Leyla/David/Alicia/Justin

Emmerdale fans see romantic sparks fly between Alicia Gallagher and David Metcalfe next week as they pose as a happy couple for a wedding brochure.

With Megan Macey planning the brochure to advertise Home Farm's wedding services, she initially chooses David (Matthew Wolfenden) and his fiancée Priya Sharma for the photos.

Unfortunately, Priya (Fiona Wade) has an allergic reaction to some make-up on the day of the photoshoot, which means that Alicia has to take her place. As a result, the unresolved feelings between Alicia and David become ever more apparent…

Here, Natalie Anderson - who plays Alicia - chats about the big week ahead for the ongoing love triangle storyline.

How does Alicia feel about David at the moment?
"At the moment, Alicia's in a good place in her head when it comes to David. I don't think she'll ever stop loving David deep down, but she's now realised that she has to manage her feelings. Alicia has put a stone on it and she's moving on. She's treating David very much as her best friend again."

How has David's engagement to Priya affected things?
"I definitely think that the engagement changed the way that Alicia felt about David. That's partly because Alicia doesn't know the context of the engagement. In Alicia's mind, David got down on one knee and proposed fully to Priya - she has no idea that he never actually intended to propose to her!

"As far as Alicia is concerned, David has made his choice, so she has to sort her head out and get on with it."

How does Alicia feel about having to arrange a wedding photoshoot for David and Priya?
"This is a test from Megan's point of view. At the moment, Alicia desperately wants to impress Megan, because she loves this job at Home Farm so much. She's also impressed by Megan as a person and as a mentor, so she doesn't want to let her down.

"Because the job is also so important for Jacob's sake, Alicia decides that she needs to test herself on this one, too. She wants to arrange this photoshoot, get on with it, and do it as professionally as she can."

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Alicia is working on David and Priya's wedding.


Is it awkward for Alicia on the day, though?
"Well, what's nice is that Alicia is actually being incredibly professional about everything, and she's picked out an amazing dress for Priya. You'll see that Priya even gives Alicia an apology, saying, 'You've done things better than I ever thought you would have done'.

"Alicia is grateful for that and she takes it as a compliment, because this job is a new field for her and a test for her as a person. It's so different from anything else that she's done, so she's trying her very best to do it tastefully. There's no awkwardness between Alicia and Priya, it's more white flags - they're calling a truce and it looks like it's going to be fine."

But then Priya gets a dreadful rash from the make-up that Alicia has given her!
"She does, but it's genuinely nothing to do with Alicia at all. Priya comes out fuming, saying that it's Alicia's fault and she's done this deliberately. Alicia is so upset because Megan is watching on, and she firmly denies it."

What happens next?
"Megan then says that Alicia will have to step in and take Priya's place in the photos! Alicia begs Megan not to make her do it, but in the end she does it because Megan is watching on with fire in her eyes.

"Again, this is a test to see whether Alicia can do her job, and she's not going to let Megan down. Her deciding to do the photoshoot is nothing to do with David or wanting to be close to him - that genuinely doesn't enter her head. She has to do it because her new boss is testing her and she needs to rise to the challenge."

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Priya reveals her facial rash.


We'll see that the photographer, Lee, flirts with Alicia. Does David get jealous?
"He does get a little bit jealous. It's from the moment that he sees Alicia in the wedding dress that he does start to feel a bit differently towards her. Then Lee does flirt with her, so David starts to feel a bit protective!"

Was it fun dressing up in the wedding dress for these scenes?
"I loved the idea of it, but we were working outside and the day itself was so unbelievably cold! My lips actually turned blue! It was when the snow had fallen and the temperature was about minus two.

"I was meant to come out and look amazing in the wedding dress, but I actually came out looking like an icicle! (Laughs.) Because of that, maybe it won't transpire on screen as it was meant to! If you look closely you might even be able to see the blue lips - it's definitely not blue lipstick!"

Is David bowled over when he sees Alicia in the dress?
"He is bowled over by her, yes. She doesn't look very much like Alicia - the dress and hair are both really tasteful, and the make-up is really minimal.

