Emmerdale Alice Coulthard says the only person who can help Maisie get over Ryan... is Ryan! Is Maisie still in love with Ryan? "She hates herself and feels freakish and is disgusted by all these sexual images of the two of them together that keep playing in her head. But it’s extremely hurtful the way Ryan’s distanced himself from her and that he’s getting closer to his ex Katie again. It’s as if her feelings for him were far stronger than his were for her. It’s not at all logical, but in some ways Maisie feels as though she’s been dumped for Katie." Of course she’s ’lost’ her dad, too. Is she at all concerned where he is? "Maisie’s always been a daddy’s girl and now he’s gone. Natasha’s told her Mark’s done a runner – like he did when he left Faye. This seems plausible and of course Maisie has no idea he’s actually dead." Does Maisie blame her mum more than her dad for the mess with Ryan? "Natasha’s the only person she can blame as Mark’s not around so, yes. If she had told her Ryan was her brother all this hurt could have been avoided." Turning to drink though just brings more problems. What happens? "Maisie’s using drink to help try and blot things out. This is far too big for alcohol to be any help though. In fact, it puts her in danger when she ends up having a drunken one-night stand with a stranger. She hits rock-bottom and feels dirty and full of self-hatred – even more so than before." Then there’s trouble in The Woolpack… "After the night before she heads straight to the pub and starts drinking again. When Marlon and Bob try to stop her she slaps Marlon then breaks down in the toilet." Katie finds her and tries to comfort her. Does she tell Katie what’s wrong? "No. She doesn’t want to hurt Katie yet she’s jealous of her because of Ryan – even though Maisie knows she can’t have him." Natasha and Nathan send Maisie to a clinic. Do they force her to go? "After her breakdown Natasha feels helpless and tells Maisie she needs professional help. Maisie goes willingly. She’s so low she realises it’s the only thing she can do." Will it help? "What would help is if Ryan was willing to talk through what’s happened. He’s the only person who can help her..." Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk’s weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop
