Inside Soap UK 44 - 2021

“What’s wrong with a bit of fairytale?” The most surprising detail of Emmerdale last week was discovering the true scale of the Home Farm estate. I’d pictured it as a Victorian house and a small wood; large enough to bury maybe a dozen bodies at most. But no! With its forests, fields, mountains, river, thunderous waterfall and treacherous rope bridge, it appears to comprise a significant swathe of North Yorkshire, perhaps as far as Narnia, Arendelle and the Troll Kingdom. If I was Kim Tate and owned all that, you wouldn’t catch me in the local village boozer, I can tell you. But what’s wrong with a sprinkling of fairytale? I’ll take it over another hospital waiting room any day of the week. Personally, I think the Meena Jutla Hunger…

A bi faces the biggest decision of her life this week – turn up to her wedding to Kevin, or bring her son’s killer to justice! On the morning of their big day, Abi admits to Kevin that she stole his money and used it to buy a gun in an attempt to kill Corey! But instead of ending their relationship there and then, he tells her that he’ll be waiting for her at their wedding venue as planned. The big question is, will Abi choose love – or revenge? “Abi knows the sensible thing is to let the police deal with Corey, so she can focus on her wedding,” points out our cobbles spy. “But she’s reckless and impulsive, so if an opportunity to get justice presents itself, she’ll…

The shockwaves from Horronation Street reverberate this week, as the locals mourn the deaths of Johnny and Natasha. Young Sam in particular is struggling with the loss of his mum, and Nick confides in Leanne that his son hasn’t uttered a single word since her death. Sam’s final farewell to his mum in the hospital was heart-breaking – and as star Rachel Leskovac (Natasha) tells us, it was gut-wrenching to film, too… Rachel, what was it like filming your final scenes with Jude (Riordan, who plays Sam)? From the moment I saw Jude, I just started crying – and I didn’t stop until they said “cut”! It was really emotional to the point where I couldn’t look at him between takes because I just found it too difficult. The bond…

Spiralling Gray tries to cling on to his remaining family this week – by proposing to pregnant Chelsea. Gray’s in turmoil as he prepares to bury his dad, amid his split from Whitney and the ruins of his destroyed career. So, when Chelsea steps in to support Gray at the funeral after Whit keeps her distance, the gesture warms the serial killer’s cold, dead heart. Later, during a tender moment between the former lovers, Gray finds himself asking Chelsea to be his wife… “It’s the last thing that Chelsea expected – she and Gray didn’t exactly have an amicable split!” coughs our Walford insider. “She also knows that he’s madly in love with Whitney, so Chelsea wasn’t even thinking about Gray as husband material. But here he is, down on…

Hi Zaraah, what’s your reaction to Gray popping the question? I was looking forward to it, but I wanted to figure out why Gray proposes. Is he really in love with Chelsea, or does he see this as an opportunity to paint a new version of himself? I also thought, “Oh no, we’re going to be like Bonnie and Clyde!”. What would make Chelsea say “yes” to him? Well, he’s got a good job, a nice home, and she feels this is where she should be now in life. I’m not sure she’s really in love with him, but there’s definitely lust there, so that would make a good start. If she knew he’d lost his job, would that change her perspective? You don’t know with Chelsea because she’s a…

There’s a massive shock for criminal masterminds Charity and Mack this week, when they go to rob rich Chloe’s family home – and come face-to-face with Kerry! It turns out that Kerry has spent the past 18 months working as a maid for Chloe’s mysterious dad, and she warns her old friend Charity that he’s a very dangerous man. We caught up with returning star Laura Norton to find out what kind of trouble wayward Kerry has landed herself in… Hi Laura – so now we know where Kerry has been all this time! How does she react to seeing Charity? She’s shocked! At first, she pretends she doesn’t know Charity because she doesn’t want Chloe’s dad to know anything about her life. Nobody knows where Kerry is, so she’s…