Rhona struggles to cope
ZOE HENRY JOINS INSIDE SOAP TO REFLECT ON THE MOMENT THAT TURNED RHONA’S WORLD UPSIDE DOWN – AND WHERE HER CHARACTER GOES NEXT…
EMMERDALE | ITV WEDNESDAY
Pierce raping Rhona on their wedding day will surely go down as one of the most harrowing moments in
Emmerdale history. Some viewers have argued that the episode was too strong to be aired before the watershed, while others say that the powerful storytelling that followed was worth the risk. Actress Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona, joins us for the debate…
“I was quite shocked when I read the scripts,” admits the 43-year-old star, who’s been playing Rhona on and off since 2001. “Knowing it’s a seven o’clock show, we were surprised that things reached the point they did – and I did air my concerns. I have kids, so I get it.
“A lot of people were shocked,” adds Zoe. “It was brutal, honest and difficult to watch. But I think it was more implied than shown, and that’s how it eventually came out. Any reaction is a positive reaction, and it’s good that we’re telling this story. It’s an important topic and also a relevant one, unfortunately.”
We hear how these sorts of crimes are incredibly difficult to prove without enough physical evidence – so seeing Rhona find the strength to go straight to the police station and be examined sent out a really positive message. But Rhona was so traumatised, she was unable to name Pierce as her attacker, meaning her nightmare is far from over.
“I think this is just the beginning of it,” sighs Zoe. “It’s going to be awful for Rhona to relive her ordeal – and by that, I mean other people finding out, or Rhona potentially standing up in court one day. I wonder whether she might try to shut it in a box and forget about it.”
With the attack having taken place in Rhona’s home, we struggle to imagine how she’d be able to wipe it from her memory.
The anxious mum and her son Leo arrive home from Cornwall this week, and the poor woman is a nervous wreck.
“Rhona doesn’t know where Pierce is, and that is part of the terror,” reveals Zoe. “Is he going to be inside her house? Is he going to have told everybody his version of what’s happened, and made up a pack of lies? Rhona is unsure what to expect, and that’s what really frightens her.”
As Rhona’s anxiety eventually gets the better of her, she vents her frustration by trashing her home and destroying the wedding gifts. Will life ever be the same again?
“I don’t think it will,” says Zoe sadly. “It’s impossible for anyone to go through an attack as violent and as sustained as Rhona did without being changed and affected by it. She’s a strong woman, but I think it will be a long road if she ever comes back from it.”
While Rhona picks up the pieces, actress Zoe isn’t letting the horrendous nature of her latest plot ruin her tea – to the point where she’s even had vile Pierce over for dinner with her real-life husband and cast mate Jeff Hordley (Cain)!
“Jonathan [Wrather, who plays Pierce] stayed with us for quite a few nights during the filming of those episodes, as they were very long days and his young family lives on the other side of the Pennines,” shares
Zoe. “So you had this very bizarre situation of the man who attacked me on screen coming over for dinner! I came home on the day we filmed the attack covered in bruises. It wasn’t Jonathan’s fault at all – I just bruise really easily, and we did the scene quite a few times.
“So there was Jeff, having cooked us a gorgeous kedgeree, saying, ‘Oh, you’ve really bruised my wife today!’. It was a very surreal situation with my pretend husband and my real husband sitting at the table together following such a dramatic day.”
Rhona doesn’t know where Pierce is – that’s part of the terror