Emmerdale producer Jane Hudson has hinted at a "challenging" storyline that has never been done before in soaps for youngster Cathy Hope (Gabrielle Dowling).
Jane has teased an upcoming storyline in 2023 involving Bob Hope's (Tony Audenshaw) daughter Cathy, which she believes hasn't been done before in soap history.
Last year, twin Cathy was involved in a major bullying storyline in Emmerdale as she began cyberbullying April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) and viciously taunting her over her mother's death.
Cathy eventually confessed that she was behind the online harassment and was punished for her actions by being cautioned by the police.
She admitted that she bullied April because she was jealous of her dad giving her so much attention after April lost her mum.
Now it seems Cathy will be at the forefront of another big story next year — one that hasn't been done before in the world of soaps and parents will relate to.
Jane told What To Watch: "So you’ll see a really big story for Cathy, Bob’s daughter, it’s her first big story really and it’s a challenging one and I think it’s one that a lot of parents will connect with. It’s one I haven’t seen a soap do before."
She teased some more details about explosive storylines coming to the soap in 2023, particularly for the other Emmerdale youngsters.
Jane explained: "A lot of our youngsters have got stuff coming up too. You get to an age with our young cast when you suddenly realise they’re growing up. They’ve been off-screen for a few weeks then they come back and they’re a foot taller and their voice is deeper and we go ‘oh my gosh we need to start growing them up in the show’.
"I think for Rosie [Bentham] who plays Gabby we kept her at 15 for about three years and she eventually went ‘you do know my character’s 18 now’ and we were like, ‘oh gosh yeah we need to grow you up’."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30 pm on ITV, with a hour-long episode on Thursdays — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on ITV Hub.
