Not guilty!
Pierce enters his plea for rape, as Rhona gets support from Paddy…
It comes as no surprise to Rhona that Pierce pleads not guilty to raping her – the vet has seen his true colours and knew he’d try and wriggle his way out of his brutal attack. What she doesn’t see coming, though, is his defence team’s plan to use their sex tape as evidence.
‘Pierce is a very clever man who knows the law,’ says Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona. ‘He knows that Rhona is ashamed and scared, and those two things give him power. He will be able to turn that to his advantage.
‘Rhona is terrified of him twisting things and not going down for rape. That man could talk himself out of literally anything.’
The stress is unbearable, and when Rhona tells Vanessa about how Pierce intends to use the tape against her, she ends up losing her rag.
‘The pressure is immense,’ says Zoe. ‘Rhona takes it out on Vanessa, but she knows that the two of them together are a stronger force because she also knows what he is capable of.’
When a worried Paddy later calls by to check on Rhona, he provides a shoulder to cry on, and Rhona’s relieved when he agrees to stay over.
But as the pair share a comforting hug, someone in the shadows takes a photograph of them.
Is it Pierce’s mum Martha’s doing?
And if so, will her meddling cause her son to escape justice?