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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan

Emmerdale's Meena actress Paige Sandhu infuriated co-star by refusing to tell truth

Is Meena dead on Emmerdale?

It's the question on everyone's lips as we go into tonight's two explosive episodes - and one person who definitely knows the answer is actress Paige Sandhu.

Meena has been causing havoc in the village for months now and this week is no different as she kidnapped Dawn on her wedding day, shot Leyla and looked to meet her maker after a deadly bridge fall during Wednesday's episode.

When she first started working on Emmerdale in 2020, Paige was hiding a dark secret that she kept from her family and castmates.

Manpreet's younger sister seemed sweet and innocent at first but turned into one of the village's most evil villains of all time, which was always part of the plan.

Emmerdale actress Paige Sandhu, who plays infamous serial killer Meena Jutla (ITV)

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Paige was informed of the dark direction Meena would be going in from the start and had to keep it hidden from her new colleagues - one of whom would be her character's first victim.

"Yes, I knew from the very beginning where she was going to go and how dark she really is.

"It made it so much more fun to play knowing her secrets and what would unfold later."

She added: "I found out when I heard I had got the part! It was quite a big shock but I was so up for it!

"When I first started other cast members would often ask me what was going to happen to my character and I had to keep it a secret from everyone.

"I think when they all found out they were very surprised."

Paige told to hide her character’s nature from the rest of the cast, including Matthew Wolfenden, who played her on-screen love interest David Metcalfe.

"He would get really annoyed,” Paige told The Mirror last year. "He’d say: ‘Do you know what’s going to happen with your character?’ I’d say: ‘Yes, but I can’t say.’"

Meena has so far pushed Leanna Cavanagh off a bridge, confessed to killing her best friend Nadine, murdered Andrea in a maze and even tried to kill her own sister.

The murders were such a closely guarded secret that Paige and her mum were even forced to hide it from her dad.

Paige says: “When my agent told me, my mum and my sister found out because I was on speakerphone.

“My agent then called back and said: ‘Paige, apparently it’s a secret.’

“It was too late with my mum and my sister, but I thought I would be in big trouble if it came out, so I didn’t tell my dad or my other siblings. I’m still not sure whether my dad knows my mum knew about it all that time!”

Meena's victims have included Leanna Cavanagh, played by Mimi Slinger (ITV)

Paige has been surprised at how many people actually like Meena.

Despite being a sadistic killer, she has got a lot of fans and Paige herself has been highly praised for her performances.

“She has no empathy for anyone,” Paige said. “If killing again was the best way for her she would do it in the blink of an eye. She’s only just begun her reign of terror in the village and she could certainly kill again.”

Emmerdale viewers were on the edge of their seats on Wednesday night when Meena finally got her comeuppance.

The twisted villain found herself trapped with Liam Cavanagh on the same bridge where she'd murdered his daughter Leanna Cavanagh last year.

Meena is pure evil (ITV)

It looked like the doctor was going to attack her with a pitchfork before he regained his composure, but just as he was about to leave he was taunted by evil Meena.

Fuming Liam then shoved Meena off the bridge and she cracked her head on exactly the same rock that caused his daughter's death.

However, some fans believe it was Meena who set Dr Liam up and actually threw herself back onto the rocks so she could escape prison.

Whatever happens next, the drama is certainly not over as Paige teased what is to come on This Morning earlier this week.

When host Alison Hammond asked if Meena will meet her fate, Paige teased: "There are two peoples lives who hang in the balance, I'm sorry to say.

"And I can say this is the beginning of the end for Meena but there's more drama to come!"

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