PRIYA’S LIVING HELL

Emmerdale star Fiona Wade on how her character’s meltdown has led to a child cruelty investigation

Emmerdale’s Priya Sharma has finally cracked under the pressure of being a working single mum and after her spectacular meltdown last week, she’s being investigated by the police for child cruelty.

A moment of madness saw recovering anorexic Priya scream and hurl a plate at the wall as she blew her top when her three-year- old daughter Amba, and her niece Eliza Macey, two, refused to eat their dinner.

Unfortunately Priya’s eruption was witnessed by her father Rishi and this week, when Eliza’s mum and dad take her to hospital covered in bruises, the police and social services wrongly suspect it may be Priya’s fault.

‘Priya is really stressed,’ explains Fiona Wade, who has played Priya since 2011. ‘Her marriage to Rakesh failed after she cheated on him with Pete Barton, who was engaged to marry her best friend Leyla Harding.

‘She’s seen Pete move on and has lost Leyla as a friend and feels very alone, as a single mother struggling at work. With everything piling up, viewers saw Priya break when Eliza and Amba were refusing to eat. Rishi caught the end of it, put two and two together and came up with six, and thinks Priya’s the person behind Eliza’s mystery bruises.

‘But he’s got it very wrong. Priya adores Amba and Eliza and can’t believe anyone would think she was capable of such a thing – let alone her own father. She’s heartbroken.’

Rishi’s misunderstanding will, says Fiona, tear apart the Sharma family – including her brother Jai and his wife Megan, who are Eliza’s parents. ‘Priya can’t believe they suspect her, so she moves out and looks for a new job because she no longer wants to work at the family factory.’

Fiona adds, ‘It will prove very dif-

ficult for Priya to convince the family of her innocence. Jai and Megan are torn, and Jai especially because he loves his sister but has to be protective of his daughter as the police and social services are involved. I think, deep down, they don’t believe it, but there’s a niggle of doubt.’

Will the mystery over epilepsy sufferer Eliza’s bruises be solved? ‘Viewers will have to wait and see,’ teases Fiona, 38, who, although she doesn’t yet have children herself, hopes the storyline will resonate with

other working mothers. ‘Priya isn’t unstable, she’s just had a bad day. I hope all mums identify with her.’

She adds, ‘It’s great to have a storyline that’s different to what Priya’s been up to before. It was good to get my teeth into something new.’

What can viewers expect from Priya in the near future? ‘There’ll be even more drama,’ promises Fiona. ‘It’s nice to see Priya vulnerable, but I’d like to see her back to her old sassy self. She needs to find happiness again.’