Emmerdale actress Fiona Wade has revealed how people expect her to be just like Priya, with one ex-boyfriend even suggesting she should be more like her!

Emmerdale actress Fiona Wade has revealed how people expect her to be more like her on-screen character Priya, with one ex-boyfriend even suggesting Fiona should be more like her alter-ego.

Fiona has played flirty Priya for six years, and in that time her love live has been at the centre of more than a few shocking storylines.

Since she joined the show, Priya’s been in a wedding dress three times, although she’s only made it up the aisle once.

The latest – an affair with her best friend Leyla’s fiancé Pete – comes to a head this Wednesday when the couple’s wedding is due to take place.

It’s a will-they-won’t-they drama that’s had fans gripped for weeks, and hasn’t exactly shown Priya in her best light, but speaking to the Daily Mirror, Fiona was quick to jump to her character’s defence.

She said: "Pete needs to take his share of the blame too! It’s so often all blamed on the girl in this situation.

"He hasn’t taken much of the responsibility so far. In some ways I sympathise with Priya because I know her so well, but I also just want to give her a good shake. There is no excuse for what she’s doing to her best mate."

Fiona was keen to point out that her personality is nothing like that of her on-screen alter-ego, but that doesn't stop people from mistaking her for Priya when she's out.

She said: "Priya’s much more glamorous than me. She’s a power dresser, whereas I’m more chilled out.

"People call out Priya in the street – I feel like I have two names! But we’re in people’s homes every night and it can be real to them.

"They aren’t shy about telling me what they think of Priya – especially when it comes to her love life."

Leyla proposes to Pete, still in the dark about him sleeping with her 'best friend' Priya in Emmerdale

It's a week of shockers in the Dales… Leyla pops the question to Pete, but will she find out he's cheated on her with her so-called best mate Priya? At the Woolpack, Ross gets in a punch up with his lover Jools' husband Roger. Chrissie meets up with a client who's calling himself Simon, but is really called Tim and is her biological uncle! Dan throws a surprise party for Kerry's 40th during which Frank puts Megan on the spot…

But the burning question is – will Pete say yes?

A cancelled wedding gives Leyla an opportunity…

Pete is gobsmacked when his girlfriend suddenly proposes!

As Leyla goes down on one knee, will her love-cheat boyfriend accept her proposal?

Meanwhile, Dan throws a surprise party for Kerry's 40th… but will it hit the right note?

Frank wants to know if Megan will take him back following the revelation that he slept with Charity…

Priya wants to know why Nell missed her important meeting with Social Services. Nell's response sends Priya reeling…

Ross has an angry husband on his case when Jools' hubby turns up at the Woolie and finds the pair together…

Jools tries to keep her lover Ross and her husband Roger apart…

But a surge of testosterone results in the men having a punch up!

Elsewhere, Megan thinks she's meeting a client called Simon, but in actual fact this man is her bona fide uncle, Tim!

Lawrence has had a tip-off that Tim is on the scene. When he crashes his meeting with Chrissie, who doesn't realise she's with her uncle, will Lawrence expose the secret?Watch Emmerdale on ITV from Monday 17 July.

Rakesh's money troubles could jeopardise his wedding plans with Priya...

Emmerdale’s cougar-cub romance between Vanessa and Kirin is over. But it looks like Kirin has another older woman in his sights - his dad’s fiancee! Adam Fielding reveals all…

As an 18-year-old, all Kirin should be worried about is pimples and whose turn it is on the Xbox. But being a teen in Emmerdale is always a bigger drama and, right now, Kirin is struggling with the idea that Adam Barton is the father of Vanessa’s baby, not him.

“He’s distraught,” says Adam Fielding. “He wanted to invest so much in this baby.”

Will Kirin really turn his back on Vanessa? And what if he finds out the child is really his?

So Vanessa has broken Kirin’s heart?

“Yes. There’s a big trust issue between him and Vanessa [Michelle Hardwick] now because she slept with Adam. He also has a beef with Adam now. And he already has a bad relationship with the Bartons after running Moira over last year.”

He’s being really awful to Vanessa…

“Because he’s feeling so angry within himself. He isn’t really a nasty person.” 

But he dates another girl, doesn’t he?

“Well, she’s just fresh meat, really, and he doesn’t treat her well. I think he wants Vanessa to know that he’s capable of moving on. He also wants to drown his sorrows.” 

Could Kirin and Vanessa have made a go of it if Rakesh hadn’t doctored the DNA results?

