The year isn't out just yet but the start of 2023 doesn't sound like it's going to be an easy one for some of the Emmerdale residents. The ITV soap's executive producer has teased an 'explosive time for the Dingle's and a big story for teenager Cathy Hope that 'hasn't been seen in a soap before'.
Starting with the Dingles, it's not exactly been a great time for the family with the heartbreaking deaths of Faith and Liv in October and the recent imprisonment of Cain. The latter has been charged with murder after taking the blame for the shooting of former enemy Al Chapman.
As viewers know, and Amy, Moira, Mackenzie and Matty, it was Cain and Amy's son Kyle who was the real culprit. When Cain had discovered Al's affair with his sister Chas, he lured him to the barn and threatened him with a shotgun. When a scuffle broke out, a terrified Kyle tried to protect his dad and picked up the weapon, pointing it at Al.
As the pair stopped their scrapping and tried to talk Kyle down, Al lunged towards the 10-year-old and as the youngster stumbled back, he let off the gun, leaving Al dead with Cain first to be seen over the body by Al's shocked fiance Kerry Wyatt. He has since been hiding the truth and is locked behind bars.
But this Christmas, Cain's world is set to be rocked once more as his and Chas' long-lost brother, Caleb, arrives looking for answers. Meanwhile, Chas' affair is exposed and she's forced to spend the festive season with her heartbroken husband, Paddy, for the sake of their daughter, Eve.
"I would say the start of 2023 is explosive for the Dingles," Jan Hudson, Emmerdale's executive producer, told the Manchester Evening News and other press. "We've got Cain at the heart of what's happening in our village. We've got Paddy and Chas, we've got Charity and Mackenzie so the Dingles are really kicking off 2023 with a bang. It's all going on for them."
But Emmerdale fans are set to see much more from the soap's younger cast. "You get to an age with the young cast where you suddenly realise they're growing up," Jane told us. "They've been off-screen for a few weeks and they're a foot taller and their voice is deeper and you go, 'Oh my god, we need to start growing them up in the show'.
"For Rosie [Bentham] who plays Gabby, we kept her at 15 for about three years and she eventually came up to me and went, 'You do know my character is 18 now?' and we were like, 'Oh gosh, yeah. We need to grow you up.'"
Jane went on: "So you'll see a really big story for Cathy, Bob's daughter which is really emotionally and topical. It's her first big story really and it's a challenging one. I think it's one that a lot of parents will connect with and it's one I haven't seen a soap do before.
"Noah and Amelia have got their story going on. Amelia has had her baby and Noah is kind of being the surrogate father and Samson is going to be more devious than usual in terms of looking after himself and it will cause big arguments with his father. Then we've got April's story as she navigates her world with her dad [Marlon] as he recovers from his stroke."
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