Can you tell us more about Emma Barton? We know that Emma and James had a rocky marriage, they married really young and then had Pete, Ross and Finn. During that time James met his brother John’s girlfriend, Moira, and fell for her very hard. Basically, Emma saw that happening and, rightly so, was very jealous. James, rather than do the decent thing and admit there was something there, denied and denied and told her it was all in her head. What we will learn about Emma is that it wasn’t the best way of dealing with her because she does have vulnerabilities. She has a tendency to let things brew and fester. That’s why she left, but there is another secret which we will be exposing later! Pete has been hiding something about his mum that he’s never told anyone, what can you tease about that secret? Pete is the oldest one so he saw a lot of behaviours that Emma was displaying before she left. We do know that she’d had Finn by then so we will learn that there was a bit of trouble then - she’d suffered with depression, obviously there was the stuff with James. These things build and Pete saw a side to his mum that the others didn’t. Finn has this idea that she’s this dream image because he’s never met her, Pete has a much more serious view of her because he remembers the arguments and the dark goings on in the household. It means that when she comes back she’s got a much tougher audience in Pete. She’s not the only one with secrets though... When she arrives it means there are some secrets that can’t be kept anymore. The fact that James did have a one night stand with Moira, the fact that Adam was the product of that - there are things that can’t be kept hidden any longer. There are going to be some big surprises for her. She arrives with this genuine urge to get to know her children and pick up where she left off. But when you discover that the reason you left is actually true, will that anger take over? It probably will. Why has she turned up now after 22 years away? She wants a relationship with her boys, it’s what she’s thought about for 22 years. That’s the heart of her. When Emma arrives in the village, initially she comes to try and make contact with her sons after Finn finds her. He’s always wondered what the missing link in his history is, what his mum’s like and why she really left. He brings her in without realising what he’s doing. Has she had any contact in that time? When she first meets the boys, they are angry with her because they believe she ditched them, but actually, she can come up with examples like, ‘when you scored that winning goal’ and ‘When you sang that solo in the play’, it emerges that she was at the school hall, and the gates, she watched them from a far. You can imagine that she didn’t have the confidence to go up to them and say, ‘I’m your mum, let’s go’, it’s a fear of rejection. We will learn that maybe she did try and dip her toe in, maybe she did make an approach, and maybe she got her fingers burnt and that put her off. She will lean towards flight rather than fight, unless she thinks she’s in the right, and then she will fight. Will we find out if she’s had another family while she’s been away? She hasn’t and that’s one of the reasons she’s so resentful, she doesn’t trust herself, she doesn’t trust herself in new relationships, she’s hanging on to the past while not actually being able to access it. It means that when she comes back into their lives it’s all on them. She doesn’t have another husband, or kids to think about. It’s all about the family she left behind. Although she’s gone off and got a job and done other things, in terms of family, the Bartons are it. Will Emma want revenge on Moira? Wouldn’t you? I think she will want revenge on Moira. Her feelings are really complicated because her love for James was really real. Her feelings swing between anger and this memory of what they once had. Moira is definitely the scarlet woman and Adam is the embodiment of that, so he could find himself in the firing line as well. She’s got a grudge against everyone. How does James react to her arrival? I think James feels a lot of guilt about the way he treated her. When she returns he knows he has some way to go to make up some lost ground with her. What will Emma’s arrival mean for James and Chas? Chas and James are pretty strong and what I like about their relationship is that I don’t think James loves Moira at all anymore. When he first came in he really had this torch for her, when he discovered he was Adam’s father, that torch was firmly blown out. He realised that she lied to him and messed up his life. She got away with it while he had this awful time. Chas has been through a lot and although she’s strong and feisty, she’s also easily damaged and hurt. There’s a soft centre under that tough exterior and if Emma wants to prod it, she does it at her cost but it might be something that damages James’ relationship. I guess it depends on where Emma sets her sights first. Are you pleased with how the Barton family has developed? I’m so pleased with how all the Bartons have settled in, I like that they are all very different characters. I like that they’ve all built very different relationships with different character groups, whether that be Pete with Debbie, James with Chas and Finn with Victoria. It’s going to be a busy year for them.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 01:24:04 +0000
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