Hollyoaks star confirms happy ending for beloved couple

Duncan Lindsay

Published February 5, 2025 9:00am

A delighted Joel hugs Leela in Hollyoaks — Good news at least for Joel and Leela Dexter (Picture: Lime Pictures)

This article contains spoilers for the Hollyoaks episode on Wednesday February 5, now available on All4.

In a week of violence and death, it’s nice that Hollyoaks is able to deliver some good news for one of its most loved couples.

For a while, viewers have been wondering, on edge, whether young Clara is the daughter of Joel Dexter (Rory Douglas-Smith) or Abe Fielding (Tyler Conti).

And it has also, naturally, been weighing on the mind of Joel and Leela (Kirsty-Leigh Porter).

Following Joel’s final aggressive showdown with Abe, he found his brother’s envelope containing DNA results.

For a good while, Joel was unable to open the envelope but, eventually, with Leela by his side, he went through with it.

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Joel looks unsure in a conversation with Leela in Hollyoaks — Joel was unsure whether to open the results (Picture: Lime Pictures)

The pair dissolved into joyous relief to discover that Clara is Joel’s daughter and, according to Rory, it heralds a new beginning for the couple.

‘The storyline has been in the works for a while due to the time jump and it’s been pandemonium for the audience as they have been left wondering who is Clara’s dad,’ he said.

‘And of course they want it to be Joel’s especially because of the horrific circumstances.