Emmerdale star Sophie Powles has described how she made her return to the ITV soap.
In tonight’s installment, Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) faces brain tumor surgery. As she is drugged and passed out, we then see what is going through Moira’s mind as she sleeps.
The first thing they see is Isaac (Bobby Dunsmuir) and Kyle (Huey Quinn) playing brain surgery at home, the game interspersed with the actual sounds of the surgery being performed. He tells Moira that he has been sleeping in the well.
Moira walked out into the sunshine and sat down to watch the children play. It was an idyllic scene, and it became even more magical when he realized he was not alone.
Sitting next to Moira is her daughter Holly Barton, once again played by Sophie.
Holly died of a drug overdose in 2016, in an episode that won widespread praise for its sensitive handling of Moira’s discovery of her daughter’s death.
In the sequence we saw tonight, Moira can’t believe she sees her daughter again and asks, ‘Are you here?’ before hugging the little girl tightly.
The writing was lovely as Moira burst into tears of joy and told Holly, ‘You smell so good, like flowers.’ Holly looked happy and healthy and told her mother, ‘I’m better now.’
After the scene, actress Sophie opened up about what her next role is, working with Natalie J Robb again, and how her life has changed since leaving the show.
‘Since leaving the show I’ve been busy. I have been traveling with my boyfriend Mark and friends. Had an amazing opportunity to help and produce him in various film projects. I’ve done a lot of theatre, voice over work and written poetry and I sell prints with my brilliant friend Emily at The Happy Newspaper.
‘The main thing is being a mother to two amazing girls. It was without a doubt the most life changing and the best thing that ever happened to me.’
He added: ‘I’m very happy to be back. Being a part of Emmerdale is just the best experience. It’s been a lifetime friendship with the cast and crew, learned a lot and has the best memories. So thankful to be back and working with my friends again on a show that I love. This was a very powerful episode and Nats and I cried when we read the scene. The writing is amazing.’
Reflecting on that day, Sophie said, “It’s so nice to be back today. It honestly feels like we never left. Natalie and I facetimed the night before to open everything up and check we were on the same page. And the minute I got back in the sitting with Natalie also in character I just slipped right back into character. The hair, make-up and costume did a great job of helping me feel like Holly again.’
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‘I really miss the show and working with my friends. As an actress, steady work is rare. I miss knowing that I will be doing what I love every week.’
She smiled: ‘I have the best memories of working on Emmerdale. I was young when I started the show. I learned a lot. Laughed A LOT and made my friends call my family. Many of the older cast and crew took me under their wings and showed me love and kindness.
Unfortunately, some of the people we know have been with us longer, especially my wonderful magic friend Kitty, Gavin’s amazing producer. I will always be grateful that I met them and for everything they did for me.’
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