'We found out we were having a girl... six days later, they were both dead' (2025)

Hollyoaks actress Frankie Jules-Hough and her unborn baby were killed on the M66 as a new campaign has been launched to help save lives

The partner of a pregnant ex-Hollyoaks star who died in a horrific crash has spoken of his grief - as her young son and nephew have launched a new campaign to help save lives.

Actress Frankie Jules-Hough, 38, died along with her unborn daughter Neeve in May 2023 after Adil Iqbal, then 22, lost control of his dad's BMW on the M66, having filmed himself driving at speeds of up to 123mph.

He smashed into the mum-of-two's Skoda Fabia on the hard shoulder near Bury where she was parked after sustaining a puncture.

Her two sons and nephew, who all survived, were also in the car. Frankie, who was seventeen weeks pregnant, suffered fatal brain injuries and died two days later.

Frankie's partner, Calvin Buckley, 40 – Neeve's father – has now spoken out about the moment he heard about the crash and when doctors told him his partner and unborn baby wouldn't survive.

'I told her I loved her and never saw her again'

On the day of the crash, Frankie was looking after her nephew while her sister was at work, and was dropping off Tommy at his dad's house.

"We said goodbye, I told her I loved her and I never saw her again," Calvin recalls.

"Thirty minutes later, I received a call to say she had been in a crash and wasn't conscious. My first thought was that she had lost the baby. The traffic was snarled up when I reached the motorway, I just got out of the car and ran as fast as I could, it felt as though I was running forever.

"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."

Frankie was taken by air ambulance to Preston Hospital, but doctors warned the family that her brain injuries were so bad it was unlikely she would survive. Neeve still had a heartbeat, and had managed to escape any injury – but she would only survive if Frankie did.

"That was utterly heart-breaking to hear," says Calvin. "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.

"I stayed with Frankie for two days, holding her hand, but she couldn't fight any longer – and when she died, Neeve wasn't strong enough to survive on her own.

"It still doesn't seem real, it's a nightmare that I play over and over in my mind.

"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.

"It was the most unimaginably cruel situation. We were praying for the boys to wake up, but knew that when they did we would have to tell them Frankie and Neeve were gone.

"One minute, we had a family home, Frankie, me, the boys and we were so excited for Neeve to make it complete. Now, the boys are living with their dads, and I wake up to a much quieter house every morning. It's a completely senseless tragedy."

Originally jailed for 12 years, Iqbal's jail term was increased to 15 years after three appeal judges concluded his original sentence was unduly lenient. Iqbal, of Accrington, Lancashire, who worked in a gym, also had his 13 year driving ban increased to 15.

Boys seriously injured in crash now helping save lives

Now Frankie's son Tommy Spencer, nine, and nephew Tobias Welby, six, who both suffered brain injuries and spent weeks in intensive care after the crash, have helped design a road safety programme and colourful characters to teach young children about keeping families safe on the roads.

Calvin and Frankie's dad Frank, 62, are taking their creations into schools, and creating an app with the characters to be used by schools across the country.

Frankie's son Tommy has designed four characters that make up part of the campaign called Stop, Think, Clunk and Click, while Tobias has designed a character called 'Roadbot'.

Calvin says: "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.

"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."

Frankie rose to fame playing fan favourite Jess Holt in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks between 2000 and 2001 and was involved in several major storylines - including when Jess' ex burned down the village pub with her inside. Her exit story involved her fleeing the country after pushing the abusive drug dealer from the balcony of the Loft nightclub.

She then appeared in several episodes of the crime drama Wire in the Blood, before leaving acting to focus on her true passion - working with children.

Calvin, who had known her at college but reconnected and became her partner in 2020, says: "We were over the moon to be expecting a baby together. We held a gender reveal party, and Frankie cried when she found out we were having a girl. She said her family was finally going to be complete.

"That day is one of my most precious and treasured memories of her and our family. Six days later, they were both dead."

'We want to remember them in a positive way'

Former gymnastics coach Calvin now works full-time for Frankie and Neeve's Road Safety Academy, alongside Frankie's dad, Frank. The charity was set up in her and Neeve's memory, to "revolutionise" road safety education.

He says: "The whole family has been through something so unimaginably heart-breaking. We all felt lost after Frankie and Neeve died, but wanted to remember them in a positive way."

And taking the road safety programme into schools has been a great success. "It's so amazing to have children so engaged learning about road safety," says Calvin. "At the end of the session, they can all remember the rules they've learned about using phones while driving and wearing seatbelts, and car seats.

"We're teaching children about keeping themselves safe and how their parents need to keep them safe. If a parent is using a phone at the wheel, we want that five-year-old to turn around and say, 'You're not keeping us safe'. That's more powerful than any other warning.

"We are determined to stop other families from going through what we went through. Through the work we're doing together, I feel as though we are doing something to keep Frankie and Neeve's memory alive."

"Frankie would want what happened to make a difference."