‘Emmerdale’ bosses have concocted plans for another shock affair, as Charity Dingle and Vanessa Woodfield are set to have a fling, after a drunken incident in the Woolpack cellar.
Until now, the two women have barely spoken to each other - while Charity previously romanced Vanessa’s dad, Frank… - but when they end up being forced to spend time together in the Woolpack cellar, with a bottle of whisky in hard, things take an unexpected turn.
Speaking to HuffPost UK and other reporters at a recent press event, actors Emma Atkins and Michelle Hardwick admitted that they were stunned when they found out about the twist.
Emma, who plays Charity, said: “I got the scripts and I was like, am I on LSD or something here? [Michelle] told me in the Woolpack and I thought she was joking.
“We were just laughing and I thought actually this is really quite funny.”
“We said we’d have fun with it,” Michelle added.
The problem is, Charity isn’t exactly known for being the most wholesome and kind-hearted Dales resident - so does she actually have feelings for Vanessa, or is this just another of her schemes?
“She has not really got anyone at the moment, she is free to toy with whoever – she is just shameless in that sense,” Emma teased. “She probably does fancy Vanessa and wants to explore; she knows Vanessa is unsure of her own sexuality and is enjoying the flirtatiousness and vulnerability on Vanessa’s part, it is a bit like cat and mouse.
“I think Charity is searching for something that maybe doesn’t even exist. When you are feeling a sense of loss, it probably makes you very miserable. Maybe she’s looking to fill that hole in her life.”
Whatever happens, the kiss in the cellar will not be their first and only encounter…
“When they wake up in the cellar with hangovers, they’re left to wonder what they’ve done,” Michelle explained. “They are still locked in the cellar, and then there is the walk of shame. Vanessa then tells Paddy later in the day and confides in him.
“Vanessa is worried about everyone knowing because of her dad. Charity is the person who split Frank and Megan up, and he has always said to Vanessa that Charity is poisonous. Now Vanessa has had a little bit of a drunken kiss with her, at that point…
“Vanessa goes back to Charity to talk it out. But then she gets reeled in again by Charity – and this time it’s more than a kiss.”
These episodes air from Monday 9 October. Catch up on all the latest soap news and spoilers here.