Emmerdale star Bradley Johnson has opened up on the real emotion behind upcoming scenes and both Faith and Liv Dingle are laid to rest in a heartbreaking double funeral. Fans of the ITV soap have been left sobbing at their TV screens in recent weeks following the death of the Dingle matriarch and the shock end for Liv.
Liv's husband Vinny was left in pieces when his wife died as a result of the terrifying windstorm that swept the Yorkshire village. Liv, played by Isobel Steele, lost her life after she was unable to be saved from being crushed underneath Sam and Lydia Dingle's caravan which came lose on the adverse weather before being blown in the couple's direction.
Liv and Vinny had been trying to make their way to the Woolpack and while Vinny survived the accident and he and Liv's brother Aaron tried to move the caravan until being warned by Paddy that they may do more harm then good and to wait for the emergency services as Liv lied stuck. However, when help arrived, they heartbreakingly revealed they were unable to free her from the wreckage leading to them having to say a heartwrenching goodbye.
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And before the storm hit, terminally ill Faith decided to take her own life. The much-loved character, played by Sally Dexter, decided to die alone in her room after her family surprised her by bringing the seaside to the village in a poignant, yet fun-filled day. In emotional scenes, her son Cain managed to get to her in time to hold her as she passed.
And now actor Bradley, who has played Vinny in the ITV soap since 2019, has said filming the joint funeral of Faith and Liv was “really really emotional” because it features every adult cast member, which was a “rare sight” following the pandemic.. He said he was “really proud” of their time as a couple on the soap, but felt it was “cut far too short”.
"Since Isobel left about three weeks ago, it just felt like she was on a really long holiday," he said of her departed co-star. "But when we went to the funeral day and we saw the hearses with Liv’s name on it and the photos, especially in the coffin, it became real to me that I’m not going to be working with you again.
"I think in the short amount of time that Liv and Vinny have been together, there’s been some lovely, lovely scenes. We’ve been through so much together and conquered so much and in my opinion, it was cut far too short."
The funeral episode, which will air on Friday (October 28) at 7.30pm, will see two horse-drawn carriages carrying Faith and Liv’s coffins with the entire village coming to pay their respects. "It was so emotional," Bradley admitted. "We were doing some acting down the bottom of the village so we didn’t see everyone actually on Main Street.
"But the director came down and went right ‘Bradley, I want you to walk around the corner and as you look up you’ll see the whole cast and they’re going to throw roses as the coffin goes past.’ So obviously my head was down and the first time I saw everyone was when the camera kind of tilted round, and obviously because of Covid and stuff like that, it’s a rare sight to see every adult cast member being there.
"Obviously having the coffins there and having the hearses with the names on, it was a really, really emotional day but it should look amazing and really heartfelt."
Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw added: "We knew when we decided to do a joint funeral for Faith and Liv that it would need to be a very special and memorable funeral for two such hugely epic and much-loved characters. Having a scene featuring the entire adult cast was not something we had done before and given the funeral was taking place towards the end of our October 50th birthday month, it felt very right and fitting that we had the whole cast there to say goodbye.
"It was no easy feat for the Emmerdale production team to organise and execute and nor was it easy to shoot as the Dingles said farewell to not one but two of their beloved family, some of the tears that fell that day were absolutely real. But behind the tears and sadness there was also a celebratory feel on set.
"A feeling of pride and honour that the October month was ending with all our villagers united on Main Street, demonstrating that love and warmth and togetherness that has kept Emmerdale on our screens for 50 years."
The episode will air on Friday at 7.30pm on ITV.
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