Hollyoaks fans furious as Justin Burton is killed off in shock death twist

12 April 2023, 12:50 | Updated: 12 April 2023, 13:04

Charlie has emotional moment at Justin's grave on Hollyoaks

Viewers were livid to discover the soap legend had died off-screen.

Hollyoaks fans were left furious after discovering one of the soap's most popular characters had died off-screen, crushing hopes of his return to Chester.

The shock blow was dealt during a scene at a gravestone which confirmed that Justin Burton, played by actor Chris Fountain, had passed away in October 2022.

He last appeared on the long-running show 14 years ago, but viewers hoped he would make a comeback after his son Charlie Dean announced he wanted to find his dad.

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However their dreams were dashed this week after Channel 4 bosses revealed the troubled character would never return to the village.

Fans were livid over the "disgraceful" decision and took to Twitter to share their anger.

"Hollyoaks wow talk about pulling the rug out. Feels like such a kick in the teeth to long term fans. Justin was integral to one of the show's most controversial storylines and was one of the main stars during the shows most popular years," raged one social media user.

Another wrote: "The way I was actually starting to think we could have a justin return or at least a lil cameo BUT NO they had to kill him????"

A third added: "I can't believe we all hyped ourselves up over all the justin mentions thinking we were gonna get a return only for him to die???"

"I'm actually really annoyed with this decision. What is even the point of it. I don't like off screen deaths and this is the most egregious. Justin was absolutely prime for a return and Chris Fountain deserves a second chance," fumed a fourth.

While a fifth said: "Disgraceful decision if Justin really is dead!"

The shocking twist came over a decade after Justin left Chester in the wake of Warren Fox's death.

Chris Fountain's character had been wrongly accused of the club owner's murder, when in fact the gangster had faked his own demise.

The award-winning soap star, now 35, bowed out of his Hollyoaks role alongside Jamie Lomas in 2009.

Chris went on to play Tommy Duckworth in Coronation Street, making his first appearance in 2011, but left the Cobbles after just three years.

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