Eden Taylor-draper
“Belle feels she is to blame for everything”
Belle pays the price for stealing Andrea’s husband this week, as her affair is exposed for all to see in the Woolpack!
Andrea and pal Leyla have been secretly scheming about how to punish Belle and Jamie, and cook up a plot to cause maximum damage. So while lovers Belle and Jamie are planning their future, Andrea is putting the finishing touches to the plan. Soon, any hope Belle has of a happy-ever-after with her dream man is shot to pieces as Andrea takes her down.
“Belle has no inkling that Andrea knows about her and Jamie,” says Eden Taylordraper, who plays Belle. “They are in a little bubble of excitement full of sexual tension and the feeling of bliss. Belle thinks everything is going to be perfect in a few weeks, but little does she know…”
“Belle thinks everything is going to be perfect…”
Andrea wants to make sure that as many people as possible are there to witness Belle and Jamie’s fall from grace, so she picks the Woolpack quiz night to do the big reveal. Cheat Jamie and his mistress are sitting together as part of the village vets team, and are completely oblivious to what’s about to happen.
“Jamie and Belle are both quite reluctant to go to the quiz because they have things to deal with in their relationship,” explains Eden. “But they come to the decision to go anyway…
“They are having fun with Paddy, Vanessa and Charity, and I don’t think Belle knows or cares that Andrea’s there.”
Just before the quiz, Leyla insists on taking everyone’s phones so they won’t cheat. It’s a slightly odd move – and one that unnerves Belle, who has incriminating text messages from Jamie on her device.
“Belle thinks Leyla is being weird, but she doesn’t get much chance to think about it,” shares Eden. “I think if she’d had known, she would have made an excuse to keep hold of the phone and delete the messages – but she doesn’t want to look suspicious.”
What Belle doesn’t know is that Leyla has taken her phone and linked it up to the laptop with the quiz rounds. Once the incriminating texts are ready, Andrea and Leyla sit back to watch sparks fly.
“There’s a picture round which the vets are in charge of, and it is supposed to pop up on the projector screen,” explains Eden. “But all of a sudden, it’s Belle and Jamie’s private messages instead. A few seconds after it sinks in as to what’s going on, they both feel sick. Andrea begins to cry and screams at Jamie – while Belle is left feeling like a disgusting person in complete shock!”
It’s the performance of a lifetime from Andrea, who unleashes her pain and anger on both Jamie and Belle. She gives no clue that she knew
already as she wails and shouts, but worse for Belle is the reaction of her family.
“The whole pub is in shock,” admits Eden. “Ellis is there and feels so betrayed, so Belle is trying to deal with him. Everyone starts giving them both grief, which I understand, although Charity is in Belle’s corner. Belle just instantly wants to curl up in a ball and disappear. I think the reaction from the pub makes her realise what she’s actually done to a family. She can’t believe what’s happening, and feels sick to the core.”
As stunned Belle reels, the repercussions continue for Jamie when Andrea takes daughter Millie and goes missing. Her mission to expose her cheating hubby is complete, and she’s also successfully driven a wedge between him and Belle. And it’s worked perfectly – because Jamie even believes Belle orchestrated all of it!
“Belle wants Jamie to protect her and be on her side, but he does the opposite and says that she must have leaked the messages!” reveals Eden. “Belle is so hurt when Jamie says that ‘nobody else would be this crazy’, because he knows about her mental health problems. For him to throw them back in her face makes her question the person he is. Jamie shouts at her in front of everyone, and Belle is left totally alone and feeling that she is to blame for everything!”
As Jamie searches for his family, his mind reels when he discovers that Andrea has left without her purse or her car. Meanwhile, Belle tries to make her loved ones understand why she did this. As the fallout continues, has Belle’s new future been shattered?