Cast your minds back to the start of 2024 in Emmerdale, when a horrific accident devastated the village and changed the lives of several families forever.
Twins Cathy and Heath Hope (Gabrielle and Sebastian Dowling) were on their way to a New Year party in Hotten. They were joined by their friend Angelica King (Rebecca Bakes).
With no transport available, headstrong Cathy, who was suffering from an illness that caused dramatic mood swings and sometimes reckless behaviour, decided to take Wendy Posner’s (Susan Cookson) car.
When Wendy and the twins’ dad Bob (Tony Audenshaw) set off in pursuit, it wasn’t long before they came upon the scene of a terrible accident. The car had gone off the road – and Heath was trapped inside. They got him out and Wendy desperately tried to do CPR, but it was too late. Heath was too badly injured and d.i.e.d soon afterwards.
There were huge recriminations in the wake of this, with Cathy initially being blamed for the accident. Bob could hardly bear to look at his daughter as he grieved the loss of his son.
Eventually the truth came out that it had been Angelica who was driving and she was sentenced to time in a young offenders’ unit for causing Heath’s d.e.a.t.h through dangerous driving.
Angelica has recently come home after serving her sentence, but she’s had problems fitting back in as she worries that the villagers will always blame her for Heath’s d.e.a.t.h, and that she blames herself.
Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) and Jimmy (Nick Miles), her parents, have endured months of worry about their daughter, not knowing how the experience of being in custody for most of the year might have changed her.
For Bob, seeing Angelica again was hard to bear, but his raw anger at her part in his son’s d.e.a.t.h has calmed a bit over the months as he accepted that it was just a terrible accident. As Christmas and then the anniversary of the accident approaches, Bob’s mind turns to how he can best celebrate his son’s memory. He decides to organise a carol concert, because Heath loved music and loved playing the guitar.
The carol concert could be a chance for those who were affected by Heath’s d.e.a.t.h to come together. As well as Bob, Wendy and Cathy there’s also Brenda Walker (Lesley Dunlop), who was Heath’s step-mum and who was devastated by his d.e.a.t.h.
Angelica may well have mixed feelings about attending, knowing that people might still feel angry about her role in Heath’s d.e.a.t.h. Nicola and Jimmy always want to protect her from being hurt. Will they advise her not to go?
Whatever happens, it’s going to be emotional.