“Kirin’s committed to Vanessa and, in an ideal world, he would like to be there by her side. He can’t do that now because every time he sees Adam [Adam Thomas] round the village, he’ll be reminded of what happened. I don’t think he’d ever be able to let that go. It’s a shame because I get excited watching them together. They’ve been through a few rocky patches before and always come out stronger, but, this time, things might have gone too far.”

Especially after he kisses Priya! How does that happen?

“Well, as he’s heartbroken, Kirin starts acting his age, throwing parties and jumping on other girls. There’s a moment when he’s drunk and vulnerable. He and Priya [Fiona Wade] lock eyes for a moment too long and Kirin reads it wrongly. He’s just being a fool – people do weird things when they’re drunk. Priya’s understanding about it, but Kirin’s a bit tense as he has to wake up the next morning and move on.”

What will Kirin do if he finds out what Rakesh (Pasha Bocarie) did with the DNA results?

“There’s always been a bit of tension there between Kirin and his dad and this would give Kirin a chance to bring up some of his past. When it happens, it will be big!” 

Emmerdale, ITV.

Emmerdale actress Fiona Wade says the current cast is as sexy as any in soapland right now.

Fiona, who plays Priya Sharma in the ITV soap, told What's on TV at the British Soap Awards: "I think Emmerdale is a really sexy cast. The guys, the girls, they're gorgeous. Obviously I'm not speaking for myself, I'm talking about them. They all look amazing tonight. Literally. Laura Norton (Kerry), Rokshi Shahidi (Leyla), Natalie Anderson (Alicia), Gemma Atkinson (Carly), they all look amazing." "]

Fiona said she wouldn't swap her role as Priya for anyone or anything. "I wouldn't support my part or my soap for anything," she said. "I love being in Emmerdale, love playing Priya, she's one of the best soap characters. She's just so much fun to play, different from me as a person and I like that. They glam me up a little bit, at seven in the morning when I get in, feeling really exhausted, so it's nice and they give me really lovely clothes."

Fiona teased romantic developments with Kirin Kotecha, played by Adam Fielding. "I think that's screened this week. I think he's just really upset over Vanessa, I think it's just one of those things that happen and, you know, Priya's been there for him, she's a bit of a support, so..."

The British Soap Awards screen on ITV this Thursday, May 21.

Emmerdale’s Fiona Wade tells Soaplife that now Priya has her arranged marriage, she has become anxious, stopped eating again and thinks maybe the wedding needs to be unarranged!

Priya looks like a princess in her wedding dress, Home Farm Estate is a blaze of colour and the Sharmas are thrilled to be hosting a wedding. There’s only one problem: Priya’s woken from her dream of an instant happy family and been hit by reality… “Rakesh fits certain criteria, but now she realises she doesn’t know him,” Fiona tells Soaplife.  Is she about to call it all off?

So on the big day Priya starts having doubts?

“She realises she doesn’t know any of his family members who come to the wedding. Things he is doing start to irritate her and she thinks, ‘I don’t even know you’. She does fancy him, but they haven’t even really kissed and she is wondering if that side of things will work.”

But Rakesh (Pasha Bocarie) tells Priya he loves her, doesn’t he?

“Yes and it throws her and she thinks, ‘I don’t love you back yet’.  Inside, she is worried that she may never have those feelings for Rakesh.”

She’s so worried she stops eating again…

“Yes. The anorexia rears its head. She hides her breakfast on the morning of the wedding and then she ends up locking herself in the bathroom.”

But Rakesh talks his way in, doesn’t he?

“Yes. She’s in her wedding dress and pretends that everything is fine, but he sits her down and says, ‘You’re not leaving this bathroom until you tell me what’s wrong’. She explains that she doesn’t love him yet and breaks down.”

How does Rakesh react?

“He suggests calling the wedding off. He’s a good man and he loves Priya. She knows that so she says, ‘Let’s just do this. You love me and I know you are a lovely guy’.”

So do they?

“You’ll have to wait and see!”

Should they?

“That’s a difficult one. He genuinely cares for her, but there’s a side of him we don’t really know. Priya still hasn’t found out the reason why Jai [Chris Bisson] loathes Rakesh so much. He does this look and you think, ‘Is he a good guy or a bad guy?’. I still don’t know!”

Emmerdale, ITV. Click here for dates and times.

Photos of the storyline in Emmerdale

Photos of the big storyline in Emmerdale

Photos of the big storyline in Emmerdale

Emmerdale's Fiona Wade tells Soaplife all about Rakesh, the man who could become Priya's husband - a man Jai (Chris Bisson) knows and doesn't like

What happens when Priya first meets Rakesh?

"Well, she panics because she wasn't prepared and comes to the door not fully dressed. She sends him away, but he has already made an impression. At the factory, Nicola tells Priya she must be mad to turn down a handsome man with a nice car and a good job [he's a lawyer], so Priya asks her dad to arrange another meeting."