"It also harps back to that moment when they got married last year. They were best friends at that point, and there was nobody else involved. Whichever way you look at it, David loved Alicia to do that for her, even if those feelings weren't romantic.

"When David sees how separate they've now become in their friendship, he must think, 'Oh that's my girl that I lived with, we had such a laugh and now it's gone'. He doesn't have her there now and the relationship has severed a bit. I think there's an element of sadness from David because of that, but also an element that Alicia does scrub up well, too!"

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Alicia prepares for the photo shoot.


Alicia and David also have to kiss for the photos. Is this a big moment for them?
"It's definitely a big moment. They've only ever kissed once before at their wedding, which was very short and sweet. I like to keep reminding the audience that David and Alicia have never actually been together, so this is new territory for them. When they were married, they weren't actually together and there was no intimacy there.

"However, in this moment doing the photos, it's two people that actually feel something. It starts off really awkward as neither of them want to do it at first, but Megan's like, 'Come on, get into it!' Also, the photographer wants them to hold the kiss for the pictures.

"David then starts to melt into the kiss, and Alicia loses herself a bit with David. When they say it's a wrap, Alicia and David both come away from the kiss a bit shocked. You definitely see in that moment that something's there.

"Afterwards, Alicia thinks that it's her own feelings getting the better of her, and for all she knows, David feels nothing for her so she can't let herself open up like that again."

How does Alicia feel when she sees the pictures?
"The brochure never actually gets put together, but she does see the pictures and she's really sad. It's a reminder of that moment where she lost her feelings, when recently she's been really good at keeping them suppressed. They also look like a gorgeous married couple in the pictures, so it's really sad for her."

Does Alicia feel that she's got one over on Priya in this situation?
"No, Alicia is not being malicious like that in any way at all. She doesn't want to get one over on Priya. Priya is really upset about these pictures, and the last thing Alicia wanted was to be involved in this sort of situation. She wanted to be distant, professional and to plan their wedding. She's really sweet to Priya, actually."

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Alicia and David kiss for the wedding photo shoot.


How does Alicia feel when David and Priya want to prevent the pictures being published?
"Alicia wants to help them out, so she asks Megan if they can respect David and Priya's wishes by not running the photos. However, Megan says, 'Absolutely not - we're just going to print the pictures anyway'.

"Alicia then goes to give the bad news to David and he shouts at her. She's really hurt and she says, 'I never wanted to do this brochure, it was your and Priya's idea, and I also think it's a bit much that you wanted to do this brochure knowing that I was organising it'. There's no tact, there's no sensitivity from either of them, really, but Alicia's the one being blamed."

What happens next?
"Alicia goes to Megan and almost loses her job, because she says that she's not going to sign the consent forms for the pictures to be used. David and Priya see this, and David starts to realise just how much Alicia loves him - that she would actually lose her job for him."

Doesn't Alicia see that David's feelings for her are growing, too?
"At this moment in time, no. I don't think she'd dare to hope that was the case. At Christmas, she had her heart completely trampled on and she's protecting herself. However, there is an inkling that something is not right.

"Alicia can't put her finger on it with David, but there seems to be a reluctance there when it comes to him and Priya. For someone who's about to get married to the 'love of his life', why is there such a reluctance? Alicia thinks that maybe he's getting cold feet or being rushed, but she hasn't come round to the fact that it could be because of her."

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Alicia and David.


After everything that's happened, are you still hoping that Alicia and David get together?
"I really want them to! I think the dynamic they have as a trio with Jacob is brilliant. Joe-Warren, who plays Jacob, is growing up so much now - so there's a great relationship when he's working with Matthew. He's really coming into his own. It's a nice area and another arm for David's character. For Alicia, it's also fun to play that family dynamic."

Are the viewers on Alicia's side or Priya's?
"Everywhere I go, they're definitely on Alicia's side! It is a difficult one, because I think the audience have seen Alicia go through a bit of a transformation over the past few years. She's let her guard down a few times - with Andy, with Carl, with David - and she keeps getting knocked back.

