David Metcalfe's Emmerdale love triangle comes to a head next week as he ends his sham relationship with wife Alicia and commits to girlfriend Priya Sharma.
With David and Alicia (Natalie Anderson) no longer needing to stay together, they begin to spread the news around the village that they've split up. This frees David up to go public with his real relationship, but just how strong are his feelings for Priya in reality?
Here, Matthew Wolfenden - who plays David - reveals full details of what's ahead for his character's complicated personal life.
Does David realise just how upset Alicia is over his relationship with Priya?
"As daft as David is, he does know how much he's hurt Alicia, but he's one of those people who brushes everything under the carpet. He pretends that it's not happening - he just doesn't want to think about how upset Alicia is.
"I don't think David understands his own feelings, either. He's saying that it's all about Jacob, who he thinks the world of. I don't think he realises that he possibly has feelings for Alicia - he's just putting it all onto Jacob and brushing the whole Alicia thing to one side."
Does David show any signs of his growing feelings for Alicia?
"There's obviously something there for Alicia, and he asks her to keep living with him. Even though he's with Priya, he still wants Alicia and Jacob to be there. David says, 'I do love you, but it's as a friend'. But as time goes by, that 'friendship love' is turning more into real love. David doesn't really understand it himself."
Do you think David might have stayed married to Alicia if Priya hadn't been in the picture?
"Very possibly! I think it's such a sad story, really. We have to remember that the reason Alicia went to prison was for David. She hit Val because she was defending David and was in love with him. Then the love of her life gets with someone else. It's a horrible thing to have happened.
"All along it was only supposed to be a short-term thing while Alicia was in prison, but who knows what could have happened if Priya hadn't been around?"
What are David's feelings for Priya?
"David thinks he is serious about Priya, and he thinks he's in love with her. But it's a funny situation as he still wants Alicia to carry on living with him because they've got an amazing family."
When David returns from holiday next week, Alicia reveals that she's had to tell Jacob about them splitting up…
"That's horrible for David. He's devastated because, to be honest, Jacob's his only friend in the village apart from Nikhil! I think he's gutted that he might lose one of his little sidekicks.
"Jacob's devastated that this has not only happened to Justin and Alicia, it's also happened to David and Alicia. Jacob feels that it's his fault, and David can't get through to him that it's not. David is pretty devastated about losing Jacob, and he doesn't realise that he's actually devastated about losing Alicia as well."
What does Priya make of it all?
"Priya's definitely a bit jealous of the relationship that David has with Jacob. Everything revolves around Jacob at the moment - everything that David says and does. He's not letting himself go at all in his relationship with Priya, because of the whole Jacob thing holding him back. I think Priya's worried that this situation is going to bring him closer to Alicia."
How does David deal with the Jacob situation?
"David desperately tries to tell Jacob that the break-up is not his fault, but at the same time, he doesn't want to tell him the truth about the marriage - that it was a sham and never real. David then ends up giving Jacob some false hope by saying, 'Listen, never say never, things might happen in the future'.
"David's only saying it to make Jacob a little bit happier, but it really makes Jacob think that maybe he could do something to get his mum and David together. He goes away and tries to cook a meal for them. It goes wrong as he burns the pizza he's cooking, but bless him, he thinks that if he tries it will work."
David and Alicia soon announce their split to the village. What kind of a reaction do they get?
"David's not too popular with everybody. Even though this marriage was a sham and David did it out of the goodness of his heart, Alicia comes out on top when they tell everyone that they're splitting up.
"David is a little bit bewildered that Alicia seems to be milking it for sympathy. She tells everyone that it's David's fault as he's the one that wants to split up. David is quite upset about all that!"
In the end, Jacob spots David and Priya kissing. How does David feel about that?
"I think he's pretty devastated by it - the last thing David wanted was for Jacob to find out in that way. He desperately wants Jacob and Alicia to stay and live with him, but when Jacob catches them, it puts the final nail in the coffin.
"Later, David and Alicia sit Jacob down and David pleads with Alicia by saying, 'Please tell him the truth because I'm getting it in the neck when I'm the good guy in this!' Jacob isn't very happy when he finds out that they've lied to him about the marriage from the start. Jacob and Alicia move out soon after that, and David has lost his two best mates, really.
"Then in the days that follow, Priya goes public with the fact that David is her boyfriend. Alicia leaves the room at The Woolpack and Priya comes over to give David a kiss in front of everyone. Unfortunately, Alicia walks in and sees the whole thing."
Does David worry that he'll lose contact with Jacob?
"I think that he knows he won't lose contact with him completely, but he does fear that he'll lose that close bond they have. Jacob is the son that he never had, so it's really not a good time for David."
It sounds like there's still some hope that David could realise his true feelings for Alicia eventually, though…
"Absolutely. I've felt that it's been going that way for a year or so. People in supermarkets are always asking me when David is going to get with Alicia, so it's what the people want.
"I think that will be the climax to the story. It's where it needs to go as a nice ending to the love story. But I think it's going to be a long time away, and there's lots of twists and turns before that happens!"
Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe
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Originally Posted by Perdita
