2015 will start with a bang for the Barton family on
Emmerdale as Pete, Ross and Finn's estranged mother Emma is introduced to the ITV soap.
Show bosses have announced that former
Brookside and
Casualty actress Gillian Kearney
has been cast in the role of Emma, who reunites with her family after Finn tracks her down.
Speaking at an
Emmerdale press conference this week, series producer Kate Oates revealed lots of gossip on Emma's arrival and what's to come. Read on below to find out what she had to say!
Emmerdale's series producer Kate Oates
"We know that Emma and James had a slightly rocky marriage. They married really young and when James met his brother John's girlfriend Moira, he fell for her really hard. Emma saw that happening and was very jealous - rightly so! Rather than doing the decent thing and admitting it, James denied it. He told Emma that she was crazy and said it was all in her head.
"What we'll learn about Emma is that maybe that wasn't the best way of dealing with her, because she does have vulnerabilities and she does have a tendency to maybe let things brew a little bit. That's why she left and that's why that marriage broke up. There is another secret within that which we'll be exposing later…"
What can we expect from Emma's arrival?"When Emma arrives, there are some secrets that can't be kept any more, such as the fact that James did have a one-night stand with Moira and the fact that Adam was the product of that. When Emma arrives in the village, initially she comes to try to make contact with her sons. It's Finn who finds her, because he's always wondered what this missing link in his history is.
"When Emma does arrive, there'll be some big surprises for her. She arrives with this real genuine desire to get to know her children and pick up where she left off. But when she discovers that the suspicions she had when she left were true, will that anger take over? It probably will…"
Pete seems to know more about Emma than his brothers, doesn't he?"Pete is the eldest brother, so he saw some of the behaviours that Emma was maybe displaying. We do know that she'd had Finn by the time that she left. There's a bit of a troubled past with Emma there - maybe she suffered a bit of depression. Obviously there was a lot going on with her and James, and these things can exacerbate and build. Pete will have seen a certain side to his mum.
"Finn has a view of his mum where she is a dream image. Because he's never met her, she can be whatever he wants in his head. Pete has a much more serious view of Emma because he remembers the arguments and maybe any dark goings-on from that household.
"Pete is also his dad's number one boy - he and James have such a nice bond. When Emma comes back, she's definitely got a much tougher audience in Pete."
Emma Barton with sons Ross, Pete and Finn.
"No, that's one of the reasons why she is so resentful. Emma doesn't trust herself in new relationships, as she is hanging onto the past whilst not actually being able to access it. It means that when she is coming back into the Bartons' lives, it's all on them. She doesn't have another husband or kids to think about - it's all very much this family she has left behind.
"Emma hasn't been preserved in aspic. She has gone off and lived a life, done a job and done other things. However, in terms of family and heartfelt relationships, these guys are it - so look out!"
Will Emma want revenge against Moira?"Wouldn't you? I think she will want revenge on Moira. I think her feelings are really complicated because her love for James was absolutely real. Her feelings for him are a pendulum which swings between anger and her memories of what they once had.
"Moira is definitely the scarlet woman and Adam is the embodiment of that, so he might find himself in a certain firing line. Because Emmerdale is so dense and everyone is related to each other, she's got a grudge against everyone potentially!"
Will there be a catfight between Emma and Moira?"You might see catfights between Emma and a couple of people, but I don't want to rush that. I want to explore the relationship with her and the boys first. Any catfights will take a while to come to fruition…"
Emma could target Adam and Moira
"I think James feels a lot of guilt for the way that he treated Emma. When she returns, he knows that he has a long way to go to make up some lost ground with her."
What kind of impact will Emma's arrival have on James and Chas?"Chas and James are pretty strong. What I like about their relationship is that I really don't think James loves Moira at all anymore! When he first came in, he really had this torch for Moira. Once he discovered that he was Adam's father, that torch was firmly blown out because he realised that Moira really lied to him and messed up his life.
