LACHLAN’S DEADLY DILEMMA

Thomas Atkinson on whether his twisted Emmerdale character will kill to cover up his role in the fatal car crash

He already has the deaths of two family members on his conscience – but is Emmerdale bad boy Lachlan White about to take another life? Last week he caused the crash that killed his mother Chrissie and grand father Lawrence and left his aunt Rebecca in a coma. Now, desperate for his role to remain secret, Lachlan plans to silence her for good.

‘ You see him hovering over Rebecca with a pillow, holding her oxygen supply pipe,’ says Thomas Atkinson, who plays Lachlan. ‘But does he have the guts to do it?’

Chrissie was driving when Lachlan grabbed the wheel, forcing their car into the path of a lorry. He was furious with his mum for forcing him to emigrate to Australia with her and the family and leave his girlfriend Belle Dingle behind.

‘Lachlan loves Belle and wanted to build a life with her, but his family wanted to take that from him,’ says Thomas. ‘It left Lachlan in a bad state so in that instant he wanted to end it all – he hadn’t thought it through.’

He certainly hadn’t. Lachlan escaped serious injury but was left distraught. ‘Straight after the crash, Chrissie was still alive and Lachlan told her he hadn’t meant to do what he did. He was wracked with guilt.’

Now effectively without a family, Lachlan has been taken in by Belle and the Dingles. Thomas says, ‘The villagers feel sorry for Lachlan as he tries to come to terms with what’s happened – though I don’t know why with all the bad things he’s done. His arch-enemy Robert Sugden is being warmer towards him too.

‘The crash is a big turning point for Lachlan. He’s never shown remorse for anything he’s done, but after this the realisation hits him that

he needs to sort himself out. He doesn’t want to lose Belle.’

However, aside from Rebecca, there’s another smoking gun. Lachlan inadvertently left an incriminating voicemail on the phone of his old prison pal Gerry Roberts just before the crash. ‘ You can hear Lachlan saying, “We’re not going to Australia,” before he grabs the steering wheel,’ says Thomas, who’s 19. ‘On the day of Chrissie and Lawrence’s funeral, Lachlan tries to steal Gerry’s phone but Gerry grabs it and suggests they listen to the

message together, meaning Lachlan’s secret could be exposed.’

Thomas, who was born in Lancashire, joined Emmerdale in 2014, in his first major TV job after leaving London’s Sylvia Young Theatre School. As Lachlan he’s been involved in all kinds of unsavoury behaviour, including sexual assault, burglary, and shooting Lawrence, which led to him being jailed.

And he’s thrilled to be involved in big storylines. ‘I’ve really enjoyed my time here. Long may it continue.’