Christmas on Emmerdale – Marlon loses his cool with Rhona’s ex
This week on Emmerdale, Marlon is forced to share Christmas with Rhona’s ex-husband, and the twins take Wendy’s car for a joyride.
There’s a tense Christmas in store at Smithy Cottage this week, as Rhona (Zoe Henry) and Marlon (Mark Charnock) host their unexpected houseguests over the festive season.
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Rhona’s mother Mary (Louise Jameson) has invited Rhona’s ex-husband Gus (Alan McKenna) and his newborn child Ivy to stay at the house for a short while, as Gus continues to struggle with the little one in the wake of wife Lucy’s death.
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The situation has, of course, been made all the more awkward by the fact that Ivy is actually Rhona’s biological daughter, her frozen eggs having been fraudulently used by Gus and Lucy.
Worried that Rhona was becoming too attached to Ivy as they helped out Gus at his home, Mary forbade Rhona from visiting again, telling her that she herself would look out for Gus during his grief and ensure Ivy was cared for.
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But with Gus worse than she’d anticipated, all bets were off when Mary brought Gus and Ivy back to Smithy Cottage, much to Rhona and Marlon’s surprise.
“They are really not coping,” Zoe Henry told EverySoap and other media at a press event last month. “The baby’s got bad nappy rash and Mary’s thinking ‘I don’t know what to do’. So it’s a very awkward situation the day before Christmas Eve where Marlon’s like ‘This is not happening’ and Rhona’s like ‘Oh yes it is!’ It’s great, they’re very sensitively written scenes.”
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“You’ll be surprised to hear Marlon’s not happy,” Mark Charnock tells us. “He can deal with it ‘one removed’, with them over there geographically, but now they’re in his Christmas. Marlon agrees to let them stay because Gus is all over the place, on the verge of a breakdown it would seem, and the baby’s not reacting to everything well.”
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“It’s a huge act of will on his part to accept that,” Mark continues. “And whilst he says that he accepts it, it’s like somebody’s just detonated a bomb in his world.”
Marlon finally reaches breaking point in the kitchen however, after Gus offers his assistance.
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“Marlon is quite precious about cooking Christmas dinner,” Mark states. “And Gus… likes to cook…”
As the two clash with their opposing culinary views, Marlon takes off his apron, hands it over to Gus and storms out.
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It’s down to Paddy (Dominic Brunt) to talk Marlon down, reminding him that Gus is grieving, and Marlon is eventually convinced to apologise and save their Christmas celebrations.
Gus is taken aback by the spectacular dinner Marlon eventually serves up, and as they all raise a toast to their loved ones, it seems that Christmas is back on track. But how long will it last…?
“Rhona is treading a really fine line because she’s got exactly what she wants, all three of her children in one place,” Zoe explains. “But her husband is unhappy… her ex-husband is unhappy. She’s trying to kind of spin plates and keep everybody from falling apart and losing their sh*t.”
Over at Butlers Farm, Nate (Jurell Carter), Tracy (Amy Walsh) and Caleb (Will Ash) have joined Cain (Jeff Hordley), Moira (Natalie J Robb) and the kids for Christmas day. Nate is blissfully unaware that his wife has been having a sordid affair with his uncle Caleb, with the pair sharing a charged moment together whilst no-one’s watching.
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Caleb and Tracy finally get some alone time when the rest of the family head out and they stay behind to look after the kids. One things leads to another and it’s not long before the two are kissing on the sofa. But they’re horrified when someone comes back unexpectedly and catches them red-handed!
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Over at the B&B, Heath and Cathy (Sebastian and Gabrielle Dowling), along with Angelica (Rebecca Bakes) are hoping to spend their New Year’s Eve at a party in Hotten. But their only issue is actually getting there, with the twins’ dad Bob (Tony Audenshaw) unexpectedly snowed under.
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“Bob’s looking forward to a normal new year,” Tony explains to us during the press event. “And all of a sudden Nicola decides that she’s going to invite a load of councillors over to the B&B because she wants to suss out if she’s going to run for mayor or not. She doesn’t tell Bob until the day. So all his plans of what he was going to do, a romantic night or whatever, are blown out of the water and she puts him in charge of food.”
“The kids want to go to this party in Hotten, the Metropolis,” Tony continues. “But Bob is up to his ears with everything, and Brenda just wants a nice, quiet sherry.”
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The kids are asked to be on standby for if they’re needed to serve drinks at the event, but when an overstretched Bob later summons them, they’re nowhere to be seen.
Little does Bob realise that the teens have made their escape, and have taken Wendy’s (Susan Cookson) car keys with them. As Cathy drives off Hotten-bound, with Heath and Angelica as passengers, will the teens be okay?
“It’s unclear whether Bob actually knows that Cathy can drive,” Tony admits. “This is something that Scott has taught her whilst they’ve been up in the Lake District. It’s a natural thing when you’re 16/17 and you’ve got your own land.”
Cathy has of course had quite a traumatic year as she’s suffered with the effects of her PMDD, and Tony is relishing the fact that the twins have had some meaty storylines to work with.
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“The kids have been here since they were born, and it doesn’t seem that long ago that we were up on the moors shooting the scenes where they were born,” Tony enthuses. “Obviously it’s nearly 17 years ago now!”
“It’s been their life since they were babies. They don’t know any different, whereas we can come into a show after 30-40 years of our lives. It’s extraordinary that they’re real twins, playing twins, and the two of them are fabulous kids.”
Also this week, will Harry kill Mackenzie?
Lives are on the line this Christmas, as Harry seeks his final revenge on Mackenzie.
Plus, Torvill and Dean help Belle propose to Tom
Torvill and Dean make a surprise appearance in Emmerdale to help Belle pull off a special proposal…