Chris Bisson
AND DISTRAUGHT JAI PUTS THE BLAME ON JIMMY…
“Jai is furious about social services getting involved…”
Wicked Arthur bullies Archie into running away this week, but dad Jai thinks Jimmy is to blame.
Following the accusation that Jimmy caused Archie’s bruises, the situation escalates further, as Archie slaps Angelica after she and Arthur make fun of him. Angelica’s dad Jimmy drags the lad off her, but Jai witnesses this and thinks it’s proof positive that Jimmy is the one responsible for his son’s injuries! Little do either of them know that Arthur has convinced poor Archie that everyone would be better off if he were gone.
“Evil Arthur is testing everyone’s relationships, he’s the new bad boy of Emmerdale,” exclaims Chris Bisson, who plays Jai. “Arthur is very clever, and he’s been able to manipulate Archie away from the adults, so they are completely unaware of it. Jai, Laurel, Nicola and Jimmy are only privy to part of the story.”
To be fair to Jimmy, all he saw was Archie attacking his daughter, not realising how badly she and Arthur had been provoking him.
“Jimmy’s been a bit overzealous in breaking up the fight,” admits Chis. “But he’s this big fella – when you see him and Archie together, the little lad looks tiny and terrified. What happens next is exacerbated by the fact that Archie runs away. It’s a horrid time all round!”
Manpreet discovers Archie’s empty bed the next morning, and immediately alerts Jai, who desperately starts to search for his son. And when social services come knocking, asking awkward questions about what’s been happening, the tense situation goes from bad to worse!
“Jai’s furious about social services getting involved and he fights back,” reveals Chris. “Archie is traumatised and he’s run away. Jai sees that he would be vulnerable to interventions by social services, but he’s trying his
Arthur has been clever to manipulate Archie away from the adults”
utmost and doing pretty well as a dad. They’ve come a long way since Archie first returned to the village. When the police start looking for Archie, Jai can’t help but tell them about what Jimmy’s ‘done’ to Archie previously.”
The relationship between the Kings, Laurel and Jai is strained at best, and this could destroy it completely. Chris thinks that the whole situation could be different, if only Laurel and Jai weren’t so keen to come to the defence of Arthur, who has made them believe that Jimmy is the guilty party!
“If they hadn’t decided to protect Arthur and had come clean to Jimmy about his accusation, everyone would be further along in their understanding of this,” says Chris. “But Archie and Arthur have told them explicitly that Jimmy is the problem. It’s something that can’t be overcome until the truth is finally told…”