Laurel and Marlon

Emmerdale star Charlotte Bellamy has promised that there are surprising "twists" on the way as her character Laurel Thomas's storyline with Marlon Dingle continues.

Laurel recently confessed to Marlon that she has feelings for him, but insisted that she could not act on them due to her marriage and family life with village vicar Ashley (John Middleton).

The pair share a kiss in tonight's episode of the soap but both agree afterwards that they should try to forget it and remain friends.

Bellamy, praising the plotline, told We Love Telly: "She's a good woman, so it's nice to be a bit naughty. But sometimes it's quite uncomfortable. I always thought she was such a pure and honest woman. Now she tells lies."

Asked whether Laurel could have a future with Marlon, she replied: "Aha! You'll have to wait and see. There are lots of twists and turns. It's not a simple case of having an affair. It's not what you think it's going to be, and a lot of other things will happen in their lives."

Bellamy added that Laurel needs to "be true to herself" as she continues to struggle with her feelings in the weeks ahead.

"There are kids involved, and she's not necessarily going to throw all that away," she explained.

Emmerdale continues tonight at 7pm on ITV1.

Emmerdale star Charlotte Bellamy has explained why her character Laurel Thomas turns down a future with Marlon Dingle in next week's episodes.

Laurel heads to a hotel room with Marlon next Wednesday as she considers leaving her husband Ashley (John Middleton). She has felt attracted to Marlon since the summer and both have admitted their feelings for each other.

However, Laurel ultimately decides that she cannot abandon her family and returns home to Ashley, who is now well aware of her feelings for Marlon (Mark Charnock).

Bellamy told Soaplife of Laurel's decision: "Reality hits. The practicalities of leaving Ashley, losing Gaby and having to leave the village hit her like a sledgehammer. She decides she must go home. She's in love with Marlon, but what do you do?"

She continued: "[Ashley] knows she's still in love with Marlon and would have gone off with him if it wasn't for the kids. Laurel hasn't slept with Marlon, but it's an emotional betrayal and it eats away at Ashley. He becomes very controlling of Laurel."

Bellamy said that Laurel warns Marlon she has made her final choice and wants to stick with her family.

"Laurel tells him they've said all there is to say," she explained. "She can't look at him anymore because she knows how she feels about him, but she has to do the right thing and stay in her marriage with Ashley."

Emmerdale airs Laurel's choice in an hour-long special on Wednesday at 7pm on ITV1.

Emmerdale star Mark Charnock has confirmed that his character Marlon Dingle will have a massive decision to make at Christmas.

Marlon still has feelings for vicar's wife Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) but has recently kept his distance from her after she decided not to leave her husband Ashley (John Middleton) for him.

However, Marlon considers laying his heart on the line once again over the festive season as the day of Laurel and Ashley's wedding vow renewals arrives.

Charnock told All About Soap: "He's in bits. He goes to call Laurel, but he knows he mustn't. He just spends the day on his Xbox. Of course, Paddy and Rhona have worked it out and they confront him - and that's when Marlon breaks down and confesses all his feelings.

"Rhona goes to the ceremony but comes back and says Ashley is late, and there's a moment when Marlon thinks it's his last chance - he's got to take it.

"So he's got to decide whether to rescue Laurel from a situation she doesn't want to be in, and rescue himself from potentially a lifetime of regret."

Asked whether Marlon could live with himself if he destroyed Ashley's marriage on the big day, Charnock replied: "I think he could, actually. It would be difficult, but he loves Laurel so much that he would find a way to deal with it. But we'll just have to wait and see what happens!"

Emmerdale fans will see the day of the ceremony arrive on Thursday, December 22 at 7pm and 8pm on ITV1.

Oh dear God! Why are they pushing this?? I like the Marlon character ( he's odd and quirky), but it's not very entertaining to watch him in this cringe inducing storyline featuring repeated humiliation. What gives??

NAUGHTY but nice vicars wife Laurel Thomas nearly bedded another man but is guilty of a far greater sin.

Thats the damning verdict of Charlotte Bellamy, who plays the lovable Emmerdale character.