"I think the general public tend to warm to an underdog, and Alicia's an underdog at the moment. Yes she's hard, yes she's brassy and bold, but underneath that she's got an absolute heart of gold."

Emmerdale star Natalie Anderson has said that the soap is a "lovely" place to work as a new mum.

The actress welcomed the arrival of baby boy Freddie last August. She returned to work towards the end of last year, reprising her role as Alicia Gallagher following maternity leave.

Anderson has now revealed that she is delighted to have so many fellow parents among the Emmerdale cast - including Chris Bisson (Jai Sharma), who became a dad in January.

She said: "Myself and my husband James recently met up with Chris, his girlfriend and his lovely baby. That was really nice. It was weird to see his baby son Harry in comparison to Freddie, as he looked so tiny! Freddie is looking so big now.

"What's really nice about Emmerdale is there's a lot of support around you. It's a very friendly show, and there's a lot of people who've just had small children.

"I'm really good friends with Matthew Wolfenden and Charley Webb, who've got their son Buster. Sam Giles who plays Bernice is a mum, and we've also got people behind the cameras who've just had children.

"We all can chat and go to people for advice, so it's a lovely place to work."


The 31-year-old added that a strong support network has helped her to cope well with her return to work.

She commented: "I'm balancing work and motherhood well, actually. But that's only down to the fact that I've got an amazing support network - my mum, my mother-in-law and my amazing husband.

"They allow me to be able to come to work and do my job, because I know that at all times, Freddie is so well looked after by his grandparents and his dad. That's such a rare position for any working mum to be in, so I'm so thankful and grateful to my lovely family."

Emmerdale continues tonight (March 15) at 7pm on ITV

Emmerdale star Natalie Anderson has said that the soap is a "lovely" place to work as a new mum.

The actress welcomed the arrival of baby boy Freddie last August. She returned to work towards the end of last year, reprising her role as Alicia Gallagher following maternity leave.

Anderson has now revealed that she is delighted to have so many fellow parents among the Emmerdale cast - including Chris Bisson (Jai Sharma), who became a dad in January.

She said: "Myself and my husband James recently met up with Chris, his girlfriend and his lovely baby. That was really nice. It was weird to see his baby son Harry in comparison to Freddie, as he looked so tiny! Freddie is looking so big now.

"What's really nice about Emmerdale is there's a lot of support around you. It's a very friendly show, and there's a lot of people who've just had small children.

"I'm really good friends with Matthew Wolfenden and Charley Webb, who've got their son Buster. Sam Giles who plays Bernice is a mum, and we've also got people behind the cameras who've just had children.

"We all can chat and go to people for advice, so it's a lovely place to work."


The 31-year-old added that a strong support network has helped her to cope well with her return to work.

She commented: "I'm balancing work and motherhood well, actually. But that's only down to the fact that I've got an amazing support network - my mum, my mother-in-law and my amazing husband.

"They allow me to be able to come to work and do my job, because I know that at all times, Freddie is so well looked after by his grandparents and his dad. That's such a rare position for any working mum to be in, so I'm so thankful and grateful to my lovely family."

Emmerdale continues tonight (March 15) at 7pm on ITV

Emmerdale star Matthew Wolfenden has admitted that the soap's bosses still haven't told him who his character David Metcalfe ends up with.

David has spent the past few months feeling torn between sham wife Alicia (Natalie Anderson) and on-off girlfriend Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade), and there are more twists ahead for the love triangle in the next few episodes.

Speaking on ITV's Loose Women today (May 15) about the story's long-term future, Wolfenden commented: "David's been a bit naughty. You've got to be a bit naughty on a soap, haven't you?

"In true soap style, it's got to go wrong again. But I genuinely don't know. As actors, we're the last people who they tell what's going to happen, because we come on shows like this and we give it away, so they don't tell us!

"So I genuinely don't know what happens. I don't know if I end up marrying Priya and it goes wrong."

On the fan reaction to the storyline, he continued: "Obviously with Twitter nowadays, I get a hundred tweets every night after we've been on air.

