Zoe Henry reveals to Soaplife how Rhona takes drastic action to satisfy her need for drugs in Emmerdale...
Cut off from painkillers by her doctor, Rhona gets desperate. What does she do?
"She steals meds from the veterinary surgery's drugs cabinet… Just once and just one tablet... but Vanessa catches her."
Uh-oh. Does Rhona admit her problem to Vanessa?
"No. She swears it will never happen again and firmly believes at that point that it never will. She tells Vanessa she had a bit of pain and had had a bad day, that it was a one-off."
But Paddy notices the missing drugs and questions Vanessa. Does she cover for Rhona?
"Initially Vanessa says, ‘I’m telling Paddy’, but then she comes up trumps in terms of being a friend and doesn’t tell. That makes Rhona feel even more guilty!"
How are the withdrawal symptoms affecting Rhona?
"It’s like a roller-coaster. When she’s taken the drugs she can pretty much function like normal, but then the withdrawal starts and she loses concentration, becomes snappy, sweaty, dizzy. She vomits when it gets more extreme and finally she can't even get up and move about."
Does Rhona realise how addicted she is?
"I think she’s frightened by what’s happening to her, but doesn’t really get how bad it is. She thinks she has it under control and the reality is that when she has the drugs she is in control, but she certainly isn’t when she doesn’t have them."
She’s not at the stage where she’s ready to get help then?
"No and like anyone who has an addiction she does need to reach that point first. Right now, she’s on a downward spiral."
