I didn’t hurt Eliza!
Priya's devastated when her family and the authorities think she has harmed the little girl
Rishi has put two and two together and made six
When it comes to Emmerdale characters with a propensity for violence, Princess Priya is way down the list, along with the likes of Pearl Ladderbanks and Cheryl the dog. After all, what’s worth breaking a nail for? And yet this week, she’s accused by her own family of hurting little Eliza, who’s been found covered in bruises.
It’s Rishi who gets the ball rolling. As the Sharmas wait anxiously at the hospital, desperately wanting answers as to what has caused the little girl’s injuries, he can’t help thinking about the incident last week, in which Priya lost her temper in front of Eliza and Amba.
‘Priya had a meltdown,’ explains actress Fiona Wade, who plays her. ‘She’d had a terrible meeting at work and was very stressed and very down. Amba wasn’t eating and Eliza spilled her food, and she just lost it and threw a plate of pasta at the wall.
‘Rishi walked in at the end of this and saw the disaster that had happened. Now, a few days later, Eliza has bruises, and he has put two and two together and made six.’
Priya is devastated when her father suggests she could actually have harmed her own niece, and immediately defends herself. But the seed of doubt has already been planted in his mind. To make things worse, the doctor reveals that Eliza’s bruising hasn’t been caused by an epileptic seizure, and is being treated as suspicious.
The whole family is then interviewed by police and social services, but it’s Priya who’s in the firing line when doubts emerge about her mental state and she’s treated as a suspect in Eliza’s possible abuse.
‘Everyone turns on Priya,’ adds Fiona. ‘I don’t think, deep down, that they actually believe she has hurt Eliza, but there’s a niggle, and it splits the family apart.’
Parents Jai and Megan are thrilled when they’re given the go-ahead to take Eliza home. But Priya’s torment continues when Eliza is banned from staying at Holdgate. Realising she’s still not trusted, she moves out of the house and leaves her job at the factory.
It’s clear she hasn’t laid a finger on the tot. But if she isn’t responsible, who is?