Emmerdale's Alicia and David are looking forward to a particularly happy Christmas as they plan to get married on Christmas Day. It’s a moment viewers have longed for and Natalie Anderson and Matthew Wolfenden, who play the pair, tell TV Times about filming the big episode...
What can you tell us about David and Alicia’s Christmas wedding?
Natalie: "It is a tiny wedding, but very pretty. Alicia is thrilled, but she is also a bit hesitant because of the situation with Priya. She is not a horrible person and wonders if it is too soon as Priya is pregnant with David’s baby and she doesn’t want to hurt her. However, she is desperately excited about it as she really wants to marry David."
Matthew: "It’s very low key. They decide it is just going to be them and Jacob plus Val and Pollard. It is nothing like the wedding David was planning with Priya, which involved lavish marquees and a budget of thousands. David and Jacob do the church up themselves and it looks beautiful."
Soap weddings never go to plan, what will go wrong this time?
Natalie: "There are some twists and turns. I always picture David and Alicia like a tennis match, where a ball keeps being shot at them and they bat it away. On the day of their wedding, they are trying their best, but all these things keep coming at them."
Matthew: "There is lots of scope for disaster. For a start, Priya has turned into a bit of a psychopath and keeps stalking David. Put it this way, a lot of things go wrong leading up the vows and you wonder if they will be able to pull it all together."
What were the Christmas scenes like to film?
Natalie: "It really got me in the Christmas mood. The church looked so lovely with all the candles and fairy lights and when I got home, I said to my husband, James ‘I could just have a Bailey’s, do you think it’s too early?’ He said it was."
Matthew: "It is weird filming Christmas in November as everyone panics and says things like ‘I haven’t done any shopping!’ It was a real honour to be given the Christmas storyline and the wedding looks fantastic. The village looked lovely too – we didn’t have fake snow like last year, but was all lit up and even though it was still November, it felt really Christmassy."
Who loves Christmas the most among the Emmerdale cast?
Natalie: "Me! I am so Christmassy it’s ridiculous. I have a box of Christmas DVDs that come out on the first of December. I actually start planning for Christmas in June. I love it. After I filmed the wedding, I went home and told my husband that we are buying all new fairy lights. Last year, it was our son Freddie’s first Christmas. I put Michael Buble on to do the tree and everything was going swimmingly until all the lights blew. I blamed James and he went through the bulbs one by one, trying to find the one that had blown."
Matthew: "It’s definitely Natalie. She is the most girly and the most Christmassy."
What do you like about Christmas?
Natalie: "For me, it’s about family, having everyone under one roof."
Matthew: "It's about the little 'uns. My son Buster is three and a half and he has just learned about Santa, so it’s going to be really exciting. Before, he was only interested in the wrapping paper and cardboard, but this year, it’s going to be lovely watching him open his presents."
