifth observer shared their distress: “This storyline is so heartbreaking sobbed so much watching Mercedes scenes.” Echoing the sentiment, a sixth remarked: “Mercedes cancer story is so sad to watch! Jen Metcalfe is giving a terrific performance.”

As she discussed the experience of shooting these poignant moments, Jennifer revealed: “It felt beautiful, awful, draining, amazing, special, exciting, sad, upsetting… every single emotion that you could feel. [In the scene], I go from looking at myself in the mirror and taking it in, getting emotional about it, then I look at my children and I get some strength. So I play this CD, and then all my friends are telling me some nice words that make me laugh.”

“Then this incredible music plays, and I dance freely. I was like, ‘Wow, how am I going to do this? ‘” Drawing on personal tragedy to give depth to her portrayal, the actress shared, “My dad died when I was 15 of bowel cancer,” adding, “so there was real, raw trauma there for me that I’ve probably never dealt with. I had to dig a little bit deep into personal experiences.”

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