Leyla Harding and the d.r.u.g addiction that saw her nearly d.i.e – and son Jacob too

Leyla Harding has battled a secret (at first – it soon became pretty public!) addiction to cocaine for several years and while she seems on top of things for now, we all know it’s never that straightforward.

So, with Leyla having a hard time at the moment, the shadow of her addiction is right there and we’re worried she could be tempted back to taking d.r.u.g.s.

Her addiction cost her marriage to Liam and ended with her son Jacob being stabbed. Here’s everything you need to know.

Meena’s legacy

Meena Jutla terrorised the village for several months. She m.u.r.d.e.r.e.d Leyla’s stepdaughter Leanna on her 18th birthday, leaving her dad Liam devastated. Leyla supported Liam through the dark times, but then had her own encounter with Meena when she returned to the village.

Meena kidnapped Billy and Dawn on their wedding day and held them at gunpoint on the viaduct. She told Billy to either shoot himself or his wife – or she’d shoot them both.

But there was a bit of a struggle and the g.u.n went off. Just as wedding planner Leyla arrived after hunting down the missing couple.

She was hit by a bullet and for a while viewers even thought she could become one of Meena’s victims.

Leyla Harding: Downward spiral

Thankfully, Leyla survived – but she began to spiral downwards, though it wasn’t obvious at the time.

But then, later that same year, Suzy arrived in the village. It was clear there was a link between her and Leyla – more than them both being in the wedding business.

And it turned out, that link was cocaine! Suzy was also a drug user and she and Leyla had a few wild nights out together.

But then things changed. Suzy met Vanessa and settled in the village, despite her hiding a dark secret. She had been with Holly Barton the night she took an overdose and d.i.e.d.

Getting worse

While Suzy got clean, Leyla didn’t. She fell further into her addiction and even ended up blackmailing Suzy for a while over her links to Holly’s d.e.a.t.h.

She got mixed up with Jai’s one-time dealer Jason, and another nasty piece of work, Callum. And she eventually suffered a heart attack after she’d overdosed.

And that wasn’t even the end of it. When Jacob found out a few months later that his mum was back on the d.r.u.g.s, he took himself off to confront dealer Callum – only to end up stabbed!

In the aftermath of that, Callum wanted to revenge. He kidnapped Leyla, and then Suzy and Jacob too, and held them all at gunpoint.

Not surprisingly, Leyla ditched the d.r.u.g.s after that.

But for how long?!