It’s a deal...
Gus offers Marlon and Rhona a way out of their predicament regarding Ivy…
When Rhona ran off with Ivy, the fragile trust she’d built up with her ex Gus was broken. The vet was charged with kidnap and she fought back by telling the police how Gus and his late wife Lucy used her embryos without her consent to conceive the baby.
The controversial matter is now an absolute mess and a court case is looming. But Rhona’s adamant she’s done nothing wrong and horrifies her husband Marlon and mum Mary this week when she reveals she’s going to plead not guilty.
‘The bottom line is that Ivy is her daughter,’ says Zoë Henry, who plays Rhona.
‘She doesn’t want to brand herself a criminal when she doesn’t feel like one. It’s a shock for Marlon and Mary, but Rhona is convinced she’s right.’
Good intentions
With all this stress swirling around, April decides she can’t do nothing. Turning up at Gus’, she asks him to tell the police that her stepmum is innocent.
But April’s idea backfires horribly when she accidentally lets slip about Rhona’s plea. Returning the teen to Smithy, furious Gus lays into his ex, and when Marlon intervenes, Gus ends up falling over. Having taken in the ugly scene, April flees in tears.
‘It’s a silly scuffle, really,’ says Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon. ‘But Gus falls and that gives him something to use against Marlon and Rhona and they both know that.’
Feeling as if all is lost, later Rhona can’t believe it when Gus goes on to do a 180 and suggests they work together to get rid of the guilty verdicts.
‘It’s a welcome offer,’ says Zoë. ‘It’s what Rhona wants and she holds on to it, even though, in her heart of hearts, she doesn’t believe Gus is being honest. The perfect scenario would be no Gus, but she knows that’s not a reality; she just wants to be a part of her little girl’s life.’
As Gus vows to cancel his house move and give Rhona access to Ivy, is he on the level?