Inside Soap UK 18 - 2022

“The mystery is finally being peeled away” Way back in January this year – that more innocent time when we only had all that to worry about and not all this as well – we ran a special preview for Emmerdale’s 50th anniversary year. Some of our teasers were, I admit, especially inscrutable even for us, so I’m glad that the mystery is finally being peeled away. “Leyla is nursing a secret,” we hinted. “Is she coping as well as she appears?” Well, no she ain’t, and that secret is revealed over on p8. Our Leyla has a habit, and not the kind they wear on Call The Midwife. We also promised “life-changing situations for two much-loved members of the Dingle clan”. One of those we now know is poor…

The bitter custody battle for baby Alfie ramps up a gear this week, as Abi hits back at Imran – by kidnapping bride Toyah as she prepares to marry him! Having found out that Imran has paid a shady paralegal to dig up dirt on her, in order to prove that she’s unfit to look after their son, Abi is raging. So when she spots Toyah getting into a taxi on the way to her wedding, Abi jumps behind the wheel – and speeds off… “Imran is terrified when he sees Abi drive off with Toyah in the car!” exclaims Charlie de Melo, who plays the groom. “He has no idea what Abi plans to do with Toyah, although he knows that when she is desperate, Abi behaves in an…

Though Toyah does become Mrs Habeeb this week, we can’t help but think that this union is doomed! Imran has consistently lied and cheated, and lost Toyah the chance to be a proper mum to their foster daughter, Elsie. It was a shock to us that Toyah did a complete 180 and decided to take Imran back – but that only happened once he’d suggested they team up to fight for custody of little Alfie together. So might Toyah’s desire to be a mum be stronger than her feelings towards her new hubby? “Imran loves Toyah, and he believes she loves him,” considers Charlie. “He is blinkered, really; he just has this dream in his head of him and Toyah finally having the family they always wanted. “Imran has an…

This week, Emmerdale viewers will finally find out the shocking secret Leyla has been hiding – she’s been taking cocaine with new pal Suzy! It’s after Take A Vow joins forces with Suzy’s own events-planning business to land a lucrative deal that Leyla celebrates by racking up a line of coke. Is she in the grips of a serious problem? Dales star Roxy Shahidi, who plays Leyla, tells us things could get very messy… So Roxy, how is Leyla feeling after Jai was caught with her drugs last week? She’s feeling guilty – Jai has basically lost the most important thing in his life because of her thrill-seeking. She does her best to make amends for that by helping him with his business; she can’t get him and Laurel back…

This plot twist will no doubt come as a bolt from the blue to loyal Emmerdale viewers, who’ve so far had no hints that Leyla has regularly been using drugs. But Roxy tells us that her character is a prime candidate to take centre stage in this story… “This is a really important storyline to tell,” she explains. “Quite often we think of drug addicts as either being young kids who get lost, or people that you could obviously tell are taking drugs. Whereas I think there are a lot of drug addicts who are successful, well-presented women who seem to have all the boxes ticked – nice house, nice husband, great job, good friends – but are dealing with an inner depression that they try to cope with though…

Mick faces losing his new love Janine this week as she threatens to quit Walford if he continues to avoid sleeping with her. Although their romance has become serious quickly, Janine is growing frustrated with Mick’s reluctance to be intimate with her. Despite being smitten with him, the fed-up girlfriend is convinced that something is wrong if Mick won’t take things all the way. But when her efforts to move things on fall flat, Janine confides in Billy that she’s planning to leave. “Walford’s hottest new romance is on the rocks already!” whispers our Albert Square gossip. “Janine has the guy she’s always dreamed of, but there’s nothing doing in the bedroom. Obviously, Janine rates herself as a top-class temptress, so when her usual tactics don’t work at all, she’s…