Willmott-brown haunts Kathy…
WILLMOTT-BROWN RETURNS TO HAUNT HIS VICTIM IN A NAIL-BITING SHOWDOWN…
James still believes he didn’t do anything wrong – he’s deluded”
This is the moment that horrified Kathy comes face to face with her rapist James Willmott-brown again – almost 30 years after he attacked her.
Their showdown has been brewing since Willmott-brown was unveiled as the puppet master pulling Max Branning’s strings in his bid to destroy Albert Square. But creepy Willmott-brown still has a few scores to settle before he puts his plan into action – starting with the woman he ignorantly blames for ruining his life…
“The scene where they see each other for the first time is really eerie,” shudders actress Gillian Taylforth, who plays Kathy. “All the lights are off in the café as Kathy is closing up, and James comes through the door. She has her back to him and says, ‘We’re closed’ – to which he replies, ‘Hello, Kathy… long time no see’. She’s so startled by the sound of his voice that she drops a plate and smashes it.”
For months, Willmott-brown and his family have been busy covertly buying up properties in and around the Square, with the intention of tearing them down. But the wicked fella’s agenda has been fuelled in part by his obsession with Kathy, and the events of their past.
“He feels hard done by because he served three years in prison for rape,” explains Gillian. “James still believes that he didn’t do anything wrong, and that he and Kathy were having an affair. That’s what he has told his family!”
While Kathy reels from the shock of seeing Willmott-brown again, she’s left gobsmacked when he reveals the real reason why he’s back – and suggests they put the past behind them. It’s a bitter pill for Kathy to swallow, as she realises he can’t acknowledge what he did.
“James can’t understand why she ‘told all those lies’ and says it was a misunderstanding – they should just clear the air,” reveals Gillian. “Initially Kathy feels frightened, but she does stand up to him and manages to get a lot off her chest. He’s very deluded, though.”
Viewers will have to wait to see what happens next, but Kathy is understandably shaken following the encounter, and her only choice is to explain what’s happened to Ian after he notices her behaving oddly. He’s horrified when he hears his mum’s rapist is out there, and turns to Phil for help.
Of course, Kathy’s ex recalls the nightmares she used to have about Willmott-brown when she and Phil first started dating. However, when Phil set out to track down James back then, he only got as far as his wife, who told him that the evil bloke had been sent back to jail.
But Willmott-brown doesn’t have a prison cell to hide in this time, as Phil – on the back of Ian’s news – goes off in search of him again.
Can the Walford hard man put an end to Kathy’s terror? Or does Willmottbrown still have a few tricks up his sleeve?