Zoe Henry has claimed Rhona Goskirk needed to be involved in Laurel Thomas' current 'Emmerdale' storyline.

Zoe Henry

Zoe Henry

The 47-year-old actress has weighed in on the ITV soap's current plot, with her alter ego clashing with Charlotte Bellamy's character over her being unsure whether to continue with her pregnancy after finding out her child has Down's syndrome.

She said: "What it does is give a full picture and balance, because actually Laurel’s story is the polar opposite of Rhona’s story that we played 10 years ago.

"You need that to complete the picture. It would have been very odd to tell Laurel and Jai’s story without including Rhona, Marlon and the difficult choices they came up against.

"There’s empathy. She understands all of the anxieties that Laurel will be experiencing. She just thinks: 'I’m glad Laurel has come to me, let me support her'. She thinks Laurel has come for advice and comfort. I’m not even sure if Laurel knows why she’s there, really. It’s happened by accident."

However, Rhona is hit hard when Laurel reveals she isn't sure about whether or not she will proceed with the pregnancy.

Zoe added: "I think Rhona takes it very personally and it hits her very emotionally.

"She feels anger and almost like it's a slight on her own choices that she made, and the fact that her own son Leo has Down's syndrome.

"She just goes into a very protective mum mode, attacks Laurel and says, 'My kid is as good as your kids', which is entirely irrational but it comes from the heart."

While the storyline - which will see Laurel and her partner Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) come to the heart-breaking decision to terminate their pregnancy - has come under heavy criticism, Charlotte has urged people to watch all the relevant episodes "before making a judgement".

She said: "I think it's important to say 'Emmerdale' aren't making judgements. They're not taking sides.

"We just urge people to watch all of these episodes before they make a judgement."

She insisted the soap always try to "give a very balanced view", and she pointed out Leo has been a character on the show for nearly 10 years.

When asked if she thinks "a lot of these concerns will be addressed" when the plot has aired, she said: "Well, 'Emmerdale' give a very balanced view.

"We have to remember Leo is a character who has been in the show for 10 years.

"He is the Down syndrome son of Marlon and Rhona. And that has been such a huge positive story, and continues to be, in our show."

'Emmerdale' have teamed up with Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) to ensure the plot is played out sensitively.

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