Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) faces another arrest in Hollyoaks next week after her attempt to destroy evidence linked to Imran Maalik (Ijaz Rana) backfires, leading to her being taken into police custody for tampering with evidence.
The show legend, who staged a historic return to the village earlier this year, was previously questioned over the death of Rex Gallagher (Jonny Labey) after being framed by the real killer Martin. This time, her brush with the law relates to the disappearance of Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson), who was taken against his will from a shopping centre in August.
Ste's disappearance and Cindy's involvement
Ste's vanishing was orchestrated by Imran, who had a whirlwind romance with Cindy after a chance encounter in LA. The two bonded over their shared disdain of Ste, whose past actions turned their lives upside down. Cindy was horrified when she learned the true extent of Imran's plan and urged him to set Ste free, but he refused.
Determined to do the right thing, Cindy sought help from Lucas Hay (Oscar Curtis) and later Sienna Blake (Anna Passey). Together they worked out Ste's location and brought the chef back to the village, where he reunited with his loved ones.
The arrest and its aftermath
Imran faced the music when Lucas reported his role in Ste's vanishing to Donny (Louis Emerick), leading to a showdown outside the boat where Imran was shot by police, much to the horror of his mum Misbah (Harvey Virdi). In the wake of the shooting, Misbah threatened Cindy, urging her to keep quiet, and asked Donny to protect Imran.
Imran is confirmed to be alive in new spoilers and later in the week asks Cindy to help him get rid of evidence on the boat. Cindy heads to the boat and retrieves the incriminating laptop, but she is caught by Donny and Dodger Savage (Danny Mac). In a bid to cover her and Imran's tracks, Cindy claims the device contains inappropriate imagery of her and throws it in the river.
Dodger responds by arresting her for tampering with evidence, while Donny calls for a dive team to locate Imran's bag. The question remains whether Cindy will face time behind bars, despite being against Ste's disappearance in the first place.
Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 6am on Channel 4's streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.
