Emmerdale star addresses furious viewer backlash over ‘forgotten’ storyline

Emmerdale’s Kerry Wyatt actress Laura Norton appeared to reference comments from viewers about a past storyline (Image: ITV)

With Emmerdale revisiting a major death storyline next week on the ITV soap after nearly six years, one star has seemingly referenced the backlash that came with it.

Kerry Wyatt actress Laura Norton commented on “loyal” fans of the show “not forgetting” the devastating plot from 2019, sharing this as one of her reasons she’s glad to see the show revisit it. Six years ago Frank Clayton was killed off in heartbreaking scenes, as a fire erupted at a factory.

Frank had gone in after his daughter Tracy Metcalfe became trapped inside. The blaze was caused by Kerry and her daughter Amy after they plotted to steal money from the factory, and they kept their secret afterwards.

They eventually told Frank’s daughters Tracy and Vanessa Woodfield the truth, and despite a falling out and some bad blood, the sisters agreed to stay quiet. But the secret could come out next week as Kerry faces a big decision.

She’s desperate to stop Eric Pollard from setting his shop alight for the insurance payout, and considers telling him the consequences of such an incident. But will she confess her guilt over Frank’s death?

Speaking about the twist actress Laura addressed the soap going back to Kerry’s worst moment. She said she was happy to explore it once more given how much it changed Kerry, and how much it impacted her.

Emmerdale is revisiting a major death storyline next week on the ITV soap ( Image: ITV)

Viewers have long fumed about the character and Amy getting away with the fire and Frank’s death, often calling out the characters online for their past – especially in moments where the pair have slammed other residents for disastrous actions or decisions. But Laura doesn’t seem to mind the fury, impressed that loyal soap fans “never forget” key moments, even when storylines seem to be forgotten on the show.

She made it clear that her character did still struggle with the events, even if we did not see it on screen, so fans will finally see more of this in upcoming episodes. On that note, Laura praised viewers for paying attention and remembering key moments, suggesting it helped the show to be able to revisit key storylines.

Laura said: “The fans don’t forget. They’re very loyal and they watch the show and they pay attention to the stories. And I think it’s nice because the fans remember this, and to sort of revisit it and allow Kerry to be able to tap into that and perhaps explain it. or even think about it and talk about it, is nice for them to get a sense of closure on it, perhaps.”

Laura was possibly referring to the fact viewers often bring up the storyline, quite regularly in fact, and so to revisit and put a “closure” on it might be a good thing. As for Kerry’s regrets, Laura went on: “She’s riddled with guilt and regret.

Frank Clayton was killed off in heartbreaking scenes in 2019 ( Image: ITV)

“And this is Kerry, you know, she constantly makes bad decisions and then tries to move forward and better herself to the point where she doesn’t make these silly choices that always seem to lead her into terrible consequences. She’s carrying that around, she has to live with these people in the village and see them all of the time, you know?”

She went on of the past: “She’s never spoken to anybody. It’s Kerry and Amy and Vanessa and Tracy that know. Obviously, they all knew around the same time because Kerry ended up telling Tracy, and they made the decision to keep it contained within them because there were things that happened between the four of them.

“I think it’s hard holding onto a secret like that. It doesn’t do you any good. But also, yeah, just the impact that it had on so many people that she cared about and and the fact that it was just, you know, a really terrible, horrible accident at the hands of some terrible decisions.

“It’s just completely haunted her and holding on to that secret and not being able to talk about it. It’s been really hard for her, it never leaves her.”