"But it's definitely Alicia who they want him to be with. They just want David and Alicia to be together, even though Priya is not a bad person. To be honest, it's David that's done the bad thing, but they just love Alicia."

Wolfenden also spoke about being nominated for 'Sexiest Male' at the 2013 British Soap Awards, which take place this weekend. Chris Fountain, David Witts, Danny Mac and Kieron Richardson are also up for the prize.

He said: "I'm definitely the oldest one out of the five, so I've got that award. It's not important to win it, it's a bit of a daft award, but it's nice as people have voted for me to get down to the last five, so I can't say that I'm not bothered about it. It's dead nice that people vote."

The 2013 British Soap Awards air on Sunday (May 19) from 8pm on ITV.

Emmerdale star Matthew Wolfenden has praised the show for revisiting its rural roots.

The actor, who plays David Metcalfe, confirmed that producers have made a conscious decision to embrace the soap's countryside setting with more on-location scenes in recent episodes.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Wolfenden explained: "I think that's something that our previous producer Stuart Blackburn, towards him leaving, and our new boss Kate Oates have wanted to get back into the show. I know we've lost the title Emmerdale Farm - that went way before I started here - but people do enjoy seeing the countryside.

"Viewers don't want to see the inside of a house for a full episode. It's nice to see someone walking across a field, working on the farm, falling into some mud or falling into a river! They're working much more of that into the show again.

"We've got such a stunning location. I still turn up in the village and think that it's beautiful every day. In the winter it's the most horrible place to work because it's so cold, but during the summer it's beautiful."

Discussing the recent producer changeover, Wolfenden continued: "Kate at the moment is just seeing out what Stuart did, because it takes so long for the previous material to filter out. Things have definitely changed as that's what a new producer does - they come in and they put their own stamp on it.

"I think Kate is really up on the comedy stuff, which is great for me because I keep getting nice one-liners and some nice things to say. The show is going to take a different path now, but Stuart was an incredible producer who brought us some brilliant storylines. Every producer takes the show to a different level, but in a different way. We're all really excited that Kate is on board."

David's current storyline sees him at the centre of a love triangle with Alicia Gallagher and Priya Sharma, but fans have often wondered whether his previous fiancée Leyla Harding will ever return.

On the possibility of seeing Leyla again, Wolfenden laughed: "Funny you should say that, because it might be happening!"

Emmerdale star Natalie Anderson has admitted that fans seem desperate for her character Alicia Metcalfe to ruin David and Priya's wedding.

Alicia will continue to plan the couple's big day in upcoming episodes, even though she still harbours strong feelings of her own for David (Matthew Wolfenden).

Speaking on ITV's This Morning today (June 10), Anderson explained that viewers are keen to see Alicia and David finally get together in a shock twist at the ceremony.

She laughed: "Everyone keeps asking me this! Everywhere I go, it's like, 'Is it going to be at the wedding? Will you get together at the wedding?' I genuinely don't know.

"All I do know is that there's a huge autumn planned at the moment for Emmerdale, and there's all kinds of different interwoven storylines. Whether that means Alicia will be ruining the wedding, I have absolutely no idea! I really don't know."

She added: "We've had a very 'Ross and Rachel' response with people saying [to Matthew], 'Please say Alicia's name at the wedding!' and 'Does she say I love you?' Everyone's really romantic, and I'm really romantic as well."

Anderson also confirmed that she will be a contestant on ITV's upcoming Saturday night singing show Your Face Sounds Familiar.

Hosted by Alesha Dixon and Paddy McGuinness, the series challenges a regular cast of celebrities to perform as different music icons.

Anderson said: "I don't know quite what I've got myself into! It's going to be great fun, though. I'm still working at Emmerdale at the same time.

"I do sing - I'm a trained singer and I was in the West End. But it's not really about that, this show. It's more about the impersonations. It's more about, 'Can you get that character?' I could end up being anyone random!"

Emmerdale's Alicia Gallagher quits her job at Home Farm next week after her unresolved feelings for David Metcalfe get the better of her.

Alicia leaves her role as events manager after deciding that she can no longer cope with planning David's upcoming wedding to Priya Sharma.

