A reckless decision to steal a car to drive to a party on New Year’s Eve in Emmerdale led to the death of Heath Hope (Sebastian Dowling) – and as a consequence, two of the village’s families have had their lives shattered.
It was Heath’s sister Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling) who stole the car, but at the time when the car crashed and Heath was killed it emerged that their friend Angelica King (Rebecca Bakes) was the one behind the wheel.
Now Angel is facing a custodial sentence, and her parents, Nicola and Jimmy (Nicola Wheeler and Nick Miles), are naturally devastated at the prospect.
Meanwhile Cathy and Heath’s parents, Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) and Brenda Walker (Lesley Dunlop), have had to come to terms with the loss of their boy.
Amid their grief, Bob initially blamed Cathy for what happened and his refusal to believe her or support her caused a huge amount of damage too.
In upcoming episodes the Kings brace themselves for Angel’s sentencing, with their daughter’s Youth Justice Worker warning them that she will be recommending a custodial sentence.
They’re shocked when they get a date for the hearing and it’s a lot sooner than they’d hoped. They realise that they don’t have much time left with their daughter.
Nicola confides her worries in Brenda. Things have at times been difficult between the two women since the accident because the Kings allowed Cathy to take the blame even after Angel confessed to them that she was driving. But Brenda is a warm-hearted person and she can’t help but feel empathy for what Nicola is going through.
Brenda tells Nicola she’s willing to give a witness statement for Angel, hoping that it will help her case and perhaps lead to her getting a shorter sentence. Nicola is hugely moved by this gesture and the scrap of hope it offers
Jimmy is not having such good luck talking to Bob, however. Although Jimmy makes a touching plea for Bob to forgive him for lying to him about Angel, Bob can’t see past his own pain and is unable to forgive him.
Brenda is saddened when she hears how Bob reacted and gives him some tough love. Bob’s response is to lash out at Cathy, a move he instantly regrets.
Later, Nicola and Jimmy discover that Brenda missed the submission deadline for the witness statement, so she won’t be able to support them after all.
It seems there’s nothing more they can do, and Angel’s fate has been sealed.