And what is Rakesh like?

“He's very intelligent and is lovely with Amba. I guess he's the opposite to David in that he's serious and suave. He has clearly got an edge to him, and there's this history with him and Jai over something to do with falling out over business years ago."

What does Rakesh think of her having a baby?

"It doesn't bother him. He's quite happy to have a ready-made family."

Georgia doesn’t like him, though…

"She gives him a hard time but she's just being protective. She doesn't really agree with the idea of arranged marriages and thinks that Priya is rushing into things."

So, how does their first date go?

"Rakesh surprises Priya with a picnic on the green. They talk and she really opens up about her anorexia. She thinks she has blown it with him, but doesn’t realise how much he likes her."

Clearly she hasn't blown it because they get engaged!

"She thinks he is the perfect suitor and will be a good dad to Amba. He ticks all the boxes, they have a lot of chemistry. She thinks that the love will come."

David’s not happy, though, is he?

"No, he's worried because Jai tells him that Rakesh can't be trusted and he fears Priya might take Amba from the village. Priya does her best to try to reassure David that she wouldn't do that. She has built a life for herself in Emmerdale now."

Emmerdale, ITV. Click here for transmission details.

Will it be love at last for Priya when her new man, Rakesh, turns up in the village?

Emmerdale's Priya Sharma is destined to have a horror labour when her waters break earlier than expected.

The expectant mum, played by Fiona Wade, gets a shock when she realises that her baby is coming sooner than she thought, a sneak preview of Emmerdale has revealed.

Priya's waters break while she is at David Metcalfe's shop with Alicia Metcalfe (Natalie Anderson), Pearl Ladderbanks (Meg Johnson) and Leyla Harding (Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi), and her love rival Alicia has to rush into action to support her and get her some medical attention.

She is due to give birth in six weeks, but goes into premature labour in the back of a car, with only Alicia by her side.

"It's a terrifying moment for Priya because her body has been through so much between the pregnancy and her battle with anorexia. Alicia knows this could be a difficult birth, and she's a bundle of nerves," a source told Inside Soap.

"The girls are completely out of their depth - it's a nightmare. Of all the people who could have been there in her hour of need, the last person Priya wants around is Alicia. She still blames Alicia for totally wrecking her life, after all."

These scenes will screen on Emmerdale on May 16 at 7pm on ITV.

– Press Association

Emmerdale star Fiona Wade has revealed that she could have become a singer.

The actress, who plays Priya Sharma in the ITV soap, landed a record deal when she was 18 and was sent to Sweden to work with producers, but chose to concentrate on acting instead.

She told the Daily Star: "I really wanted to be a pop star and I had a provisional record deal at 18. I worked in Sweden with the producers who wrote and produced Kylie Minogue's Fever album, but it never really seemed to take off."

The 34-year-old added: "My acting was going well and so I felt for longevity that's what I should concentrate on."

Fiona can't wait for her character to give birth and meet her future screen offspring.

"As soon as I see the baby I know I'll be, 'Oh my goodness!' I can't wait, because I love babies and I do get really broody," she said.

She admitted playing pregnant Priya has made her long to start her own family.

"I'd definitely like kids of my own," Fiona said. "I can't imagine it right now - I haven't got a boyfriend at the moment, so somehow I don't think its going to happen quite yet! But hopefully it's not too far away."

Emmerdale’s Fiona Wade reveals to Soaplife how Priya finds out David’s marrying Alicia - and a scan of their baby won’t stop him. But maybe something else will…

Priya’s pretty optimistic when David goes with her for their first baby scan. Why?

“She feels like the control is back in her corner. She still loves David and she thinks seeing their baby could sway him. They’re together and he’s really engrossed in the scan and excited about the baby. She believes that it might be the thing that makes him realise it is her he loves and not Alicia.”

So she tries to kiss him?

“She gets mixed up and reads too much into the situation. She’s dressed up, feeling good about herself and is hopeful that David’s going to choose her and their baby over Alicia.”

But he doesn’t…

“He rejects her and then tells her he’s marrying Alicia. It’s the worst thing she could imagine. How awful to be jilted almost at the altar and then see your ex marry somebody else so soon.”

Then she finds out Dom knew about the wedding before her…

“She’s not happy. It’s gutting to hear that an ex is getting married, but even worse when everyone else has known. Priya realises David’s been planning his wedding for weeks when all along she thought he might change his mind.”

And now that she knows he won’t?

“It’s going to be complicated. David’s never going to be out of her life now and, if she has to, Priya will use the baby to punish him. The baby is all she has got.”