Laurel is convinced resisting having sex with lanky cook Marlon meant she didn't have an affair.

But Charlotte is less forgiving and believes falling in love with a fella is worse than falling into bed with him.

Charlotte, 39, has never discussed this with her boyfriend of 20 years but is sure of his views. She says: I can tell you exactly what he'd say that falling in love with someone else would be the worst thing I could do.

It would be the most treacherous, disloyal and heartbreaking thing in the world. A one-night stand could be put down to being very drunk and would be easier to cope with. Falling in love is completely different.

I'd feel the same way too. For any couple it would be extremely damaging. How do you get back on track after something like that? Can you rebuild a relationship if one of you is in love with someone else?

Millions of viewers of the ITV1 soap have been gripped as loyal Laurel is torn between her feelings for Marlon Dingle and sense of duty to husband Ashley.

Laurel and Marlon, played by Mark Charnock, 43, have kissed but she has not spent the night with him.

Beautiful

Heartbroken Ashley, played by John Middleton, 58, was devastated to find out how close they had become.

He has avoided any intimacy with Laurel but has insisted they go ahead with renewing their wedding vows at Christmas.

The storyline is also a talking point among Charlotte's pals.

All my friends say it would be terrible if their husband said they were in love with someone and that they could forgive them much more easily if it was just lust. A lot of the guys Ive spoken to have said the same thing.

Happily married Laurels love for kind-hearted Marlon seemed to have come out of the blue. Charlotte says: Laurel is a mother, coping with the day-to-day grind and suddenly Marlon made her feel beautiful.

For a woman, thats an incredibly powerful thing for a man to see her not just as a mum but as herself. Shes not fallen out of love with Ashley, shes just fallen in love with Marlon.

In real life Charlotte is happily settled with her partner Mungo Denison, an events manager she met during a performing arts course at Middlesex University.

The couple, who live in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with their sons Sunnie, seven, Herbie, four, and daughter Teddie, two, make sure they have time together as a couple at the end of every day.

She says: I lead a very manic life, it always feels slightly out of control. Its a loud, busy house but I like that. Mungo is very hands-on we work as a team and help each other out.

The two of us always sit down with a glass of wine and eat together every evening. That's when we have catch-up time which is really important. I'm very lucky. Mungo is the most fantastic person in my life. Hes a funny guy and that's so attractive and he makes me laugh like nobody else.

http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/peopl...-612022810.jpg


Charlotte has been in Emmerdale for nine years but the children are largely unaware they have a famous mum.

She explains: I was out one night recently and Mum was looking after the kids. Herbie had gone to bed but came back downstairs while she was watching Emmerdale.

The next morning he said to me really proudly: Mummy, I saw you on the radiator last night. And then walked out, as if he knew my secret it was very cute.

Our telly and a radiator are mounted on the wall so maybe he got slightly confused.

Many people say hello to Charlotte but Sunnie just thinks its because shes popular.

He knows John Middleton plays my pretend husband but he did ask why I was on the cover of TV Times with someone else recently.

Im not married to Mungo so hes now completely confused. Im married to John but not married to Daddy. And now, who is this new guy, Marlon? Charlotte, who grew up in a showbiz family in Hertfordshire, had roles in A Touch of Frost, Casualty, The Bill and with Kevin Whately in The Brokers Man.

She even had eight months on EastEnders as religious cult member Sue Taylor.

But in 2000 she quit acting to become a casting director.

Being an actor you are never really in control of your life and I got fed up with that, she recalls. I wanted to go to work every day and have two weeks holiday when I wanted, so I gave up acting.

But when an Emmerdale writer tipped her off that the part of Laurel was coming up she had a hunch it would be right for her.

Charlotte remains refreshingly down to earth, as happy doing the school run and cooking fish fingers for tea as she is strolling down the red carpet at awards ceremonies. She is also philosophical about hitting the big 4-0 next year. I dont think: oh my goodness, lines. If I have got lines they're only because Ive been up with my kids and that's
fine by me.

Being on the telly you are under scrutiny but I'm playing a mum with kids and a busy life. I'm telling a story and I want to reach out to people who are in that situation.

