Emmerdale’s Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) jetted back into village drama at the end of tonight’s epic episode to help troubled Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry).
Viewers will recall that Vanessa has been absent for the last fourteen months as actress Michelle took maternity leave.
After breaking up with girlfriend Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough), veterinarian Vanessa left Emmerdale for a dream job in Canada, taking son Johnny with her.
In Vanessa’s absence, best friend Rhona has found herself tangled in a horrific custody battle that could see her life change forever.
This week, Rhona went on the run with her daughter Ivy, a girl who is biologically her own but not legally after being conceived by ex-husband Gus Malcolms (Alan McKenna) using her frozen embryo with his then-wife Lucy (Charlotte Asprey) who died during childbirth.
Gus had initially brought Ivy into Rhona’s life in the hope she could help him care for the baby whilst he grieved, unaware she would develop an emotional bond with the girl.
In last night’s (February 8th) shocking episode, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) reflected on the lost years with her own son Ryan Stocks (James Moore) and encouraged Rhona to fight for her daughter, after Gus announced he was taking her to live in France.
Packing her bags, she fled her family home and in tonight’s (February 9th) episode we saw her hidden away in a remote cottage ignoring her husband Marlon (Mark Charnock) and mother Mary’s (Louise Jameson) phone calls.
When Gus turned up looking for Ivy, he threatened to call the police – with viewers fearing the worst for Rhona when there was a knock at her door.
In a huge twist, she flung the door open to reveal her old pal Vanessa, with son Johnny in tow, who have seemingly come to her aid.
If we were Vanessa, we’d have stayed in Canada. Emmerdale continues on Monday at 7pm on ITV1.
