It’s been another chaotic evening in the dales as fans of the hit soap Emmerdale tuned in to see villainous Meena enter her pleas following a string of murders that have left viewers hooked for months.
In Thursday night’s episode, Meena Jutla, played by Paige Sandhu appeared in court to address the charges made against her, including the murders of Andrea Tate, Leanna Cavanagh and Ben Tucker.
The cruel sociopath also stood accused of kidnapping and trying to murder her sister, Dr.Manpreet Sharma and Vinnie Dingle - while also attempting to murder Leyla Harding, alongside newlyweds Dawn and Billy Fletcher.
Read more: Emmerdale viewers make damning prediction about ‘vile’ Noah Dingle after cruel outburst
In a shock twist, Meena began by pleading guilty to the first of the charges presented to her - namely the kidnap and attempted murder of sister, but soon changed her tune to deny the murders that had plagued the village and strike further misery into the hearts of the grieving families hoping for justice.
Fans were quick to share their thoughts on social media about the development, with many criticising the writers for the direction the show had taken. One social media user @crackerjackpot said “Hope Meena gets free and goes back and wipes out half of the village and a few script writers as well!”
While @fifi_com08 said: “Was really hoping that Meena would plead guilty. Not because it’s the right thing to do, but because it means that with a trial this storyline is going to last even longer than it already has.”
“Anyone else fed up to the back teeth over the Meena storyline?” Complained @WhiteHartLiz
User @Kellymgk also questioned how much longer the storyline might continue. She said: “So because Meena pled not guilty, does this mean we have to clear our schedule for the next 4/6 weeks because it’s going to trial?”
“Can they just lock #Meena up already & throw away the key!!” Asked @LyndseyFitz.
“The sooner this Meena s**t is over the sooner we don't have to listen to the same conversations about her over and over again” complained user @aarondingles.
The Meena developments weren’t the only drama in the dales however, as fans were also quick to criticise young Noah Dingle for his callous and crass statements about fellow teenager Amelia Dingle.
In scenes that shocked many viewers, the cocky teen flippantly described Amelia as ‘dropping her knickers to everyone’ while talking to his cousin Samson Dingle, who was disgusted by the comments.
Fans were also less than impressed with the development, with many calling out the show for the direction they were taking the teen in. “What Noah is saying is vile but is he forgetting he is also saying this about a CHILD,” commented @Delucaevans, while making a direct reference to the fact that the character Amelia is only 15.
@Stevebethere also thought the sudden shift in personality was a very strange writing choice as he said: “Noah has had the quickest personality transplant n soap records”
Another fan also agreed commenting: “What is wrong with Noah these days?”
Meanwhile @moore95_pamela also felt compelled to point out that not everything has to boil down to sex. In a tweet, they said “Someone needs to sit Noah & Cathy down and tell them that not every teenager wants to lose their virginity before they turn 16. They choose to respect themselves until the time is right. So stop harping on, it's annoying.”
Other viewers were also concerned with how the storyline might impact on Amelia herself, with many wondering if Noah’s bullying could lead to the young girl developing an eating disorder after she was spotted in the cafe with friend Cafe, discussing ‘Slim Thick’ an article about how to achieve a slim body but with a prominent bum and breasts, in the style of Kim Kardashian.
“Don't tell me they're going to make Amelia anorexic/bulimic now? Ffs” said @penniless_poet
While another user commented “Slim Thick? Victoria Beckham?”
