Emmerdale star Zoe Henry and her co-star Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle, teased that the second half of tonight’s episode would plunge viewers into “darkness” with its sinister storyline. Viewers were gripped by the promise of a screening that would have them on the edge of their seats – but some proved to be distracted by Zoe’s brand new look.
The star, who joined Susanna Reid and Ed Balls via videolink from The Woolpack on today’s Good Morning Britain, looked a million miles away from her soap persona.
The most striking difference was her thick-rimmed tortoiseshell print glasses, which had fans quizzing: “What’s she got on her face?” One viewer took to Twitter to brand them “comedy glasses”, but another contradicted: “This style of glasses seems to be very popular now. I quite like them.”
The quirky fashion accessory gained plenty of attention, although it didn’t overshadow the all-important topic Zoe and Mark were on the show to speak about – coercive control. The upcoming episode will see a devastated Rhona decide to end her marriage, after tensions spill over during a dinner party with Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) and Tom King (James Chase).
Zoe told Susanna and Ed that seeing their loved up pals is “tough” as it serves as “a stark reminder of how good they used to be together”. She continued: “It’s sickening to watch, isn’t it? People in love and smooching near you when things are dire in your own relationship.
“In a way, how bad your marriage is feels magnified by everyone else’s intimacy.”
However, all is not what it seems – and the second half of the episode will show the relationship dynamics of the two couples through different eyes.
The twist in the storyline is expected to shock Emmerdale viewers to the core. Elaborating further on what’s coming next, Zoe described Rhona and Marlon as the “normal” ones.
“We’re the red herring in a way – we’re the normal couple in a way, in that we’re openly dysfunctional,” she explained.
Praising Eden Taylor-Draper’s acting skills, she stated that she’d done an “incredible job” depicting an even darker situation playing out behind the scenes.
“The way it’s done is almost invisible to the naked eye and to people around her,” she explained, adding that this “is all too common” in coercive control situations.
“The second half plunges the episode into a darkness that the other characters don’t know is there,” Zoe warned.
Meanwhile, in other Emmerdale news, fans have been left devastated by the news that popular writer Jack Deslandes has bid the soap farewell.
