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Hollyoaks' new mum Nancy Osborne has an eventful fortnight ahead as she features prominently in the soap's Christmas and New Year storylines.

Nancy is delighted to finally have her baby son Oscar home for the first time since his premature birth in October. However, it's not long before she and husband Darren (Ashley Taylor Dawson) realise that the youngster isn't responding to sounds, which leads them back to the hospital to seek answers.

With Oscar understandably the focus of attention at the moment, Nancy's nephew Charlie starts to feel unwanted. As the situation comes to a head, Charlie runs away and ends up unconscious when he loses his footing out in the woods…

Digital Spy recently caught up with Jessica Fox, who plays Nancy, to hear more about the dramatic events in store.

How do you feel about being so busy on screen at Christmas and New Year?
"It's really exciting. I think everyone wants to be doing the Christmas material, because there's always something really dramatic going on at this time of year. I don't think I've had a Christmas storyline for a while and it's nice that this one is very family-orientated, so hopefully it will go down well with the viewers."

How have the fans responded to the other big storylines you've had this year?
"This year has been absolutely amazing, and I've enjoyed it so much. The material I've had has been wonderful and the response that I've had from viewers has been really overwhelming. People really seem to have supported Nancy and Darren through the build-up to the wedding, the miscarriage and then Oscar's premature birth.

"It's been a big old year. I think the fans want Nancy and Darren's relationship to work out, and for them to have a bit of happiness in the New Year."

The Christmas period starts off on a happy note for Nancy…
"It does, because it's amazing for her to finally have Oscar home. Throughout the time that Oscar has been in hospital, she hasn't really been able to concentrate on too much else, as I'm sure anyone who has a poorly baby in hospital would understand.

"Once Nancy has Oscar home, it seems that everything is coming together and is going to be perfect now. Nancy has got her husband, she's got her child, she's got Charlie and the rest of the family. For a moment it seems like everything is going to fall into place and be wonderful!"

When do the Osbornes realise that Oscar may have a hearing impairment?
"Well, Oscar is crying constantly, nobody is getting any sleep and tensions are running quite high. One day, Nancy has finally got Oscar off to sleep when Darren comes barging in and drops a vase on the floor right next to Oscar's crib, but he doesn't wake up. That's when Nancy and Darren suddenly think, 'Hang on a minute…'.

"When Oscar was born prematurely, Nancy and Darren were told that there could be difficulties with his development, and hearing was one of the things that was mentioned by the doctor. So automatically, alarm bells start going off."

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Had they prepared themselves for this?
"I don't think so - their focus has been on getting Oscar home, and I don't think they've really thought beyond that. When this new issue arises, they're not really sure how to deal with it."

Darren has previously blamed Nancy for the premature birth, so does that issue crop up again?
"Yes, I think the problem of Oscar's premature birth is something that will continue to affect Nancy and Darren. It's not something that Darren can ever quite forgive Nancy for, and it's definitely not something that Nancy will ever forgive herself for.

"When problems like this do arise, all of those old feelings come up again and Darren doesn't know how to deal with it. Nancy desperately wants Darren to say that it's all going to be okay and they'll get through it, but he's not able to do that for her."

One of the sixth formers, Dylan, is a deaf character currently in the village. Could he become involved in the storyline if Oscar does turn out to be deaf?
"It all depends on what the outcome is when Nancy and Darren seek advice at the hospital over Oscar's hearing, but if the storyline does go further, I think it would be a very sweet friendship if Dylan was to come into the fold. Dylan is already friends with Esther, so maybe he could teach Nancy and Darren some sign language if they do find out that Oscar is deaf."

You're close friends with Rachel Shenton (Mitzeee), who does a lot of work with the deaf community. Have you spoken to her about the storyline?
"Yes, we've talked about it quite a lot. She's always teaching me little bits of sign language anyway and if the storyline does go ahead, I'll definitely be asking her for more advice! If it does turn out to be the case that Oscar is deaf, I also think it'd be nice for myself and Ashley to take some classes and actually learn sign language. That would be amazing."

Throughout this period, Charlie is feeling unwanted. Why is that?
"I think when a new baby comes into a family, some of the older children can sometimes feel a bit left out. With everything that's going on in the mad Osborne house, Charlie is almost bottom of the queue because everyone else is demanding so much attention.

