Emmerdale killer Emma, played by Gillian Kearney, explains why Ashley Thomas’s daughter Gabby Thomas could be the next victim in her sights.
Emmerdale actress Gillian Kearney has revealed to Soaplife why Ashley’s daughter Gabby is living dangerously as she tries to make Emma pay for what she did to her dad...
What’s the story?
Young Gabby Thomas is on to Emma Barton. What’s more, she’s so angry at the way Emma has bullied her brother, Arthur, she wants revenge. But Emma’s unhinged, so how far does Gabby go to get back at her? “She plays with her mind,” actress Gillian Kearney told Soaplife. “But if you end up pushing Emma hard enough, she snaps…”
Gillian Kearney’s interview with Soaplife
Soaplife: Emma’s been so awful. Do you think she feels guilty?
Gillian Kearney: “Emma tells lies to justify what she’s done. She doesn’t enjoy it, but she has got to live with the consequences of her actions. Her faith is helping her to do that. It is both a comfort and an escape. Had she not found God, she would have dissolved by now.”
S: What is her greatest fear?
GK: “That her three sons find out her secret. She could not bear the thought of them not loving her any more or not being able to see them. That would feed into all those years when she wasn’t in their lives.”
S: What does Gabby do to her?
GK: “At first, Emma doesn’t know it is Gabby who’s messing with her head. She is getting these messages, which she thinks are from James. She finds a prayer card by his grave and thinks that it is a message from him. It is so comforting for her to think he’s watching over her as she misses him.”
S: Then she realises it’s Gabby, right?
GK: “Yes. She is really let down and disappointed. Although Emma is ashamed of what she did to Ashley, she believes she has been a good person since then and Gabby knows she is in an unstable place. She thinks it is cruel and unnecessary.”
S: Is Gabby in danger?
GK: “Well, Emma is fiercely protective of those boys and doesn’t want them and everyone else in the village to know that she killed James, so she is a ticking time bomb really.”
S: We know you are leaving soon… What’s your exit like?
GK: When I first discussed it with our producer, I was tired just listening to everything that’s in store for her. So much happens in the space of a week – desperate measures are called for.”
S: What was it like to film?
GK: “Brilliant! The darker she becomes, the more I need to laugh in between takes. I’ve been pushing the boys around and arm wrestling with them. The atmosphere on set has been great fun. The challenge has been making it all seem real.”
S: Does Emma think she should be punished?
GK: “Yes, but she is torn. She is a mixture of things. She is very fragile and capable of love, but she is also able to cross a dark and dangerous line that most people don’t. She sees the way she’s behaving as necessary for survival.”
Emmerdale, ITV
