New mum Tracy’s struggle
She’s already clocked up seven years in the Dales, but Amy Walsh tells us she’s as excited as ever about what’s ahead for Ms Metcalfe…
Tracy Shankley crashed into Emmerdale in 2014 as a selfish schemer trying to squeeze cash out of lonely heart Sam. Fast-forward seven years, and it’s hard to believe she’s the same woman. Tracy’s found and lost family, loved and lost soulmate David, and ended up unexpectedly pregnant by her new boyfriend, Nate. Now mum to baby daughter Frankie, Tracy’s finding life tough as she tries to navigate parenthood, which is bringing a whole host of new dramas. As we catch up with actress Amy Walsh to reflect on her alter ego’s past and chat over the present, she laughs as she remembers wondering if playing Tracy would ever get boring.
“I remember being on set early on and asking James Hooton [Sam], ‘Do you not get bored doing this for decades?’” she laughs. “James was like, ‘Bored? Never! This is the opposite of boring!’ I soon realised what he meant because we are so lucky to get to do something different every single day at Emmerdale. If I were in theatreland, I’d be doing the same show eight times a week, whereas here, I’m working on a new scene every couple of hours. It’s the least boring of acting jobs, and I just love it!”
Tracy’s life has been anything but boring, and right now, she’s having a particularly dramatic time. Being a new mum is wonderful yet terrifying, and things aren’t going as poor Tracy expected.
“Tracy always wants a fairytale, and nothing’s ever gone that way for her,” explains Amy. “She wants
“Tracy always wants a fairytale, but things never go that way for her…”
to be the best mum she can be, but keeps coming up against hurdles, all of which are very normal. Tracy is hard on herself, and I love that Emmerdale is showing how common it is for women to find motherhood difficult. It doesn’t matter how strong you are, having a baby is something you can never prepare for.”
Tracy suffers disappointment this week, when a family photo shoot is called off after Nate suffers an injury. But that’s nothing compared with the moment she finds a lump on baby Frankie. She’s understandably terrified, and rushes her little girl to the doctor.
“Anyone would jump to the worstcase scenario, and that’s how I played it,” shares Amy. “Tracy feels the lump and thinks, ‘My baby has cancer’, so it spirals quite quickly. She also thinks that she’s being fobbed off by the doctor. It’s an important story to tell, because we want viewers to know that over-worrying as a new mum is not a bad thing, and getting a second opinion from a doctor is not a bad thing. Tracy just wants to do the best for her baby, so that’s what she does.”
During these terrifying moments, it’s Nate who provides Tracy with support and strength. It’s hard to believe this couple has only been together for just over a year, and weren’t even that serious about each other when Frankie was conceived. However, Amy says that she’s rooting for the pair.
“Having a baby tests your relationship, and they are a fairly new couple anyway,” she muses. “They’ve properly skipped the fun bit and gone straight into parenting. I hope they are strong enough to make it. Tracy’s always craved a strong family unit, and she’s never had it. She thought she’d found her happy ending with David, but that was taken away from her. I’d like to see Tracy happy with Nate and Frankie.”
Speaking of David, there are plenty of Dales viewers who still hope that Tracy might reunite with her ex-husband one day. In fact, they were such a popular couple that Amy feared fans would never accept her with another man.
“I was worried the audience wouldn’t buy her and Nate as a serious couple because it all happened so fast!” she shares. “It wasn’t just the David thing, but also Covid, which meant we didn’t get a chance to establish their physical relationship [due to filming restrictions]. Then I thought, ‘People get pregnant early on in relationships in real life and make it work’. Plus, we have addressed that in the story – that it was too soon for Nate, and Tracy wasn’t sure about him as a long-term partner. They’ve developed into quite a nice couple, though, and I think there’s good chemistry between them.”
However, even Amy doesn’t rule out a David reunion at some point. She says that working with current co-star Jurell Carter (Nate) is fantastic, and she had a ball when Matthew Wolfenden (David) was her on-screen man too.
“David treated Tracy badly, and I admire that she was strong enough to walk away…”
“I always say that Tracy and David might end up like Ken and Deirdre in Corrie,” laughs Amy. “They’ll have all the affairs and marry other people, but end up back together. Me and Matthew had a lovely time working together, and I do miss seeing him every day. But I’m glad the writers didn’t just put them back together, as David treated Tracy badly, and I admire that she was strong enough to walk away.”
We love that Tracy has a backbone and a ferocious temper if she’s crossed.
Is Amy anything like her character in real life?
“I’m probably most like
Tracy when I’ve had a couple of Proseccos!” she laughs. “I’ll get more loud and brash, and say what I think more. There will be scenes where I’m screaming on the show, and people say, ‘Where did that come from?’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not as sweet and innocent as you think! I have it in me somewhere’. But I respect that Tracy sticks up for herself, even though not being able to keep her mouth shut often comes back to bite her on the bum!”