Charity faces her tortured past
EMMA ATKINS EXPLAINS WHY NAVIGATING HER WAY THROUGH CHARITY’S TORTURED PAST WAS NO WALK IN THE PARK…
Honestly? I was nervous as hell,” admits actress Emma Atkins, as she joins Inside
Soap on the Woolpack set to chat about her alter ego Charity’s troubled past. “There were monologues to learn where I was delving deeply into her history. It wasn’t pretty, and actually very upsetting.
“Having said that, it was all so beautifully written, and a dream for me to learn. It was nice for the audience to finally be given a reason why Charity behaves the way that she does.”
We’d come to accept over the years that Charity is an out-and-out bitch, no two ways about it. However, heartbreaking scenes recently unveiled a different side to her, as Charity explained to girlfriend Vanessa that she was raped by a police officer – today known as DI Bails – when she was just a teenager and working as a prostitute.
Viewers went on to discover that Charity is hiding a massive baby secret (see right), setting the stage for a huge story that starts to play out this week – as former call girl Tracy takes a shine to the man at the root of Charity’s nightmare.
“Tracy has been asked by Bails to be the face of his campaign to take care of sex workers, and she is so flattered to be part of a wonderful project,” says Emma. “Tracy thinks Bails is fantastic – much to Charity’s dismay, as of course she knows that he is a total liar.
“Charity decides to approach Bails and tell him to stay away from Tracy,” continues the star. “It’s very brave, actually, but he fronts it out by insisting that no one is going to believe her ‘sordid little lies’. That’s when we see his true colours, and the fear that he manages to instil in Charity.”
It remains to be seen whether Charity will find the courage to speak out, but the one saving grace is her blossoming relationship with Vanessa. Their surprise romance has proven to be a hit on screen and off, and Emma is delighted.
“Teenage girls tell us that they are crazy for the story – I can’t believe it!” exclaims the 43-year-old mum-of-one. “Charity and Vanessa seemed such a random pairing, so I thought people would say, ‘This is too unbelievable’.
But why should it be? There are too many social constraints these days, so it’s lovely that so many viewers have said that they like it.
“When Michelle [Hardwick, who plays Vanessa] and I learned there would be a lesbian storyline for us both, it appeared to come from nowhere,” adds Emma. “I didn’t believe it would work myself, to be honest, as I thought Charity was just going to be a vehicle to bring out Vanessa’s sexuality. But I think the bosses saw something they liked, and it’s turned into something meaningful.”
While the journey into Charity’s past is sure to bring out a softer side to her, Emma is confident that her alter ego’s acid tongue will continue to amuse us in the same way it always has.
“I love playing someone so far removed from my own personality,” she grins. “In real life I wouldn’t dream of talking to people the way Charity does, so it’s quite cathartic to act it out! I’m so lucky with the writing, as there could come a point where people think, ‘We’ve had enough now’ and ‘How long will it be before her shelf life runs out?’.
“I’m sure that time will come, but
I’m fortunate to be blessed with such good dialogue and humour, which is important if you’re playing a bitch. Laughter is the perfect tonic!”
Charity and Vanessa seemed such a random pairing, but they really work