Hollyoaks fans have been speculating the whereabouts of Dodger Savage (Danny Mac) following his return to screens earlier this year.
Viewers of the Channel 4 soap went into meltdown late last year upon confirmation that the fan-favourite would be staging a comeback after a decade.
On reprising the role that made him a household name, Danny Mac said at the time: ‘After a decade away, I’m thrilled to be returning and reuniting with my incredible co-stars, old friends and a character very close to my heart.’
Dodger made his on-screen return in January, where it was revealed that he’d been working undercover as a cop as part of a secret investigation – which is directly tied to the ongoing child exploitation storyline.
Believing him to be a villain, Donny Clarke (Louis Emerick) hauled him in for questioning, where Dodger confirmed his status as an undercover cop.
After a number of brief, sporadic appearances – including a short-lived revisitation of his romance with Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) – Dodger vanished from our screens, which has left fans convinced that we’ve seen the last of him already.
‘Where’s Dodger gone,’ said fan Roscoe Barnes on X, formerly known as Twitter, while fellow user @Lovesoapsntv wrote: ‘Is dodger even there. I saw him for 2 seconds and that’s it.’
Dodger, however, isn’t going anywhere, nor has star Danny Mac left. Metro understands that he will return to screens soon and his lack of appearances thus far is likely due to the undercover nature of his job and as the exploitation story gets underway.
As viewers know, the narrative in question escalated dramatically this past week, as Grace Black (Tamara Wall) and Rex Gallagher (Jonny Labey) groomed Frankie Osborne (Isabelle Smith) and Dillon Ray (Nathaniel Dass).
With the storyline now officially set in motion, it’s only a matter of time before Dodger is back on our screens.
And there will be lots of material for star Danny to get his teeth into as, in addition to the police investigation, there’s a whole new chapter to the Blake dynasty that Dodger is yet to be privy to.
Deputy Soaps Editor Stephen Patterson says...
It’s true that Dodger’s return story has been a slowburn and it has certainly made us wait longer for moments we’ve all craved, such as his reunion with Sienna.
But ultimately his sporadic appearances make perfect sense. He’s an undercover police officer working in the very village he used to live. Given the secretive nature of the operation, it’s no wonder he’s keeping a low profile. Re-connecting with his loved ones while investigating the human trafficking racket would be too risky – both for himself and his family.
Also, dropping that Blake dynasty bomb at the same time as setting up his new role in the police could have run the risk of undermining both narratives so the drip-feeding approach was the right move for bosses – and I reckon the big family reunion might just be worth the wait.
Jez (Jeremy Sheffield), as viewers know, was confirmed to be Sienna Blake’s (Anna Passey) biological father last year, which means that he is also Dodger’s.
There’s also the fact that Jez is a serial killer! Sienna, as fans will recall, spotted Dodger in the village two months ago after his brief return, and she desperately wanted to reconnect with him after she was forced by Jez to cover up the murder of her beloved cousin Dilly Harcourt (Emma Johnsey-Smith).
So there is a lot for Dodger to piece together. Danny hinted that it would be quite some time before the Blake dynamic was revisited on his part when Metro chatted to him earlier in the year.
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‘In terms of my filming, that moment hasn’t happened,’ he told us. ‘I did some filming at the end of last year and I’ll be jumping back in within a few weeks. I really don’t know, I’m as excited and intrigued as everybody else.
Dodger, as viewers know, has avoided making contact with his loved ones due to his undercover duties, with the exception of Maxine.
So fans can expect drama aplenty when he stages his return!
Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 6am on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.
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