A new mystery is introduced.
When Hollyoaks jumped forward a year in time back in September, one of the major reveals was that Leela Lomax was pregnant again – a heartwarming twist, after she and Joel previously lost their baby Noah. But as Joel got excited about their new arrival, it quickly became clear that Leela was hiding something.
This week, Leela gave birth to a healthy baby girl, but while Joel and the rest of the family were delighted, Leela was emotional and overwhelmed by the situation.
In today’s episode (November 6), she opened up about the situation to Mercedes, who was already aware of what had happened over the last year. It was revealed that Joel isn’t the father of Leela’s baby, but she is determined to keep the truth from him, especially after the loss of baby Noah.
What hasn’t been revealed, though, is just who the dad is. It’s a tricky mystery to solve, as it’s difficult to imagine Leela cheating on Joel with any of the men in the village. But with the truth bound to come out at some point, here’s a round-up of some of our (rather outlandish) theories.
Abe
While this is a truly horrifying thought, it feels like Abe – Joel’s brother – is the only other man who Leela has had anything to do with in recent episodes. She was furious when she found out that Abe was seeing her daughter Peri, considering his abuse of Cleo. Leela didn’t approve of their romance, but eventually pretended to be okay with their relationship to make sure she could stay close to Peri.
But when she went into labour this week, Joel was busy looking for Cleo – who is being held captive by Abe. It was Abe who was around to look after her and at the hospital, she was forced to have him as her birthing partner. Afterwards, both she and Joel were grateful for Abe’s help, but do he and Leela have another secret? We sincerely hope not.
Tony
Back in October, Diane found a pair of earrings in the flat and realised that her ex-husband Tony was seeing someone new. He lied and said that while he was dating again, it was no one she knew. But later at The Dog, Leela arrived to ask whether she had left her earrings behind, and Diane jumped to the wrong conclusion.
She accused Leela of seeing Tony behind her back, and even suggested that Tony was the father of her unborn child. It was then that Marie knew she had to come clean, and she admitted that she had borrowed Leela’s earrings for a date with Tony – who she had been going out with.
It is likely that this was just to plant a seed that Joel might not be the father of Leela’s baby. But who knows, maybe Diane was onto something?
Darren
There is zero evidence attached to this theory, but just as Leela has had a difficult year following Joel’s drugs relapse, Darren will have also struggled a lot over the missing twelve months. Before the time jump, Frankie opened up to her dad about JJ’s sexual abuse, and he supported her through reporting her twin brother to the police.
He then would have had a tough year looking after Frankie in the aftermath, especially when she struggled to adapt to her new life in London and returned to the village. We have recently seen Darren unable to cope with JJ’s illness, and he made a worrying disappearance. Did his struggles over the last year lead to him making a big mistake with Leela?
Dodger
There don’t seem to be many options in terms of men who are currently in the village, so maybe the answer lies in a future return? It was recently confirmed that Danny Mac will be reprising his role as Mark ‘Dodger’ Savage after ten years away from the soap, and he is already back filming scenes for the show.
While Dodger has very little connection to Leela, we have no idea what he has been up to since he went on the run all those years ago. Speaking about what Dodger’s return will bring, the actor said: “We’ve got ten years of history to uncover. Who is he now? Where has he been? And why is he back? That excites me a lot.”
Could the reason for Dodger’s return be a new baby?
Someone else
Hollyoaks have revealed very few hints about this latest mystery, so it is pretty hard to make any strong predictions. Of course, it is possible that the father of Leela’s baby is none of these options and is someone else entirely.
Could it just be a random man who Leela had a one-night stand with? Could the dad be another village resident in a huge twist? Or is there more than meets the eye to Leela’s confession? Regardless, as Leela attempts to hide the truth from Joel, all will be revealed in time…
