Inside Soap UK 17 - 2019

It’s great when the soaps take one little event, and spin it off in several different directions, with multiple consequences for a whole heap of characters. “One event can lead to multiple consequences!” This week’s Emmerdale shows just that, as a split-second mistake by Megan (she looks at a text while driving) leads to all kinds of trouble. The ensuing car crash sees Jamie Tate late for his vet’s interview (which plays straight into scheming mum Kim’s hands), while poor Pollard ends up hospitalised, leaving the way clear for Bear to make a move on Faith! As for Megan, she might be facing prison for her negligence – but her alter ego, Gaynor Faye, tells us on p44 that she thinks Megan might actually do all right in the clink!…

Bad boy Sean Slater makes his presence felt in Walford this week – but far from a happy return, the brooding fella is instead left reeling by a series of heartbreaking bombshells! “Sean and Jack come face to face – and fight…” The biggest wrench, of course, is that his mum Jean has been diagnosed with cancer, setting the stage for a tense and emotional reunion between the estranged mother and son. And that’s not the only drama Sean has to navigate, after he comes up against his former love rival, Jack, who delivers the devastating news that Sean’s ex-wife Roxy Mitchell is dead… “Sean and Jack come face to face, which evolves from something that is initially very antagonistic to something much more important,” explains actor Rob Kazinsky, who…

A run-in with his ex-girlfriend Ruby this week reminds Sean that he made a fair few enemies when he was last on Albert Square! After Sean is reunited with his mum at the Vic, Ruby arrives on the scene and makes it clear that there is no love lost between them. She is no longer the naive girl that Sean manipulated so easily all those years ago, and she lets him know it! However, given that Sean has – by his own admission – returned to the Square to make amends, can he muster an apology for Ruby that she is willing to accept? Or is she determined to make him pay for his past misdemeanours?…

Eric Pollard’s life hangs in the balance this week – after he’s badly injured in a car crash caused by Megan, just as he’s trying to win back Faith. Megan’s sending a text message to Frank to apologise for running late when she hits the back of Jamie Tate’s car – and he knocks over Pollard, who is rushing to the Woolpack! Although at first it looks as though furious Pollard has escaped with minor injuries, there’s a devastating twist as he takes a turn for the worse in hospital. Will he pull through and get his girl? “Just when Faith was kissing another man, Eric was badly hurt!” “It’s a horrible shock at the time, but Eric doesn’t realise just how badly he’s been hurt,” explains our Emmerdale insider.…

While Faith frets over Pollard, she may soon be worrying about her own mortality. With Kim Tate back in the Dales, there’s the matter of Faith pushing the Queen of Home Farm off that balcony last year – and Kim doesn’t seem to us like the sort of person to forgive and forget! “Maybe Kim will be a little more subdued now that she’s been pushed over a balcony – who knows?” laughs Sally Dexter, who plays Faith. “I doubt it very much, though! I really look forward to maybe Kim and Faith having some good old spats. Claire King [who plays Kim] has a cracking sense of humour – she’s just very naughty!”…

There’s horror for Leanne this week, as she’s forced to watch while her other half Nick is hauled off the cobbles by the police – and accused of being behind the Underworld roof collapse! With Nick’s business partner Carla still AWOL, officers reckon the pair joined forces to instigate destruction of the factory to claim insurance cash. So how’s shifty Nick set to fare as he finally faces police interrogation – and will Leanne support her man? “If Leanne finds out that Nick had anything to do with the factory collapse, she’ll be angry – but she’d still stand by him, no matter what he’s done,” admits Jane Danson, who plays her. “Morally she knows it’s wrong, but selfishly she has a lot to lose if she leaves him. Leanne…