Here, Natalie Anderson - who plays Alicia - reveals why her character's love life remains as complicated as ever.

Has Alicia really believed that she was over David at any point?
"I definitely think she has. I think the moment she decided she would move in with Dom, she thought, 'Yes, okay. I'm really going to try and make a go of it', especially as the wedding was ploughing ahead. She's not really seen David that much - they've kind of stayed out of each other's way. I definitely think that she was starting to convince herself that she was over it."

So what is it that suddenly hits home?
"When the annulment arrives, I think that it's just so final it brings everything back to her and she realises she's still completely madly in love with him and they've been through so much together. They started out as friends and then looking after each other. With everything they've been through together, she just can't let it go, so it's definitely the annulment that sparks that off."

Does Alicia think she's a better match for David than Priya deep down?
"I think deep down she does, because I think she knows David better and I don't think Alicia likes what Priya has done to David. I think there's many moments in scenes where she's like, 'She's bossing you around, she's bullying you, what do you mean you're doing all these stupid things for the wedding? You'd never have dreamed of doing that, you were a man on the council'.

"That's what she keeps remembering and I think they both like the same things. They both would be quite happy to go to the pub, go home, watch telly, have a family and be like, 'I've cooked your tea, love'. Alicia's never wanted much more than a family environment really, and I think that's the same for David."


Does Alicia think David feels the same way about her?
"I think initially she does. She had the niggling doubts right at the very beginning just after his engagement when she was like, 'Why can't you let me go? What's wrong with you?' and then it turned out he loved her.

"I think those moments are starting to creep in because he starts to talk to her quite fondly about their wedding. That makes her think, 'Hold on, something's not right here again'. It makes her question that he's being a bit shady about everything and he doesn't seem full steam ahead with it all, he seems a bit bullied into it."

When the annulment does come through, what kind of conversation takes place between Alicia and David?
"It's quite a warm conversation, but it's definitely loaded - I think all of David and Alicia's conversations are completely loaded. Neither of them are saying exactly what they want to say ever, and I think if you watch scenes with them, they're always like that.

"But with that particular conversation, David is testing the water as to how she feels about it. She's testing the water too, but neither of them are being open. It's warm in the end in the sense that they do talk fondly about their wedding and the fact they're still friends. Most people who get divorced aren't friends."

Does Priya's arrival back from wedding boot camp ruin the moment that was building?
"I think it does, but I think it also puts Alicia firmly back in her place and when she sees Priya all excited again she's like, 'No, you've really got to concentrate on what's what and they are getting married, end of. Deal with it'."


How does Megan react when Alicia tells her that she's struggling to move on from David?
"She is basically like, 'Be professional', although Megan's quite a cool customer so she's not very emotional, whereas Alicia is hyper-emotional. Megan does also say something to Alicia that upsets her a little bit, she says, 'He doesn't really care', which makes Alicia feel a bit bad!"

So Megan expects Alicia to crack on with the wedding planning?
"Yeah crack on, get on with the job because I think that's what we see Megan do every day of her life. She's got all kinds of stuff going on but she's very, 'No, work is work and this is what we do and we don't think about our feelings too much', and that's kind of what she says to Alicia.

"However, Alicia loves David, and it's as simple and as basic as that. She absolutely loves him and it's the thought of giving him away to somebody - because that's essentially what she's doing. She's planning this whole wedding to give him away to somebody else and she just cannot do it. As much as she wants to, she can't."

Alicia ends up leaving Home Farm over this. How does she cope?
"She just goes back to the pub and she's like, 'Can I have some more shifts?' basically. She's always thought she was going to get made redundant over the last few weeks anyway, with the body and everything else. She says to Megan, 'I'm doing you a favour. This way you don't have to make me redundant - I'm walking away from you'."

What does Alicia say to Dom about her decision to leave?
"It's pretty awful this situation, because Dom is such a nice guy. She absolutely hates it and kind of lies by saying that she got sacked. Well actually she doesn't, she does the typical Alicia thing of letting people make their own assumptions and then going, 'Well yeah'. She goes along with it - she knows she can't be too truthful because then that will show her true feelings, and she does genuinely want to make a go of it with Dom.

