Jessie Grant (Sandra Marvin)

[Perdita]

Emmerdale fans will be seeing a whole lot more of headteacher Jessie Grant, as she's been confirmed as a new regular for the show.

Thursday's double bill (November 2) saw actress Sandra Marvin make her Dales debut in the role of Jessie, who had a disastrous meeting with Paddy Kirk at The Woolpack to discuss Leo.

Don't be fooled into thinking it was just a brief comedy storyline, though – Sandra has joined the Emmerdale cast on a regular basis and there's more to come from Jessie.

Speaking about Emmerdale for the first time, Sandra revealed: "Jessie has recently moved to the area and she's the new headmistress for Hotten Juniors School, which is quite fun.


Jessie Grant arrives in Emmerdale
© ITV
"Jessie is going to be working a lot with the kids in the show. It'll be fun to see everyone in the school environment a bit more and Jessie interacting with all of the parents.

"It was really fun meeting and working with Zoe Henry, Dominic Brunt and Mark Charnock on my first scenes.. It was also quite exciting to work in The Woolpack, this iconic hub of the Emmerdale community."

She continued: "Most people have been here for such a long time and it's a real family environment. Everyone has been friendly and helpful. I was nervous stepping on set for the first time, but I quickly felt very relaxed around everyone.

"I do know what's coming up for Jessie, but that would be telling! She'll be back and for now she's getting to know everyone in the village, the parents of the kids and finding her way around."

Jessie's first scenes saw Paddy and Marlon trying to charm her over lunch at the pub, but it wasn't long until she found herself covered in cow manure when Rhona arrived and wrongly assumed that she was Paddy's latest girlfriend.

Let's hope Jessie gets a warmer welcome from the other villagers...

[lizann]

marlon likes her, he is trying too hard to be funny

[tammyy2j]

I like her but not with Marlon

[Perdita]

I like her but not with Marlon

Think that ship has sailed now anyway ...

[lizann]

how many husbands has she had, is 1st dead?

[lizann]

whats her secret?

on line talk she is gemma's mother

[Perdita]

whats her secret?

on line talk she is gemma's mother

That could make sense ..

[Perdita]

Emmerdale is lining up a shock for Jessie Grant as she receives some bad news about her son Billy next week.

The ITV soap is currently exploring Jessie's backstory, recently revealing that she has another son called Billy – who is in prison for assault.

But although Jessie (Sandra Marvin) believes that Billy has been wrongly convicted, Ellis remains adamant that his brother is bad news.

Upcoming scenes will see Billy cause more tension from behind bars, when Jessie gets some worrying news about him.

A distraught Jessie later tells Marlon that Billy is in hospital after becoming involved in a fight in prison and fears the incident could affect his release.

To make matters worse, Jessie is left even more upset when Ellis later lets rip about his brother, prompting Marlon to intervene.

Wanting to support Jessie as much as possible, Marlon tells Ellis that he should apologise to his mum for his earlier outburst, but will he do as he's told? Or has Marlon unwittingly caused more tension?


Digital Spy

[tammyy2j]

I feel they are making her story up as they go along

She complained of Marlon's photos of his exs who are the mothers of his children but she has her husband's ashes by her bed

[Perdita]

Now that Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden have tied the knot and are happily married (for the most part) in Emmerdale, teases of another big Dingle wedding happening this Christmas have left fans wondering who the lucky couple will be.

And now we know exactly who'll be at the centre of the storyline, as TV Times confirms that Jessie Grant and Marlon Dingle are the couple who'll be planning on getting married during the most wonderful time of the year.

"Marlon is Jessie's knight in shining armour," actress Sandra Marvin explained to the publication. "And she thinks, 'Do you know what? Life's too short! I'm going to prove to him how much I love him!'"

After explaining that Jessie first asks Marlon's daughter April for her permission to marry her dad, Sandra continues to add that it's April's idea for the pair to get married at Christmas and they set about planning the surprise with Jessie's son Ellis too.

"April and Ellis are really gung ho about it," Sandra added, before reflecting on Marlon and Jessie's relationship.

"It would be nice to see them make a go of things, because Marlon has had so many ups and downs," she added. "As much as he wants to be with someone, he also wants a family unit around April – and that's what this is all about.

"And I think Jessie would slot in well into the Dingle family. She definitely has the strength of the Dingle women. Jessie Dingle... who'd have thought it?"

Of course, this is Soapland, where both Christmases and weddings never really go to plan – will Jessie and Marlon's big day go without a hitch?

The Christmas wedding follows after Emmerdale recently explored Jessie's sad past, revealing that Jessie never truly moved on from her first husband who passed away, prompting Jessie and Marlon to decide to scatter Jessie's first husband's ashes together in the hope of bringing closure.

Last month, Sandra teased that Jessie Grant would be involved in a huge Christmas storyline that would prove life-changing for her character.

"Jessie has an interesting Christmas coming up. I don't think she expects her Christmas to go where it does – there are a lot of twists and turns," she explained. "It's going to change her life!"