"When Charlie does try to get some attention, unfortunately he faces the wrath of Nancy's temper, because she's at the end of her tether and exhausted with so many commitments. Nancy's outburst frightens Charlie and he ends up running away."

Do the Osbornes have any idea where Charlie might be?
"They're clueless to begin with. He leaves a heartbreaking note saying, 'I know you don't want me anymore'. They go rushing off to look for him, and you'll see that Callum Kane ends up having a theory on where he might be. They go looking in the woods for him, but you'll have to wait and see how it turns out…"

We've heard that Frankie is quick to blame Nancy for this situation. How does Nancy react?
"Nobody is harder on Nancy than Nancy herself. When someone like Frankie or Darren says, 'Yes, that is your fault', it makes Nancy feel so much worse, but she also bites back! She can't help herself - she's got a fiery temper and if you push Nancy far enough, she will turn on you. Frankie says that Nancy is a bad mother, but Nancy fires back very strongly.

"You'll see that Darren is actually quite supportive of Nancy in these arguments. It's nice that he's backing her up on this occasion."

As well as drama, Nancy and Darren do comedy really well. Will there be lighter material ahead in 2013?
"We've got a really exciting year coming up. I think and hope that there'll be a lovely mix of both comedy and drama. Sometimes you can have humour even in the most tragic of circumstances, which I think Hollyoaks is very good at. Hopefully that will come through in the New Year with the material that we're working on."

How would the Osbornes feel if they found out about Esther's bullying ordeal?
"I think they'd be absolutely devastated. All of them would feel as if they've let Esther down massively. The guilt will be very hard for them to bear."

Will Nancy's friendship with John Paul be revisited?
"Yes, we've filmed a couple of scenes together so far, which has been lovely. I think they'll have a friendship that will develop. John Paul doesn't really know anybody in the village yet, and I'm one of the few that's left over from when he was here before."

How will you be spending Christmas this year?
"It'll be a family Christmas, so I'll be spending a lot of time with my mum, my dad, my sister, my two grandmothers and all the cats! Hopefully I'll be spending a lot of it in my pyjamas, too!"

'Hollyoaks': Ashley Taylor Dawson talks new Osborne dramas

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Hollyoaks' Darren Osborne tries to stay strong amid a turbulent time for his family in the soap's Christmas and New Year episodes.

Darren and his wife Nancy are shocked in the coming days when they realise that their newborn son Oscar may be deaf, and they soon have even more on their minds when little Charlie starts to feel unwanted and runs away.

Yesterday, actress Jessica Fox gave us Nancy's take on the events in store, but Digital Spy also recently caught up with Ashley Taylor Dawson - who plays Darren - to hear the story from his character's point of view. Read on to find out what he had to say!

How do you feel about being so busy on screen at Christmas and New Year?
"It's exciting - every Christmas there's always a big storyline, so it's great to be involved in that this year. For Darren and Nancy, it's a very exciting time at first because they've got baby Oscar back home, but then a few questions start to arise about his hearing.

"There's a scene where they're putting him to bed, a vase smashes and Oscar doesn't wake up. Nancy and Darren are left wondering why and they realise that he could be deaf, as this can sometimes happen with premature babies."

Did you do any research for the storyline or did the writers take care of that side?
"Whenever you take on a storyline like this, you always do research and look into it. Also, I've had a child myself and I know from experience that when you have a baby, you're on edge from day one until they reach the age of 18!

"We've researched a lot of the issues that we've tackled this year, especially the premature birth. We spoke to real-life parents in the same position so that we could understand what they were going through."

What kind of feedback have you seen for Nancy and Darren's big storylines this year?
"The feedback has been amazing and I think we've touched on issues that people can really relate to. Especially the premature birth - I think when you have a baby and something goes wrong, it can just be the worst moment of your life because you're worrying every single day about whether your child is going to survive or not.

"The response has been incredible through Twitter and fanmail. We've heard from genuine people in the same situations who've told us that we're doing it justice. To hear from those people is really flattering and humbling."

