Emmerdale's Charity Sharma drops a huge bombshell on husband Jai next week, confessing to her recent passionate encounter with Declan Macey.
Charity hopes to get her marriage back on track when Jai (Chris Bisson) returns to the village following his business trip, but one of her enemies is about to throw a spanner in the works.
When scheming Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) discovers Charity and Declan's secret and threatens to reveal all to their respective partners, Charity decides to take the power out of his hands by telling Jai the truth…
Here, Emma Atkins - who plays Charity - shares all the gossip on her character's big confession.
What was Charity thinking when she slept with Declan?
"I don't think Charity thought about any of the consequences. She just went in head-first, as she often does! I think she fancies Declan and there's definitely a chemistry between them, but that's as far as it goes.
"That chemistry between Charity and Declan has been there right from the beginning, when she stole his car from under his nose. I think it's safe to say that they fancy each other, but as much as that's a mutual attraction, they both understand that sleeping together was a one-off."
Declan has been very worried about Katie possibly finding out the truth. Is Charity equally anxious about hiding her secret from Jai?
"Well, the severity of what she's done does start to dawn on her, but up until that point, she feels quite self-righteous because Jai has gone away from the village and he's been acting really peculiar. In her eyes, she is kind of single!"
Has she missed Jai while he's been away from the village?
"Yeah, Charity has missed Jai a lot, and I think that really begins to dawn on her. She loves him and what she's done is a very selfish act, but only now does the guilt kick in. I think it does affect her more than she would like it to.
"Charity absolutely wants a reconciliation with Jai when he returns, so she doesn't want him to find out that she's slept with Declan. But then Cameron starts threatening her, which makes her feel even more guilt and more shame. She wonders what she should do."
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Cameron spies on Declan and Charity.
How does Cameron find out the truth about Charity and Declan?
"I think Cameron is just searching for any avenue where he can just put the Dingles in their place, because they've really shunned Chas for what she's done to Debbie. He'll take any chance to call them hypocrites and point out that they're just as bad.
"Cameron just gets a sniff that something funny is going on between Charity and Declan when he sees them talking at the pub. He follows them out, pretends to be collecting glasses and actually sees that there's something going on. It's obvious to him that there's more to their conversation than meets the eye."
What happens next?
"Cameron calls Charity's bluff outside the toilets in The Woolpack. He just says, 'I know things about you'. Then Charity is running scared and really concerned. She thinks he knows everything.
"Cameron is a nasty, dark and sinister character. Charity is more than aware of that and what he's capable of. He's destroyed Debbie's confidence and he even sometimes fronts up to Cain - not a lot of people do that! For him to have this hold over Charity is just horrendous."
To make matters even more complicated, Katie then invites Charity and Jai over for dinner with her and Declan at Home Farm! How does it go?
"It's the most uncomfortable scenario, but it'll be great for the audience to watch them all squirm! Katie is none the wiser about what's going on, but Charity is desperate to just get it out now and confess. However, Declan is desperately begging Charity not to make a scene and let the cat out of the bag. Everyone at the dinner has different agendas!"
This leads to Charity telling Jai the truth, doesn't it?
"It does! The dinner is too much for Charity to cope with, so she decides to announce that she's leaving. Declan goes mad and tells Charity to stop acting weird, but that drives her all the more potty! When she does leave, Jai follows her out and there's a big showdown. She then releases the bombshell that she slept with Declan.
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Jai confronts Declan and Charity.
"I think Charity is pretty unwise to tell Jai right outside Declan's house, as he's not going to walk in the opposite direction! He's pretty much going to walk in and have it out with Declan, and that's what he does. Declan realises that Charity has told Jai the truth."
Fortunately for Declan, Katie is upstairs and doesn't find out what's been going on - at least for now! How do you think Katie would react to the truth?
"Well, the thing about Declan and Katie is that they were estranged when it happened, so you could effectively say that they were split up, too. If they were on a break, maybe Declan's got every right to sleep with someone.
"But I just think Declan can do without the added hassle of this situation. He's a shrewd businessman, so he's not going to want this annoying thing on his plate. Declan is getting his life and relationship with Katie back on track, so he's not going to want a silly one-night stand with Charity to jeopardise that. I don't believe he has any true feelings for Charity."
Jai's secret is also in the mix…
"I love the layers of that! The audience will probably be going, 'You don't have to feel so guilty, Charity, because he's done a lot worse!'"
With Charity's infidelity out in the open, Jai actually considers confessing his own secret too. How would Charity react if he did?
"I think she'd just probably go ballistic! She'd be shocked that she didn't know it was going on all along. It's the ultimate betrayal - that all of it has been going on in the village under her nose.
"If anyone likes to play tricks and be conniving, it's Charity. For Jai to have behaved in this way is just shocking, so I think the revelation will be awesome whenever it happens."
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Jai is still hiding his own secret.
Do you have your own ideas on how Charity should react when Jai's secret comes to light?
"I quite like Charity when she plots and goes underground. I'd like a secret plot of vengeance - I think that'd be great. Maybe the audience could see that Charity has found out, but Jai doesn't know. I'd quite like to see that, but I think the audience will want to see a big showdown!"
Do you think there's any hope for Charity and Jai's marriage in the long-run?
"I think once Jai's secret comes out, they'll struggle to keep their marriage afloat. Already they've been under a lot of tension and strain, so I'd argue that maybe this time it would be over. But you never know!"
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