{"id":937746,"date":"2026-05-04T19:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/937746\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:34:22","slug":"hollyoaks-finally-explains-sineads-absence-in-dianes-exit-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/937746\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollyoaks finally explains Sinead&#8217;s absence in Diane&#8217;s exit story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Hollyoaks has finally explained why Diane Hutchinson&#8217;s former stepdaughter Sinead O&#8217;Connor has been absent from Diane&#8217;s exit story. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Viewers know that actor Alex Fletcher, who plays Diane, recently decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a70226175\/hollyoaks-alex-fletcher-quits\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a70226175\/hollyoaks-alex-fletcher-quits\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"quit the soap\" data-node-id=\"9.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">quit the soap<\/a> after 16 years, with her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a70568991\/hollyoaks-diane-hutchinson-exit-storyline-alex-fletcher\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a70568991\/hollyoaks-diane-hutchinson-exit-storyline-alex-fletcher\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"emotional exit scenes\" data-node-id=\"9.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">emotional exit scenes<\/a> set to air in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">In March, Diane went to an emergency hospital appointment because of abdominal pain and received the devastating diagnosis of stage four ovarian cancer.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"hollyoaks: sinead\" title=\"Hollyoaks: Sinead\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1205\" height=\"805\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hollyoaks-sinead-2-1558035117.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lime Pictures<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"18.0\">Related: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best streaming services\" data-node-id=\"18.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"18.1.0\">Best streaming services<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">In emotional scenes, Diane told her husband Tony that she had been given &#8220;about six months&#8221; to live, and she was recently told she had even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a71152540\/hollyoaks-distressing-diane-scene-tragic-cancer-secret\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a71152540\/hollyoaks-distressing-diane-scene-tragic-cancer-secret\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"less time than she first thought\" data-node-id=\"22.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">less time than she first thought<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">In tonight&#8217;s episode, Diane finally explained why her stepdaughter hadn&#8217;t returned to the village, explaining that Sinead, who has been living in Mallorca since her departure in 2019, is pregnant and unable to fly. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Knowing time isn\u2019t on her side, Diane told Tony that they needed to tell Eva the truth. &#8220;Mummy&#8217;s ill,&#8221; said Diane. &#8220;I&#8217;m very ill. And that means that I&#8217;m going to die.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Their youngest daughter tried to comprehend what she had been told and asked if her mum would still be there for her birthday. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"39\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Keeping the latest news from the hospital from Tony, but not wanting to lie, Diane told her she would try her best, saying: &#8220;I&#8217;m going to try. I mean, I can&#8217;t promise anything, but I really hope I will be.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"43\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">A confused Tony pointed out that Eva&#8217;s birthday was in a couple of weeks, saying Diane still had months left to live. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"tony and diane hutchinson in hollyoaks\" title=\"Tony and Diane Hutchinson in Hollyoaks\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hollyoaks-1-tony-diane-hutchinson4-69a2ce54b0355.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lime Pictures<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"48\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"48.0\">Related: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a71176689\/hollyoaks-spoilers-nicole-barber-lane-co-star-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/a71176689\/hollyoaks-spoilers-nicole-barber-lane-co-star-support\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Hollyoaks&#039; Nicole Barber-Lane shares co-star support amid real-life journey\" data-node-id=\"48.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"48.1.0\">Hollyoaks<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"48.1.1\">&#8216; Nicole Barber-Lane shares co-star support amid real-life journey<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"52\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;Tony, no one knows how long I&#8217;ve got left,&#8221; Diane explained. &#8220;We can&#8217;t keep living in denial. I need to tell our Finn and Sinead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"56\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">When Tony questioned if she was going to tell them over the phone, Diane said: &#8220;Sinead can&#8217;t fly, can she? She&#8217;s pregnant.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"60\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Tony suggested they take a family holiday to visit them and make special memories. Diane agreed, but will it be too much for her?<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"64\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"64.0\">Hollyoaks<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"64.1\"> airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.channel4.com\/programmes\/hollyoaks\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.channel4.com\/programmes\/hollyoaks\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Channel 4 streaming\" data-node-id=\"64.2\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"64.2.0\">Channel 4 streaming<\/strong><\/a><strong data-node-id=\"64.3\"> premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"68\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"68.0\">Selected omnibus episodes are available via <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks&amp;tag=digitalspy.com-21\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Prime Video\" data-vars-ga-product-id=\"48911cb4-a88d-4aa5-b67c-a58f105c0b75\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-node-id=\"68.1\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks\" data-product-url=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks\" data-affiliate=\"true\" data-affiliate-url=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks&amp;tag=digitalspy.com-21\" data-affiliate-network=\"{&quot;site_id&quot;:&quot;53fd7fa5-d43c-401b-823b-b21cf6cddcd6&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:{&quot;links&quot;:{&quot;default&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks&amp;tag=digitalspy.com-21&quot;,&quot;sem&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks&amp;tag=digitalspy.co.uk-lift-21&quot;,&quot;social&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s?k=Hollyoaks&amp;tag=digitalspy.co.uk-soc-lift-21&quot;}},&quot;network&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Amazon&quot;},&quot;product_metadata&quot;:null,&quot;afflink_redirect&quot;:&quot;\/_p\/afflink\/13Ygp\/amazon-s-s&quot;}\" data-vars-ga-product-price=\"$0.00\" data-vars-ga-product-retailer-id=\"077ee977-8ee4-4424-a450-66993ea4aedf\" data-vars-ga-link-treatment=\"(not set) | (not set)\" class=\"body-link product-links css-1gyyefe e1aq0z090\" target=\"_blank\"><strong data-node-id=\"68.1.0\">Prime Video<\/strong><\/a><strong data-node-id=\"68.2\">.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"72\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/soaps\/hollyoaks\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage\" data-node-id=\"72.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"72.0.0\">Read more <\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"72.0.1\">Hollyoaks<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"72.0.2\"> spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"76\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><strong data-node-id=\"76.0\">The new edition of <\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"76.1\">Living Legends<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"76.2\">, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Sir David Attenborough, is here! <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livldavidattenborough\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livldavidattenborough\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy Sir David Attenborough in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"76.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-node-id=\"76.3.0\">Buy <\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"76.3.1\">Sir David Attenborough<\/strong><strong data-node-id=\"76.3.2\"> in newsagents or online<\/strong><\/a><strong data-node-id=\"76.4\">.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hollyoaks has finally explained why Diane Hutchinson&#8217;s former stepdaughter Sinead O&#8217;Connor has been absent from Diane&#8217;s exit story.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":937747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3937],"tags":[215877,1380,262005,1331,77,3989,258961,1330,262004,215876,382,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-937746","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-collection-latest-news","9":"tag-content-type-news","10":"tag-contentid-8fa161f7-2235-4be8-a7e5-e82e9e635c65","11":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-hasproduct-true","14":"tag-issyndicated-false","15":"tag-locale-gb","16":"tag-shorttitle-hollyoaks-finally-explains-sineads-absence-in-dianes-exit-story","17":"tag-subsection-hollyoaks","18":"tag-tv","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116517986100329824","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/937747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}