Real people don't regularly have boob jobs or worry about their lines or panic over putting on weight.

I'm getting older. So what? That's life. As long as Mungo thinks I look OK and he does.

As for the future, Charlotte hopes she and Mungo will find time to marry.

Marriage is on the list, along with potatoes, onions and writing a will, she jokes. They're all things Ive got to do, its just finding time to do them.

Our friends got married in their early 20s and then got their mortgages and their children and we did it slightly out of order.

We are happy as we are and could not be more committed we have three children together and a mortgage but we will get married.

(C) Sunday People

Emmerdale star Charlotte Bellamy has revealed that the soap's Laurel, Ashley and Marlon love triangle will be turned "upside down" in upcoming episodes.

Laurel is currently preparing to renew her wedding vows with Ashley (John Middleton), despite recently considering leaving him in favour of Marlon (Mark Charnock). The pair's big day arrives at the end of next week.


© ITV

© ITV


Emmerdale bosses are currently keeping tight-lipped over whether the vow renewal will go ahead, as a tormented Ashley considers not turning up for the event - well aware that Laurel still has feelings for Marlon.

Bellamy, who plays Laurel, told itv.com of her character's future: "The story has run for about six months and it's getting more and more tense. And now it's getting to Christmas and it's a family time, and in a way it's worse because she's so not happy and she's in this family set-up.

"And she has to put on this show - that this is what she's decided, that she's wanting to stay with Ashley and it's all going to be okay. But of course, it's just not. The audience now knows that Ashley's found out, so you might think that the story's just finished there, but of course it hasn't - it carries on.

"And something else happens, which is going to be really awful and terrible, and it changes the whole thing. It turns the whole situation and the whole story upside down."

Looks like the return of Bishop George (hardly inspiring) or perhaps a bit of unfrocking of Ashley either will be stomach churning. Maybe an attempted suicide. For me this storyline has gone on far too long and is getting boring.

Right , end this here , vows renewed. Now in an empty pub have the drip in cooking and as he goes to put a joint in the oven the oven explodes in his face ... bye bye drip

Emmerdale series producer Stuart Blackburn has promised that the Laurel/Ashley/Marlon love triangle will continue to "haunt" the characters and their loved ones in the New Year.

Last week, viewers saw Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) and Ashley (John Middleton) renew their wedding vows, seemingly signalling the end of her 'emotional affair' with Marlon (Mark Charnock).

Blackburn has now teased that the trio will struggle to cope in the aftermath of Laurel's actions, building up to a big storyline involving Ashley, his father Sandy Thomas (Freddie Jones) and Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox) in 2012.

"Marlon and Laurel were so romantic," Blackburn commented. "Its about now whether Laurel and Ashley can genuinely rebuild their relationship, whether Marlon can move on or whether the damage that Laurel's caused is going to have ripple effects for a lot of people around them."

He added: "Life is going to get very very difficult for Ashley and the sins of Laurel's past will haunt them all."

Blackburn's comments come after Bellamy revealed that the love triangle plot will be turned "upside down" in the near future.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Perdita

Emmerdale series producer Stuart Blackburn has promised that the Laurel/Ashley/Marlon love triangle will continue to "haunt" the characters and their loved ones in the New Year.

Last week, viewers saw Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) and Ashley (John Middleton) renew their wedding vows, seemingly signalling the end of her 'emotional affair' with Marlon (Mark Charnock).

Blackburn has now teased that the trio will struggle to cope in the aftermath of Laurel's actions, building up to a big storyline involving Ashley, his father Sandy Thomas (Freddie Jones) and Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox) in 2012.

"Marlon and Laurel were so romantic," Blackburn commented. "Its about now whether Laurel and Ashley can genuinely rebuild their relationship, whether Marlon can move on or whether the damage that Laurel's caused is going to have ripple effects for a lot of people around them."

He added: "Life is going to get very very difficult for Ashley and the sins of Laurel's past will haunt them all."

Blackburn's comments come after Bellamy revealed that the love triangle plot will be turned "upside down" in the near future.

---

FFS who wants to see this continue it was lame to start with