STEAMY AFFAIR
SHE’S at the centre of a love triangle on Emmerdale, having a steamy affair with her best friend’s man.
But while her character Priya Sharma doesn’t mind being the other woman, for actress Fiona Wade it is a line she would never cross – because she knows the pain of being cheated on.
The 38-year-old describes it as “the worst feeling in the world”. And it makes the betrayal storyline, which features Priya and Leyla Harding’s man Pete Barton, all the more raw.
Speaking from the set of the Yorkshire soap, Fiona said: “I think women should stick together and honour each other, have that girl power thing. We should think about how other people feel.
“I’m in my 30s now and, along the way, I’ve been cheated on – and it is probably the worst feeling in the world. “A woman always knows.” Fiona would never name and shame the men who hurt her but that doesn’t make the agony any less.
While one boyfriend admitted playing away, another didn’t – but she still knew.
She said: “Whether it comes out or not, as a woman if you feel like you know there has been a betrayal – and even if you might not know all the details – it still hurts.”
Fiona can’t even imagine what it would have been like if the other woman was a friend.
She said: “I put trust above everything, so I don’t really see how I’d be able to have a friendship after that. That would be the ultimate betrayal.
“It would be horrendous, there would be no going back.”
Despite her bad experiences, the actress, who admits to having romanced a number of unnamed previous co-stars, is still hopeful she will find her Mr Right.
She said: “I am single right now. I would love to meet someone, I am ready to.
“You live and you learn through every experience. I am happy and just excited for what the future holds on that front.”
While you would think the stunning star would have potential suitors queuing up, her long hours on set make it difficult to meet the right person.
Fiona said: “People say to me, ‘Oh you must meet a lot of people’, but we work very long hours, then we come home and learn lines.
“When we go to events, it isn’t really that kind of thing.
“It is about meeting the one who is right for you when the time is right.
“I’ve got loads of time, I hope, so I’ll be fine.”
In spite of the tough work schedule and the effect on her love life, Fiona is loving every minute of being on the ITV soap.
Born in Enfield, London, to a Filipina mother and British father, she had dreamed of being an actress since she started singing and dancing classes aged three.
At school she became the victim of racist bullies – but it only drove her to follow her dream.
Just before starting Italia Conti stage school aged 17, she landed her first major role, playing schoolgirl Joanna Day in Grange Hill from 1996 to 1998.
In the years that followed, she worked as a jobbing actress with parts in London’s West End and episodes in TV dramas including Where the Heart Is, Doctors, Silent Witness and Law and Order UK.
Landing her soap role five-and-a-half years ago was the big break she had been waiting for.
Fiona said: “Emmerdale has definitely changed my life. I had been an actress