April Windsor’s (Amelia Flanagan) life has been left in tatters after lying to and about her family in Emmerdale.
Yesterday, April’s little brother Leo was rushed to hospital after consuming some ecstasy pills that fell out of her bag. Earlier in the week, April had met with Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) and expressed her guilt over constantly being dishonest to her loved ones.
Ray reassured her and said that she wouldn’t get caught out dealing, and then gave her the pills. He said they would take the edge off her nerves.
April was then tasked with looking after Leo, but needed to choose between completing another job, or staying with Leo and risk facing Ray’s angry wrath.
She chose to leave Leo at home, and it was this moment that ultimately changed everything for her.
At the hospital, April got word that the nurses knew what Leo had taken. With Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) struggling with the fact April had – once again – caused trouble, she started to fear her time was running out.
As she headed through a corridor, April knew it wouldn’t be long until the police were questioning her.
April’s conversation with the police was stalled due to bumping into Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths). She could sense April was in distress, and encouraged her to clear her head before making anymore decisions.
A vulnerable April confessed everything to Celia – who she assumed was a complete stranger. In a shocking twist, Celia slapped April round the face, grabbed her, and then confirmed that she’s Ray’s boss.
‘She’s the boss, there’s no one else, it’s her domain,’ Jaye Griffiths told Metro.
‘She has overseers who do the actual work and she just runs everything. When I was told that there would be a woman of colour being the ultimate drug queen – fab.
‘Everyone assumes it’s Ray. Good-looking white bloke, everyone assumes he’s the boss, but actually he is a child compared to Celia.’
Towards the end of the instalment, we learnt that Celia found Ray on the streets and groomed and trapped him into her world, adopting him as a son to carry out her orders and help in her running of the drugs operation.
In the latest episode, April and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) were in Ray’s car. The trio were trying to come up with a story that April could tell a social worker, who was visiting the house after Leo’s incident.
The plan created, April headed back home.
After asking Rhona, Marlon and Leo to leave, April told the social worker that she feels pressure from her parents all the time. With Rhona a successful vet and Marlon a brilliant chef, April made out that they push her all of the time, and that’s what makes her ‘act out’.
Unbeknownst to them, Rhona was listening in on the conversation, and was horrified to hear April tell such a blatant lie.
Once the social worker had gone, Rhona confronted April. She completely lost it, and ended the rant by announcing that she hates her stepdaughter.
A while later, April returned home and wondered if it would be best if she moves out for a little while. Rhona immediately said yes but this left Marlon in a panic, fearing April may leave and never return.
Of course, turning April’s family against her was all part of Ray’s plan. If she moves out, she can continue dealing without her loved ones wondering what she’s up to.
It brings her further into the drugs ring and therefore, places her in even more danger.
What’s next for April?
‘I want people to remember it’s just pretend’, Jaye said, pondering over how the audience will react to the twist about Celia.
‘I am looking forward to the [gasps] moment. Sometimes it’s difficult to believe how far Celia will go.
‘However far you think she’ll go, she’ll go further, and that’s what makes her so scary. Where our line would be, there are no lines for Celia, never has been and never will. She will go that far, so be careful…’