Darren has been battling with depression for a while...
Hollyoaks fans were left emotional when Darren's secret battle with depression was finally addressed.
For weeks, Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) has been living with depression, dismissing it as a variety of illnesses.
When he refuses to get up and get dressed for his open mic night, girlfriend Mandy Morgan (Sarah Jayne Dunn) becomes concerned.
She tells Darren, "This night is all you've talked about for weeks... you've been complaining about these mystery illnesses for weeks now."
Confused about the illnesses in question, she adds that she wishes Darren would see a doctor about it.
But Darren receives an unexpected visitor when Kyle Kelly (Adam Rickitt) shows up offering some advice.
Kyle tells Darren that he doesn't look like he has a cold, and starts asking questions about how he's feeling.
Darren can't remember how long he's been feeling "under the weather", and berates himself for "moping".
It's at this moment that Kyle tells Darren, "I think you have depression" and the pair finally address the elephant in the room.
This episode was a very emotional one for Hollyoaks fans, who are worried about Darren.
One wrote, "Poor Darren is breaking my heart #Hollyoaks"
Another added, "Kyle's face and when he said 'you're not moping' broke my heart. You can see how much he cares about Darren, and it broke him that Darren said he was just moping. This storyline is heartbreaking but so so important #hollyoaks"
A third wrote, "#Hollyoaks aww Darren is breaking my heart Depression is such an awful thing"
And a fourth added, "#hollyoaks is continuing to do brilliant work with Darren’s depression storyline. It has done well to focus on the very subtle changes that no one else notices and the way it effects regular daily life"
Many fans are impressed with how Hollyoaks is tackling the subject of depression.
In addition to this, actor Ashley Taylor Dawson thanked fans for their messages.
He wrote, "Thankyou for all the messages and support. Massive respect to our incredible director @gsiougas for guiding us through an incredible week... #dontfilterfeelings"
Hollyoaks is shown weekdays on C4 at 6.30pm with the next episode following on E4.
