When Emma Barton finds out about James and Moira’s fling she takes him hostage! Will James get out alive? Bill Ward reveals all to Soaplife…
Emma Barton’s sanity is pushed to the brink when she overhears James talk to Ross about his fling with Moira Dingle. Following a tussle with his son, James falls and breaks a leg, which leads Emma to 'look after' James, Misery-style, at Wylie’s Farm and drug him…
At first, James has no idea Emma knows about him and Moira, does he? “No. He hasn’t got a clue that Emma heard everything. So after he gets his leg pinned and plated at the hospital he is quite happy when Emma says she will nurse him from home.”
But nursing James isn’t Emma’s top priority, is it? “He has no idea that she wants to keep an eye on him so he can’t go anywhere near Moira!”
When exactly does James start to worry about Emma’s mental state? “He discovers that she has been giving him liquid morphine when the cat eats his food. He is not very happy about that and tries to leave, but he slips and, in a piece of really bad luck, he breaks his leg again. He is in a lot of pain. He knows he needs to go to the hospital and Emma says she will call an ambulance.”
Does she? “No, he sees her out of the window stamping on his phone and throwing it into the nettles. James knows that Emma is mad, but he realises then that things are a bit more serious than he imagined. He tries to sweet-talk her and plans to escape.”
Is he afraid of Emma? “You have to remember that these are two people who love each other. Everything Emma does for James comes from a loving place. The lines are blurred and you are not sure who the good people are. James was unfaithful to her – again! What he does know is that his leg is in a bad way and it needs medical attention.”
What was it like filming these scenes? “Great fun. It was hard, though, as Emma and James really go at each other and there is high drama. Gillian Kearney [who plays Emma] is brilliant and has made Emma very compassionate.”
