Emmerdale’s Natalie Anderson tells Soaplife why Alicia and David can’t stay together...
Alicia and David Metcalfe’s marriage is set break when he stays in the village while she jets back to Portugal.
“Emmerdale holds bad memories for Alicia,” says Natalie. “She adores David, but doesn’t feel she can have a future in the village.”
How are things going between Alicia and David (Matthew Wolfenden)?
“She adores him, but she’s feeling vulnerable and cracks are starting to show.”
Why won’t David go back to Portugal with her?
“He didn’t want to go in the first place and now that his dad is in a bad way over losing Val [Charlie Hardwick], I think he uses it as a kind of excuse to think about buying the shop back and staying put.”
Does Alicia feel guilty about uprooting David?
“Yes, she tells Lisa [Jane Cox] that she feels like a failure. She has let Lachlan [Thomas Atkinson] beat her. She explains that everything she wanted was in Emmerdale once, but now it’s not. It’s a place she loved very much, but now it holds dark memories – of Lachlan’s assault, of being shot by Cameron [Dominic Power], and now Val’s death.”
How have fans reacted to news of your departure?
“I’ve had a lot of messages on Twitter. Prior to the helicopter crash, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not Alicia would be dying. The support people have shown me and my on-screen family has been amazing.”
What has been your favourite storyline?
“There have been so many. I loved the whole David/Alicia/Priya [Fiona Wade] love triangle as it was written very much like an American sitcom and you don’t get to play that heightened silliness often.”
What are you going to do next?
“I want to try and get a holiday and spend some time with my lovely family. I have really craved that.”
Emmerdale, ITV.
