Hollyoaks fans were in mourning when Tony Hutchinson was killed off by Breda McQueen in Wednesday's shocking episode - but is he really dead?
Tony is the soap's longest-serving character, having been on the show since the very first episode almost 25 years ago.
But his life appeared to come to an end at the hands of serial killer Breda this week, in a shocking twist no one saw coming.
Tony had just worked out Breda's killer secret, figuring out she'd murdered his son Harry Thompson earlier this month.
As he confronted her about it, demanding she pay for her crimes and his loss, she suddenly pulled out a knife.
Breda stabbed Tony and left him bleeding on the floor, with his life flashing before his eyes including a moment with dead son Harry.
But has Tony really died and is he leaving Hollyoaks for good?
Fans have begun to speculate there's more to the twist, and that actor Nick Pickard hasn't really left the show.
Taking to Twitter in the fallout, several fans shared their heartache as others questioned what the scenes really meant.
One fan said: "The main reason I think Tony is alive is because they are introducing Tony's dad this year."
Another tweeted: "Yeah he is still alive I know he's been seen filming very recently."
After seeing quotes from the actor, a third commented: "These do not sound like the words of goodbye from a long standing character... Tony is alive I tell you."
This was echoed by another fan who said: "I think Tony's alive but Harry is dead."
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6:30pm on Channel 4, with the next episode at 7pm on E4.