"This is another reason she does leave because she thinks, 'If I get away from this, if I get away from David and Priya, I can wholeheartedly concentrate on this relationship with Dom'. She's trying to think for her own future as well, so it's really awful because she hates lying to him and she wants to make a go of it with him."


Are you enjoying working with Will Johnson, who plays Dom?
"Will is so lovely - he's really, really great. He's just so funny and he does all kinds of different accents. It drives me up the wall sometimes, but they can be really funny as well. We have really deep conversations and the funniest thing - he's going to kill me for saying this - we do everything in a bit of a musical because obviously I'm singing and especially when I was doing Your Face Sounds Familiar, we were doing all our rehearsals as a musical.

"He would be like, 'Aliiiciaaaa, what are you doiiiiiing?' and then I'd be like, 'I don't knoooooow, I've come to seeeee you', so that is one of the best things that we do. It's hilarious. You kind of have to be there but we find it really funny."

What would you like to happen next in the storyline?
"I would like David to be the one that seriously stands up for Alicia and says, 'I want to be with her', because I don't think she can do it anymore. Of course I'd love to see David and Alicia together, because I do believe that they are absolute soul mates and they are best friends, which I think is what makes their relationship special. But I don't think I can see Alicia going in there and saying, 'I really love you, you can't marry Priya'. I just don't see it happening. I wouldn't want Alicia to do that, I'd like her to have a bit more self-respect.

"In the future, I'd also like Alicia and David to have a baby in some way, we'll see. I'd like her to have that because she's so desperately always wanted a baby and Jacob is growing up now."

Emmerdale's David Metcalfe questions his future with his fiancée Priya Sharma in next week's dramatic episodes of the ITV soap.

David and Priya are enjoying their stag and hen celebrations at The Woolpack when killer Cameron Murray interrupts the happy atmosphere by bursting in with a shotgun.

As David becomes a hostage alongside Priya and Alicia Harding, the other woman in his life, will his romantic dilemma come to a head?

Here, Matthew Wolfenden - who plays David - reveals his character's role in the Woolpack hostage week.

What were the hostage scenes like to film?
"It was scary. Dominic [Power, who plays Cameron] holding a gun at you for three days gets quite scary. To be honest, by the end of the third day it felt like we had actually been held hostage in that room. The 12 of us had been huddled up in a corner and by the end of it, I think we were all kind of believing it ourselves."

How does David end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
"In typical soap fashion, the stag and hen do end up in the local pub. Nobody comes to David's stag do because David has decided he doesn't really want a big do. I think the reason for that is Nikhil has left and his dad's gone off to Turkey on holiday, so there is no-one around for him to make him feel like it's worth it.

"So he ends up in the pub. Priya also ends up there as she is having a few drinks before she takes the girls out into town. We are all together in the pub and that is when things go slightly awry."


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Alicia and David


Alicia and David have a bit of a chat, don't they?
"We have seen over the past year that David has got feelings for Alicia. He is still madly in love with her. Unfortunately, he thinks Alicia is very much with Dom now and thinks she has no feelings for him any longer. So David is going ahead with the wedding, as stupid as he probably is. He has decided that he is going to do it. He thinks he is with this beautiful girl who loves him, so he is going to get married to Priya.

"David is always watching Alicia wherever she is and he is always looking out for her. In the pub that night, he notices that she has disappeared and he finds her at the door with a tear rolling down her face. She is sad, because she is thinking about what she is going to lose when David gets married. So they have a heart-to-heart conversation looking out at all the rain.

"It was a great scene. It's at that moment Alicia tells David she has decided to break up with Dom as she doesn't feel the same way. Alicia makes it obvious she can't go to his wedding as she's still in love with him. It's a big moment of realisation for David. He thinks, 'What am I doing? I am marrying the wrong girl'.

