Emmerdale star Paula Lane reveals who will be Ella’s biggest support after devastating child murder shock

Emmerdale star Paula Lane has broken her silence on the tragedy faced by her troubled alter-ego Ella Forster, who has confided in the community that when she was 11-year-old, she killed her best friend Joanne.

It’s a storyline that has been under wraps since Paula, also known as Coronation Street’s Kylie Platt, made her debut at the start of the year.

As she began romancing Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and settled into a new job at the surgery, she had cautiously entered into a new life.

But fans soon knew that she had a secret, with it finally being revealed that she was jailed up until six years ago after attacking and killing Joanne in what she describes as a frenzied attack.

Now, Ella is left feeling ostracised and fears once again falling into lonely oblivion.

‘Ella is so ashamed of her past and she knows that as soon as she reveals all she risks losing everything with Liam,’ the actress shared with us.

‘Every time the truth has come out in the past, she has had to move on and start again, so it’s incredibly painful to share and know that there is no going back now.

‘I guess she feels he deserves the truth especially with everything he went through with Leanna.

Ella and Liam have developed a loving bond (Picture: ITV)

It’s a heaviness she carries all the time in the back of her mind. Pretending to carry on as normal is a short term fix and behind closed doors the guilt is very real.

‘Every birthday is a reminder of what happened and will never allow her to fully move on.’

Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) was the first person to truly give her an ear and patiently listen as she recounted her traumatic childhood and explained how it was the fear of losing her closeness with mother figure June that led to her lashing out at Joanne.

But Paula has now confirmed that another person will be her biggest ally moving forwards – Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley), who she defended from a sleazy businessman in her very first scene.

‘In a conversation with Mandy, Ella says she always had to run when the truth has been exposed,’ she explained.

‘I expect she’s experienced this reaction quite a few times and then has found herself living out of her car again

‘Mandy and Ella from day one found something in each other that just sparked. I think because the two have admitted they both have dark pasts and haven’t made the best choices in life, there is a real empathy there and protective nature for each other.’

It’s going to be quite a journey moving forward for her – and actor Jonny McPherson has all but confirmed that there is no chance of reconciliation for Liam and Ella.

‘I think this relationship is now almost definitely cooked!’ he declared. ‘I mean never say never but I would say it’s almost definitely it.

‘On multiple occasions Ella could have told him the truth. She had so many chances to open up and tell him about her past but she didn’t.

‘And just the fact she moved into his house and they were actually cohabiting. He was living at such a close proximity to someone who had killed somebody’s daughter.  So many layers of lies.  He feels utterly betrayed and very upset.

‘I don’t think there is any coming back from it. It’s quite an untenable situation now.’

That’s probably quite the understatement – but, while the characters may ripped apart, the actors have nothing but joy over working with each other.

‘Jonny has welcomed me into the fold and we have a great time on set,’ Paula smiled. ‘He makes me feel super short as he’s so tall! We both take our work seriously but then in between we have lots of laughs mainly about our dogs in real life!

‘A lot of the scenes have been very intense and emotional so it’s important to be able to shake it off and relax.’

Jonny added: ‘Paula is wonderful. And as she spent six years on Corrie she is impeccably professional. She’s great company too. She is just a brilliant actress.

‘The recent monologue she recorded, she nailed it. I watched it in the AD office just before I went home. I was choked up watching her performance. It was a masterclass.’

Can’t disagree on that score – and there are plenty more emotional scenes to come.