A new baby, a new home and a partner suffering from dementia… Is recovering alcoholic Laurel strong enough to get through all this without a drink? That’s what Soaplife asks Emmerdale’s Charlotte Bellamy.
How does Laurel feel about moving into Debbie’s?
“It’s the house where she and Ashley [John Middleton] have many happy memories, so moving day feels really poignant. Laurel feels as if she has come home.”
But she takes a tumble…
“Laurel falls off a ladder and Emma [Gillian Kearney] checks her blood pressure and suggests she might be pregnant.”
How does she feel about being that?
“She has got so much on her mind that she didn’t think being pregnant could ever be a possibility. It turns out she is expecting and thinks she will have to abort. Even though she and Ashley are of the faith and he doesn’t agree with abortion, she knows that Ashley is going to get worse and worse and might not even be alive by the time the baby is born.”
What happens when she starts bleeding?
“She thinks she’s lost the baby and goes to hospital. It’s a turning point as she realises then it might be her last opportunity to be a mum again.”
What do the doctors say?
“They can’t find a heartbeat, but tell Laurel that she must wait for 10 days to find out if the baby is still alive.”
And she wants the baby to be alive, doesn’t she?
“Yes, she does, but it would be a massive spanner in the works. She would be a carer for a baby, Ashley, Sandy [Freddie Jones] and her kids. Could she really do that without going back to the bottle? It’s when Laurel is under pressure that she turns to drink…”
Emmerdale, ITV.