"Chas has been through a lot. Although she is strong and feisty, she is quite easily hurt and there is a soft centre under that tough exterior. If Emma wants to prod it, it may be to her cost or it may damage James's relationship with Chas. It depends where she sets her sights first, I guess!"
Are there lighter sides to Emma?"Absolutely. My favourite moment - especially when we were auditioning and Gillian came in to meet us - were the scenes where Finn and his mum first meet each other. Finn built up this reunion in his head for so long and it's the first time they've actually spoken. It's like
Long Lost Family when the reunions are really emotional and heartfelt, but then the cameras stop rolling and you wonder what happened then.
"Finn hopes it will really be that
Long Lost Family-style moment, but what Gillian brought to that when we were doing the read-throughs for the scenes was Emma's absolute heartbreak at losing everything.
"There is light and shade to Emma. She won't be a barrel of laughs all the time, but as with any soap character, we will work on her relationships and we'll build friendships. That's partly something that comes organically when you see how people work with different cast members. Hopefully Gillian will be with us for a good while and we'll develop those."
Is Finn keen to see Emma again?"At first it looks like Finn is not going to follow up on his contact with Emma, because his brothers are very wary about her. After that, the place where Emma hangs out in the hope of seeing him again is the infamous Bar West - Hotten's premier gay venue! It's actually Finn's sexuality that brings them together."
We'll also learn that Emma kept an eye on the family after she left…"Yes, when Emma sees the boys again, their anger is over the fact that she ditched them - but actually she can come up with examples of when she saw them score a winning goal in a football match or sing a solo in a school play. It emerges that she was at the back of the school hall or at the school gates.
"What we also learn is that maybe Emma tried to dip her toe in a little more than just being at the school gates. Maybe she made a bit of an approach and maybe she got her fingers burned and that put her off for keeps! She's easily afraid and her confidence is very fragile."
Can you tell us about the casting process which led to Gillian getting the part?"The process to cast a new character is quite long. With a character like Emma, we knew that we wanted actors of a certain calibre, so the list was actually much, much smaller. What sold it for me was that Gillian did two versions of one scene. She did a very heartfelt version with lots of emotion, and then she did a crazy version! It was great to see the scope that we could have with Emma if we cast Gillian.
"In my view, Emma is 90% genuine but there is 10% of her that is really angry. She is certainly not Sally Spode crazy, but she definitely has the capacity to let that festering side of her take over."
How do you expect the audience to react to Emma? Will it be difficult for them to warm to her after she walked out on her boys?"Hopefully not - I'm hoping the audience will see the mitigating circumstances. The story should be layered. There will be some things that are Emma's fault and some things that she should have done differently, but equally some things that were beyond her control.
"What's interesting is how the boys respond to Emma very differently. Ross is an interesting one for me because he almost didn't know that he needed her. He's always been this strong, independent character. It might surprise him how much he wants to get to know Emma. Hopefully people will be able to sympathise with Emma because we'll be showing lots of different angles on the situation."
What's coming up for the other characters in the village?"We can see that Belle is having a hard time and that's a storyline that we play for quite some time. We know that she is from a family that has suffered all kinds of vulnerabilities in terms of mental health. Maybe being in a young offenders' training centre wasn't the best way of dealing with a child like Belle, so we'll be looking at that.
"I've talked about
a story for David and Alicia at the top of next year. I said that I hoped it would inspire debate, and I still hope that's the case. We've been writing that lately and it's unfolding nicely.
"I'm so delighted with all of the Whites too - I think it's a really nice character group. Louise Marwood who plays Chrissie is doing brilliantly. She's obviously a new face for most people. I think she's absolutely, totally Home Farm and has slotted in brilliantly. We've got some good stories for the Whites coming up. Lachlan will definitely be causing lots of trouble, so Chrissie is going to have to deal with that."
Emmerdale bosses cast actress Gillian Kearney as Emma BartonEmmerdale boss Kate Oates: 'Katie's exit storyline is very exciting'Emmerdale: Two more characters to return to showEmmerdale producer: 'Robert, Aaron attraction is genuine'Read more Emmerdale spoilers and newsEmmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