How does Darren feel about Oscar possibly being deaf?
"At first, it's just pure confusion about it. Darren also has some scenes where he's singing to Oscar and he wakes up, so he gets it into his head that everything is fine after all.

"If they learn otherwise when they head to the hospital for Oscar's appointment, it's going to be a big knock and a new chapter for Nancy and Darren's lives, where they'll have to learn how to deal with this."

Darren previously blamed Nancy for the premature birth, so does he start getting annoyed with her again?
"Darren took that to such extremes the first time round, but in his heart of hearts, he does think that he was right to say that it was Nancy's fault. She'd been rushing round and causing stress when she'd already had a miscarriage, so Darren genuinely believes that to risk anything in that situation was ridiculous.

"But when Darren thought that he might actually lose his wife and told her that he wanted a divorce, that was the lowest of the low for him. He's definitely learned from that and he realises that they need to move forward as a family to get through these problems. This time around, he wouldn't dare go back to those arguments, it's more how they're going to deal with it."

What's your take on Charlie feeling unwanted?
"I think it's just the fact that he's not getting the attention. This can happen with a lot of families when they have a child and a newborn baby in the house. It's very difficult for a young child to understand that some attention is going to be taken away from them.

"Due to the stress levels of a crying baby, the parents may not even realise that they're not giving the other child enough attention. I think there's a general atmosphere in the Osborne family at the moment where everyone feels really busy. There's so much going on that they're forgetting about Charlie."

Is Darren heavily involved in the search for Charlie when he runs away and ends up in the woods?
"Yeah, I think Darren keeps his head together better than anyone else on this one. He thinks that it's best not to stress and if they all just go out searching it'll be fine, but you'll have to wait and see whether they manage to find him."

How does Darren feel when Frankie blames Nancy for the situation?
"He's absolutely furious. With everything they've been through and the pressures they've been under, he can't believe that Frankie has got the audacity to speak to Nancy like that. Tension is brewing and it kicks off royally at one point!"

Is there any lighter material ahead for Darren and Nancy in 2013?
"I think with Darren and Nancy, the fun thing that we enjoy playing is the simple scenes. There's always a bit of comedy to be found in life itself, or even in an argument. The petty little squabbles can be serious from the inside, but I think for the viewers they can be quite witty and fun. I think it's good to bring light and shade, as otherwise it would be too depressing and dark."

With Rhys dead, would you like Darren to find a new best friend in the village?
"Yeah, it was not only Rhys but Riley as well - it was a double whammy! I think Darren could really do with a bit of male company - someone just to unwind with and talk to when he needs some help. He needs that, as Darren is not the best person to sort himself out."

Dodger's had a few scenes with Darren recently, so maybe he could take on that role?
"Yeah, I think Darren and Dodger have got very close. Darren is a bit too much of a joker for Dodger in some respects though, like when he was treating everything as a joke when Dodger was finding his dad. But then again, if Darren hadn't stuck at it, Dodger wouldn't have resolved that situation.

"I think those two characters have got a lot of respect for each other, but they're too cool to tell each other!"

A few weeks ago, Darren noticed Esther was feeling down but became distracted and didn't pursue it. How would he feel if he knew about the bullying?
"I think Darren has always got the right intentions and normally with these kind of problems, he'd go the wrong way about dealing with them. But with the young kids, he does have a fatherly role.

"There's a few times where Darren tries to help Esther and talk to her, but once again he's distracted by a phone call, or Nancy or the baby. He's always so close to maybe helping out, but he doesn't realise how serious things are with Esther. Her problems completely go under the radar with everyone because they're so busy with their own lives."

Ruby is being really horrible to Esther, but at the same time, she is grieving. Would the Osbornes sympathise with Ruby in that sense or be angry with her?
"I think the initial response would be pure anger. Ruby isn't a blood relative, but she's one of the family now and she's been with the Osbornes for quite a while. To turn against one of your own like that is despicable if you're an Osborne. I think the initial thought will be pure anger and Ruby would have a very hard time getting over it."

How are you spending Christmas this year?
"I'm just looking forward to being with my family and doing absolutely nothing for the first time ever! Normally I want to go out every night and have fun, but this year I just want to chill, see my friends and family, and that'll be enough for me!"