I'm on the edge of my seat... will this last?

Blinded by love, widow Laurel Thomas is convinced Emmerdale's arch villain Ray Walters is The One.

- BY CHRISTINE SMITH

Laurel and Ray grow close. Left, Charlotte has been on the soap for 23 years Celia is not happy to discover Ray's feelings for Laurel

Oblivious to his drug dealing, hostage taking and modern slavery, she is convinced he is a sweetheart.

Even actress Charlotte Bellamy, who has played Laurel for 23 years, is aghast at her naivety. Like the viewers, she knows it is a question of when, rather than if, Laurel discovers the depths of his depravity.

Charlotte, 52, who has been frantically leafing through her scripts looking for answers, says: “I have been on the edge of my seat! I have literally been getting the script and going, ‘Oh my goodness, what will happen? Will this last?’.

“This storyline is brilliant because the audience has been hating Ray's character, but now it is starting to get clever. Suddenly, they are seeing a different side. He's a lost soul and I could be wrong, but I predict the audience will start rooting for him.

“This is because he is very charming to Laurel and he is genuinely falling in love with her.