Valentine’s Day will end in tragedy for the villagers of Emmerdale, as at least one person is set to lose their life when a limousine plunges into an ice-covered lake.
There are two limousines involved on the fateful night. One, won for the night in a raffle by Kerry (Laura Norton) is being used for a girls’ party night and is being driven by Charity (Emma Atkins).
In the other limo, hired by Liam (Jonny McPherson), there’s a party of some of the male characters – including driver Caleb (William Ash), who is seething about his recent discovery that his brother Cain (Jeff Hordley) – who is one of the passengers – slept with Ruby (Beth Cordingly).
It’s not long before a massive argument erupts in the boys’ limo, leaving Caleb more than distracted. In the girls’ car the situation is no less chaotic and we see one of the cars swerve off the road and on to the ice. Then the ice cracks…
As events unfold over the course of the following week, we see what happened just before the crash as angry Caleb is forced to swerve to avoid an oncoming truck.
Meanwhile Charity is shocked to see Noah (Jack Downham) suddenly on the road in front of her and swerves to avoid hitting him. Both cars crash, and in the aftermath we see that one of the cars is on the ice – and in horrific danger.
Natalie Ann Jamieson, who plays Amy, told us what happens next. ‘There is ice – there is water – there are crashes – there is just about every weather you could dream up – there is peril, there is danger – there is death and injuries. The hospital’s going to be so busy.’
The director of the episode, Vicky Thomas, described the peril that some of the cast are in – and the difficulties faced by the cast filming the cinematic scenes.
‘The story has characters in the water and all I can say is that the water in the lake was cold. It wasn’t heated and as we were filming these bits at about two o’clock in the morning, the actors involved were amazing.
‘We tended to shoot those water sequences last – so whoever the actor was could be brought out, warmed up, dried off and got home safely. I was completely in awe of anybody who got their heads underneath that water because it was not pleasant.’
As dynamic as these scenes are, we know that by the end of the week at least one person will be dead and the village will be left grieving.
Michelle Hardwick (Vanessa) is excited for viewers to see the episodes.
‘Lives are definitely left hanging in the balance. We are going to be saying goodbye to certain characters. But it will be an exciting watch and a real cliff hanger – even when I was just reading the script I was gripped and just had to keep turning the pages to read on.
‘It was like reading a fantastic book you can’t put down and I can’t wait for our audience to see it on screen.’
As to who will meet an icy, watery death in these episodes, that’s a closely guarded secret. We know that a number of cast members are set to leave the show soon, including Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi). It was reported last year that she was leaving. Could this be her spectacular exit?
Brenda Walker (Lesley Dunlop) is also leaving the show after 16 years, while Paula Lane recently announced that she would be leaving after just a year on the show playing former child-killer Ella Forster. Could either of these be involved in the tragic events?
Before we find out we’re promised high drama and quite a few twists and turns. Martelle Edinborough, who plays wedding planner Suzy Merton, summed up what we can expect.
‘Every page delivers a new twist – a new horrifying scene and it’s quite emotional. So many storylines squeezed into the back of two limos! There are crashes, ice, huge arguments and heartache. I think it will definitely pull at the heartstrings. So bring tissues…’
