Dare Ella Forster (Paula Lane) say it, but after everything that’s happened, things seem to be settling down for her in the village now that everyone has got their heads around her past and now that she’s made up with Liam (Jonny McPherson). It’s a perfect time then for Emmerdale to throw a spanner in the works.
Things seem like they’re on the up now that Liam is on side and that she has a roof over her head after she lost her previous accommodation – her car – in an accident. She’s got herself a job at the vets, both Mandy and Manpreet have her back, it seems almost like Ella can start living a normal life.
Mandy (Lisa Riley) discovers Ella’s next big secret – it’s her 30th birthday. In traditional Mandy style, she puts her good heart and good intentions to good use, but there are unexpected consequences.
Ella is stunned when Mandy wishes her a happy birthday and anxious when she’s offered a beauty treatment with before and after photos. Reluctantly she agrees to it, and tentatively allows herself to enjoy it.
But her bliss is short lived as Mandy pulls a move that sends Ella flying into a spin– Mandy posts the before and after photos on social media.
Ella loses it, and not just because Mandy doesn’t catch her good side, it’s that well-meaning Mandy hasn’t even considered that Ella doesn’t want a digital footprint. In her blind rage, Ella smashes her birthday cake and storms off to the footbridge, an act witnessed by Liam. The doctor approaches and attempts to calm her down, offering to take her to her ‘surprise’ party.
Ella’s grateful and agrees for him to accompany her. With the situation de-escalated, she arrives at the party and is touched by the support of those around her. Her happiness is elevated when Liam presents her with a small star pendant.
Ella feels hurt (Picture: ITV)
Enter said spanner. All hell breaks loose when an uninvited guest arrives to cause maximum disruption – Gary, the nephew of the woman whose daughter she killed. He strolls right through the door and Ella’s frozen as he hands her a cold reminder of the life she took.
Ella flees in horror but in her haste suffers a nasty fall, where a gentle Wendy (Susan Cookson) finds her and leads her away from Gary’s path of anger and grief.
Gary’s appearance is the catalyst for Ella’s life imploding once again, as actress Paula Lane tells metro.co.uk that it ‘triggers something.’
‘I think it’s that survival instinct. She’s still really rattled by it,’ she explains. What happens next is disastrous for the vet’s receptionist.
As Ella waits in the surgery waiting room, something about Wendy’s demeanour triggers the strong emotions she’s been trying to keep repressed – perhaps a memory of June? As a result, she loses grip on reality for a second and violently attacks Wendy.
‘I don’t think she’s ever been as unhinged as she is in that scene,’ Paula says, hinting that some poor prop person had a big clean up job on their hands. She adds though that maybe it’s not as unhinged as we think, maybe it holds some deeper meaning: ‘Has she lost it? Or is she doing it for a good reason? Is she almost putting on a front?’
In the blink of an eye, she destroys everything she’s worked so hard to create, and hurt yet another person in the process. Is Ella finally unleashing the evil she’s suppressed?
