Emmerdale's Harriet Finch and Cain Dingle grow closer after Ashley's sad funeral
Emmerdale's Harriet Finch turns back to Cain Dingle for comfort next week as she fears that she messed up Ashley Thomas's funeral.
When the whole village comes together to pay respect to Ashley following his sad death, it's Harriet who leads the service at the local church.
Of course, this is far more than just another day at work for Harriet as she was in a relationship with Ashley just a couple of years ago and is heartbroken that he's gone forever.
Struggling with her own grief as she addresses the congregation, Harriet stumbles over her words and she later confides in Cain (Jeff Hordley) by admitting that she feels terrible for messing up.
Katherine Dow Blyton, who plays Harriet, explained: "She's really struggling. Harriet hasn't really been involved in Ashley's illness – she's been on the outside, so she feels guilty that she wasn't more helpful. She feels that she let Ashley and Laurel down.
"Harriet also still has feelings for Ashley. She proposed to him and she planned to spend the rest of her life with him, so she's pretty devastated.
"The funeral itself is obviously a very sad day. Harriet is trying to hold it together, but she's torn between trying to be professional and her grief for somebody that she loved very dearly.
"Because Harriet is nervous and sad, she lets her emotions show and she feels very unprofessional about that. She stutters over her words and she gets a few things mixed up, so she's not on top of it and she feels like she let Ashley down.
"When Harriet confides in Cain, I think she's quite surprised at his sensitivity. They've already had a bit of a tricky moment when they had a kiss recently. She's certainly drawn to him again at this point and she's genuinely touched that he seems to care."
Despite the moving moment, it's not long before Cain is back to his old tricks as Harriet catches him stashing stolen goods in the church – despite her previous warnings about his criminal activity.
Katherine continued: "Harriet was furious about this the first time. She felt used and abused, so the second time he does it, she just can't believe it. She's already warned him that he wouldn't get away with it and not to make a fool of her, so she's absolutely furious and perhaps a little bit humiliated.
"Cain tries to distract Harriet by going in for a kiss – and she goes for it, obviously!"
Asked whether there's a chance Cain and Harriet can make a proper go of things, Katherine replied: "Never say never. It's chalk and cheese and quite an interesting combination, exploring both sides of the good and the bad!
"I was quite surprised when I heard about the story, but I was also really looking forward to it because it's been quite a barren period for Harriet since Ashley dumped her, so I'm glad she's got some excitement in her life."