HERE COMES TROUBLE!

Expect bust-ups as Bernice roars back with Liam and Kim in her sights, says Emmerdale’s Samantha Giles

Bernice arrives back in Emmerdale this week – just as Liam is about to tie the knot with Leyla! The hairdresser jets in from Australia as her ex is pulling forward his wedding date when a dream venue becomes available.

Bernice dumped her then fiancé in January last year after finding out he’d cheated on her with Leyla. But why has she come back now, and how will she react to Liam’s news? ‘Liam will be shocked and cross to see Bernice,’ says Samantha Giles, who plays her. ‘Bernice thinks Liam should be begging for forgiveness, but he won’t be falling at her feet.

‘She isn’t still in love with Liam, but as he’s with someone else, her pride is hurt. Liam got together with Leyla after Bernice had to go to Australia, and she harbours a grudge. She won’t take it lying down, even if she doesn’t actually want Liam back!’

Bernice and daughter Dee Dee emigrated to Australia in late 2019 to care for Dee Dee’s dad Charlie, who’d been injured in a car crash. Bernice and Charlie rekindled their relationship, ‘but he was having an affair with his nurse, and Bernice wasn’t having that,’ says Samantha.

And so she’s back – albeit without

Dee Dee – ahead of the birth of her elder daughter Gabby’s baby, and just as Liam was finally moving on with his life. ‘With Gabby pregnant and Liam about to get married there’s a lot to come back for,’ says Samantha, 49, who’s played Bernice since 1998.

Liam’s drunk when he spots his ex and is so shocked he thinks he’s seeing things. Meanwhile Gabby’s still furious at her mum for stopping her moving to Australia and has become close to her baby’s paternal granny Kim Tate. ‘Bernice and Gabby have some making up to do,’ Samantha says. ‘And she won’t let her daughter remain in the clutches of the Tates.’

That means Bernice is set for a bust-up with Kim. ‘I’m sure Bernice will have some feuds with Kim when the baby comes,’ she says.

During her time away from Emmerdale, Samantha, a follower of Wicca, a pagan religion that practises witchcraft, launched an online business selling spells and charms.

But she’s delighted to return to the Dales, even if Covid rules mean having to do Bernice’s make-up herself ‘It’s a nightmare; God knows what I look like,’ she admits. ‘But it’s nice Bernice was loved enough to come back – we shall see what happens!’