Former Hollyoaks star Frankie Jules-Hough, 38, was killed in a crash on the M66 in Greater Manchester in May 2023. She was 17 weeks pregnant with her third child, a daughter she and her partner Calvin Buckley had named Neeve. The driver, Adil Iqbal, was jailed for causing death by dangerous driving.
Frankie, who starred as Jess Holt in the Channel 4 teen drama, had also appeared in Wire in the Blood, Where The Heart Is, Heartbeat and Merseybeat. Her character was the girlfriend of Sol Campbell, played by actor Paul Danan, who died in 2025.
Day of the crash
On the day of the crash, Frankie was caring for her nephew as well as her own sons and was dropping one of her boys off at his father's house. She was driving along the M66 when her car suffered a puncture and she pulled onto the hard shoulder. Iqbal, then 22, crashed into her car after losing control of his father's BMW. He had earlier been filming himself driving at speeds of up to 123mph.
Calvin recalled: "We said goodbye, I told her I loved her and I never saw her again." He said he received a call to say she had been in a crash and was not conscious. "When I got there, it was like a horror scene, Frankie's car was mangled, I don't know how anyone could survive that. The boys were on the ground, Frankie was being treated by paramedics. I didn't know who to run to first. My whole world just imploded."
Heartbreaking vigil
Frankie was airlifted to Preston Hospital, where her family was told her brain injuries were so catastrophic she was unlikely to pull through. Her unborn daughter Neeve still had a heartbeat, but Calvin was told their unborn child would only survive if her mother did.
Calvin maintained a bedside vigil for two days before Frankie and their unborn daughter died. He said: "That was utterly heart-breaking to hear. Not only did I have to watch Frankie slip away from me, but I knew that when she did, our daughter's heart would stop beating too."
Frankie's two sons suffered severe injuries and were in a coma in hospital. Calvin said: "I didn't have time to grieve, as the boys were still in hospital in a coma, and my focus just switched to them for the next three or four weeks. We didn't know if they would survive." Both boys recovered after spending weeks in intensive care, despite sustaining brain injuries.
Road safety campaign
Iqbal was initially sentenced to 12 years for causing death by dangerous driving, but this was extended to 15 years after three appeal judges determined the original sentence was unduly lenient.
Following the loss, Frankie's son Tommy Spencer and nephew Tobias Welby worked together on a road safety programme, using vibrant and engaging characters to educate young children about keeping families safe on the roads. Frankie's father Frank and Calvin took these creations into schools.
Calvin said: "We wanted the children to be involved, it's something there so they are seeing their mum and sister remembered all the time, it celebrates their memory. We have a culture where it's cool to drive like an idiot and put people's lives at risk."
He added: "People ask me if I hate the driver who killed Frankie and Neeve, but that's not who I am most angry at. I'm angry at a culture of reckless driving, which meant he was able to get likes on social media for reckless and lawless driving. Road deaths feel acceptable and they shouldn't be. Education is the best route out of this – we need proper road safety education in schools and on the curriculum. There's nothing more important than learning how to stay alive."
