Actress Chelsea Edge and Emmerdale boss Laura Shaw have spoken out about the huge twist that unfolded in tonight’s (1 September) episode.
Throughout the instalment, we saw two maternity nurses cooing over an abandoned baby. They were worried that it was going to grow up without a parent, and were glad when it started responding to being fed.
On face value, it seemed like these scenes were relating to Joe Tate’s (Ned Porteous) newborn son, but a series of visual clues revealed that the year was actually 1999.
One of the nurses was using a brick style phone, while a poster on the wall of the hospital referred to the millennium bug.
A woman stood alone in the corridor, gazing over the child. When the camera panned across her shoulder, the reflection (using archive footage) revealed that she was Kim Tate (Claire King) – and she is the baby’s mother!
That child? The future DS Thea Ramsden.
This seemingly confirms why she’s holding a vendetta against Kim, and is determined to frame her for causing the deaths of Jimmy King (Nick Miles) and Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley) by dangerous driving.
Speaking of the storyline, Edge said: “I have loved joining Emmerdale and keeping this secret. I think it became apparent fairly quickly to the viewers that DS Ramsden and Serena already knew each other from their work in the police, but little did they know that was just the tip of the iceberg.
“The real mystery – that Kim is actually Thea’s mother – was still to be discovered. I hope that now it’s out in the open the viewers will follow the story and see how Thea’s determination and bitterness develops.
“It’s clear she’s very keen to understand why Kim, who seemingly has everything, status, wealth and power to give her away all those years ago. As to how far the apple falls from the tree… I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but there’s certainly a lot more drama to come.”
Producer Laura Shaw added: “While the viewers have been granted access to the mystery surrounding DS Ramsden’s true identity, it will be some time before Kim suspects that the child she surrendered is operating within her immediate circle.
“As Kim desperately tries to prevent Joe Tate from proceeding with Baby Tate’s adoption, the painful recollection of giving up her own baby remains vividly present. She is completely unaware that the daughter she left behind is actually right under her nose.”
Addressing a mystery concerning Thea’s father, King told Radio Times and other media: “I think there’ll be some very big scenes [to come] because of all the intricacies and all the the bad stories involved with it.
“Who’s the father? Thea’s going to want to know that. We’ve got to delve into that and go into a bit of history.”
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