What happens next?
"Before they both go back inside, Alicia tells him to carry on and get married as he and Priya are great together. She tells him to go for it, although she does say it with a heavy heart. It is a tricky situation for him knowing what she has just said. They were so wrapped up in each other that whilst they were out there, both of them have missed the fact there is the body of a police officer lying just around the corner…"

How does David feel after what Alicia has said?
"It's a strange one for David because he does love Priya. He loves her for what she is, high maintenance, silly and he knows she loves him too. But the problem is he's actually madly in love with Alicia. I don't think he has ever fully given himself to Priya."

Then things take a turn for the worse…
"There are 12 of us that end up stuck in The Woolpack because the rain gets so bad outside that we all decide to sit it out for a bit, thinking it might stop soon. Then we hear Cameron is on the run! Of course we don't by any stretch believe he is going to turn up at The Woolpack with a shotgun, but just to be safe they do lock the pub door to make sure no-one can get in."

What happens to David, Priya and Alicia when Cameron enters and holds everyone hostage?
"David is sat in between his two girls. He is in this terrifying situation and he just wants to look after the people around him. I don't think Priya questions why David happens to have his arms around both of them as David is just being protective. If it had been Betty and Edna, I think he'd have wanted to protect them too."


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Cameron tells Chas and Zac he has come for Debbie.


Does David confront Cameron?
"David confronts him on a couple of occasions. Although normally a bit dopey and a bit daft, David does step up to the plate on this. On two occasions David walks straight up to Cameron with the gun pointing at him directly at chest height. I was pleased about him doing this, as although I love playing David when he's dopey, he showed that when it comes to the crunch he really does step up to the plate and stick up for people."

Were you excited when you received the scripts?
"Yes I was excited and I thought, 'This is going to be big'. There are a few days of build-up, then the siege itself with the special hour episode, which is all played out in real time. Everyone here is so excited about it all. There was a big hoo-haa around the live episode last year and everyone was very excited about that, but this seems to have caught everyone's imagination too.

"All 12 of us who were stuck in The Woolpack had something major to do in those scenes, and it captured everybody's imagination and the performances have just been incredible. It is going to be fantastic, I believe one of the best episodes Emmerdale has ever produced."

We know that somebody gets shot. Is it a bad injury?
"Yes it is a bad injury. I think if you were to take a direct hit from a shotgun like that at such a close distance, you would not survive for very long. It is kind of a deflected shot, into the side of the stomach of this character. It is dangerous and life threatening because if that person doesn't get out, they could die due to severe blood loss. And there was lots of blood.

"It was great to do as it's not often you get to film things like that and have all this amazing equipment with stuff that makes it look like there is blood seeping from the bullet wound. It was such good fun to film. If that person doesn't get out, they will die…"

david pick alicia and save her and let cameron kill priya

David Metcalfe's Emmerdale love triangle takes a new twist next week as he discovers that his ex-fiancée Priya Sharma is pregnant.

The village shopkeeper has recently dumped Priya in favour of Alicia Harding, but the surprising news leaves him with even more huge decisions to make.

Here, Matthew Wolfenden - who plays David - reveals how his character will deal with the situation.

What is David's state of mind after the Woolpack siege?
"David is now with Alicia but he's obviously very, very guilty about what he did to Priya - he kind of jilted her just before the wedding. I mean, you've got to feel guilty about that and he really, really does.

"In his heart of hearts, he knows that he's done the right thing. He says to Priya, 'If I marry you not only is it not fair on you, it's not fair on me, it's not fair on anyone because it's not what I really want'. He is guilty, he's very upset for Priya, but I think that he knows that he's done the right thing."

Is he optimistic about a future with Alicia?
"Very optimistic, yeah. I mean, this is it for him now. He's with the right girl, he wants to marry her, he's totally in love with her and I think that there's a good future for them. I don't think they're going to be just a flash in the pan relationship - I think he's worked for this."

There's a few more problems coming up, though…
"Of course - Priya has lashed out somewhat and essentially on Alicia's hospital bed has said, 'I'm going to break the news to Jacob that you're not his mum', and so Alicia has to break this news herself. There's no other way around it and Jacob is not happy, understandably, and he runs away."

