Emmerdale’s Emma Atkins tells Soaplife how Charity finds out she’s carrying Declan’s baby - and how Declan talks her into thinking maybe she can be a mum again. But can she?
How does Charity feel about Declan?
“She’s attracted to him. She likes his company; he has got money and is offering her a bright future. I think they’re a good match. Declan is shrewd, loving and funny. He’s a complex character, like her.”
Is she over Jai?
“She’s bitter because of what happened with Rachel and the baby. I think she’s beyond the idea of loving him and still holds a grudge.”
How does she feel about being pregnant?
“She’s horrified. All this time she’s vowed not to have another child… She’s gob-smacked.”
Does she tell anyone?
“She confides in Debbie, who’s appalled and says, ‘You can’t have this child’. At first Charity decides on an abortion and asks Debbie to go with her. Debbie says, ‘What does Declan think?’ When Charity tells her that Declan doesn’t know, Debbie’s furious with her.”
But Declan does find out… How?
“Declan stops her in the street. He sees that she has been throwing up and is avoiding him. He works it out and says: ‘God, you’re pregnant aren’t you?’ That causes a hellish situation as he has just said he loves her and he’s really desperate for a child of his own after losing Mia.”
How does he propose?
“It sort of falls out of the situation. They’re talking about writing down all the reasons why Charity doesn’t want a baby when Declan suggests they write down the names of everyone who will come to their wedding. Charity suddenly starts feeling jealous as she thinks this is more about the baby than her so she chucks him out. That’s the thing with her. She likes to test people. She wants him to want her as well as the baby.”
Why does she change her mind about the termination?
“She talks herself into having the baby because Declan says they will get a nanny and she starts to think it is doable.”
Then she has another re-think and books a termination for after the wedding…
“The reality dawns. Declan is buying Moses baskets and when Jai walks in and sees it, she realises what a hypocrite she’s being and that it can’t go ahead. She sneaks off and sees a consultant, but who knows what she’ll decide in the end…”
