Emmerdale likes to throw odd couples together sometimes just to keep us on our toes. Wendy Posner (Susan Cookson) and Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and their murder mystery-based liaisons spring to mind (though we dearly wish they wouldn’t).
Al Chapman (Michael Wildman) and Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter). Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) and Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant). We could go on.
We’re currently trying to get our heads around the latest never-saw-that-coming pairing, as Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) is about to embark on a new love affair – with vicar Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin).
It’s true that Laurel has history with men of God, as she was previously married to Charles’s predecessor Ashley Thomas (John Middleton).
Laurel and Ashley were actually married twice – with Laurel marrying Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) during the gap. They went through countless soap trials and tribulations together, which ended in heartbreak when Ashley ultimately died of dementia.
Meanwhile Charles’ most recent relationship has been with Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker), the woman he previously knew as Saira when she was leading a double life while already married. They split up in the wake of the death of Charles’s son Ethan (Emile John), as Charles realised that Manpreet wasn’t ready to fully commit to him.
Laurel’s relationship with Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) has also recently floundered after Laurel grew tired of his lies. They’re currently going through a divorce which Jai is making as messy as possible.
So they’re both free and single, which is enough of a green light for a relationship on Emmerdale as any. And it’s the unlikely backdrop of the annual harvest festival which brings them together.
Laurel has some thoughts about the harvest celebrations which Charles and his mum Claudette (Flo Wilson) consider to be a bit radical for the genteel parishioners of Emmerdale. Bickering ensues, but Laurel presses ahead with her ideas regardless, leading to outrage from Charles.
It’s a classic love/hate scenario, though, as Charles and Laurel find themselves in a blazing argument one minute – and kissing the next. Shocking. There’s more bickering and more kissing, until they’re both forced to acknowledge that there’s an attraction which cannot be denied, and they head upstairs.
Meanwhile Jai and Manpreet have been consoling each other about their broken relationships. Manpreet encourages Jai to tell Laurel how he feels about her, and while doing so she realises she hasn’t quite given up on Charles yet either.
So she heads over to Charles’s house to tell him how she feels. Are Laurel and Charles about to be caught in a compromising situation?