Is it true that Jacob ends up staying at Jai's place?
"Yeah, he actually forms quite a bond with Priya and he runs off to stay with his little friend Noah. He doesn't want to come home and he says to Alicia, 'You're not my mum'. I mean, it's a big thing for him - he even says he wants to 'divorce' his mum!

"It's a big thing for a little lad to be told that your mum who you've had as your mum for 11 years is not your mum and that your real mum's your auntie. There's a lot for him to cope with. Not only that, on the back of that, he finds out about Priya being pregnant."

How does David find out about the pregnancy?
"David and Alicia have had a brick through the window - we assume that it's Priya but it's not, it's Gemma. She's doing it because she's sticking up for her dad. David blames Priya for it and so when he finds out that it wasn't her, he goes over to apologise. She drops her bag and a pregnancy test kit falls out, so it's a bit of a shock for David."

How does Priya react?
"She doesn't deny it at first because she can't deny that she's been to buy this pregnancy test. It's not until after when David comes back to see her and she's actually taken the test and she says it was a false alarm."

But the audience will know the truth - that she's actually pregnant.
"The audience knows that she is, yeah, I think the little cross appears on the pregnancy test! So, yeah, they know that she is but she says that she's not. There's so many ups and downs. It's sort of complex - she says she's not, then she says, 'Actually yes I am, but I'm not keeping it'.

"You've got to remember that Alicia can't have children, so if David stays with Alicia he can never have children naturally of his own with her. So Priya says, 'I'm not gonna be yours and Alicia's surrogate, I'm not keeping this baby'. There's lots of ups and downs."


Is David open with Alicia about this, or does he hide it?
"He does hide it for a very, very short amount of time. He doesn't tell her initially that he's seen that Priya has got a pregnancy test kit. Priya says that she's not pregnant, so there's no need to upset Alicia when she's only just come out of hospital and she's not very well. So I think that's his thoughts and then he does eventually tell her. He's very, very open about it with her because he loves her and he doesn't want any secrets."

David would like to be a dad, wouldn't he?
"Absolutely and it's Alicia who tells him, 'You need to go and speak to Priya - if you want this baby this is your only chance. If you want to stay with me, this is your only chance to have a son or a daughter of your own because I can't give you that'.

"It's incredible of Alicia to say that, and I think that's what's so clever about this storyline and this writing - because it goes totally the opposite way to what you think of in a soap storyline. You expect screaming and shouting, Alicia to storm out and leave David."

Is Alicia sad over the situation, though?
"She's saying it for the right reasons. I don't think she's particularly happy about it, obviously, but also she knows that she can't give David a baby and in this situation now, she's saying, 'You've just got to go for it, otherwise you might never be a dad'. She's doing it for the right reasons but obviously she's not 100% happy about it."


Will David make the right decision over what to do next?
"Well this is something that he actually says to Alicia. He says to her, 'Is it right that she can just have an abortion? Can she do that? Do I have no say in this at all?' And I think, no he doesn't. If she decides to go and get rid of this baby, then he has no leg to stand on. So, yeah, he's in a horrible situation. He wants this baby desperately."

Whatever happens, Alicia and Priya will have to work behind the bar together soon - which will cause more problems…
"Absolutely, and David's stuck in the middle again. He does get himself into some scrapes. Yeah, they both work in The Woolpack, so once the pub gets refurbished after the storm and the siege, then they have to go back and work together - there's going to be some fireworks I'm sure."

Could Priya get her hopes up that the baby could bring her and David closer together again?
"I think Priya thinks that keeping this baby might relight the fire between them. He tells her straight, 'I do love you, you are going to be the mother of my child but I'm not in love with you, I am in love with Alicia and that's the way it's going to stay'."

What do you think the future holds for David and Alicia?
"I think it's going to be a rocky road for a while, but I think that's fun. It's fun for us to act that - there's no story in happy ever after, there's always got to be some sort of ups and downs. But I think as a couple, they are very secure in themselves. I don't think anything is going to pull them apart, but the baby's a big test. I think that they'll deal with it together but there's going to be some ups and downs."