Leyla's sister Alicia Harding

[alan45]

Emmerdale airs more twists and turns in the Alicia and David saga over the next fortnight as both characters seem unsure about what they really want.

The pair share a kiss this Friday (May 10) after confessing their feelings for each other. However, their union doesn't last for long as Alicia soon discovers that David (Matthew Wolfenden) is only pursuing her because Priya Sharma has dumped him.

Feeling heartbroken all over again, Alicia isn't sure what to do next, especially as Dominic Andrews (Wil Johnson) is also showing an interest in her. Needing to make a choice between the two men, what will Alicia decide?

Here, Natalie Anderson - who plays Alicia - teases her character's big romantic dilemma.

How does Alicia feel after she has shared a kiss with David?
"Immediately after the kiss, Alicia is beyond thrilled. She's so happy in that couple of seconds and thinks that everything has slotted into place.

"However, when David tells Alicia that Priya was the one who dumped him, she is completely devastated and feels so used. Alicia thinks that David has abused her feelings, knowing everything she's been through with him since Christmas. She shouts at him and sends him away."

Does Alicia feel second best?
"Well, when David tells Alicia how he feels about her, it makes sense as she's had an inkling for a while that something is not quite right with him. This means that she knows there is some weight to what David is saying, but she's hurt by the way that it's come about.

"Alicia knows that David didn't stand up and tell Priya the truth. Instead, it's happened in a pretty roundabout way and it wasn't David who made the first move by dumping Priya. So it's not so much that Alicia feels second best, it's more that she thinks David should have fought for her, rather than Priya just letting him off the hook."

Would Alicia be happy to steal David from Priya?
"Alicia wouldn't do that, definitely not. Whether she liked Priya or not, it's not her thing and not what she's about. Even though she's feisty, she's got good morals. Also, Alicia doesn't hate Priya at all. Priya annoys Alicia in the way that she's so selfish, but Alicia can see that she's childlike and immature.

"When it comes to Alicia's kiss with David, he has split from Priya by that point. However, it is still stepping on Priya's toes a little bit because it's been so immediate.

"The kiss is actually such a big moment for Alicia and David. They've never had a proper kiss before. This is the first time that they've both been complicit in the kiss and it's not been a pretend one."

Can Alicia see herself with David at this point?
"In the aftermath of the kiss, Alicia throws herself into being a bit more focused on Dom. However, at the back of her mind, she now knows how David feels and sees herself getting with him in the long-run."

What does Alicia make of Dom?
"She likes him and thinks he's a nice guy. He's a good dad and very gentlemanly. Dom is also very persistent, but more than anything, I'd say they're two friends who have got children so they've got common interests.

"I don't think there's any love there, but there's a respect between them. Dom seems like quite a stable, secure guy and quite grown up. When you compare him to David who's quite indecisive and has some growing up to do, Dom seems like a safer bet.

"I'm not sure whether Alicia does see herself getting with Dom, though. They have a lot of common ground and would probably be very good friends."

After the row with David, Alicia has a bit of confusion over some flowers…
"Yes, she gets flowers from 'D' and assumes that they're from David. Alicia is annoyed by this, because she'd rather he came over to explain himself in person. She'd rather they had a big row which ends up in a big kiss - she wants a bit of drama and a bit of romance about it all! When she gets flowers, she's shocked that this is all she's worth to David.

"In the end, it turns out that the flowers aren't even from David! In Alicia's head, this is typical. When she realises they're from Dom, she decides to give this guy a chance. There's a bit of growing up to do with David, while Dom is making the effort to woo her. She's going to go for the guy who's prepared to be decisive and look after her."

How does Alicia feel when Dom invites her out on a date and tells her to wear trainers?
"She's not impressed! Alicia just thinks that Dom doesn't know her at all, and she fears he's taking her to the gym! She thinks Dom hasn't got a clue about her, but then her friends convince her to give him a chance.

"The date idea is really cool in the end. It's a supercar track day and Dom takes her driving Ferraris, which she really loves."

However, it turns out that David gave Dom the idea for the date…
"Yes, and when Alicia finds this out, it really makes her think all the more that David knows her the best. It's what makes her soften towards David again. Even though Dom was the one who took her out, it was David's idea.

"David has remembered a conversation with Alicia where she mentioned wanting to do this. Alicia can't even remember telling him that, so she's shocked that he remembered. It cements the fact that she should be with David, but she keeps changing her mind."

What happens next?
"Alicia is mulling a lot of different things over at this moment in time. Katie suggests making a list of pros and cons for David and Dom to compare them. The pros for David are that he is Alicia's best friend so knows her implicitly, Jake absolutely adores him, and she absolutely adores him too. Cons are that he's indecisive, quite clumsy, can't take his drink and wears wedding dresses!

"Pros for Dom are that he's a good dad, he's kind and he's very gentlemanly as well. There's only one con - he's just not David!"

Does Alicia make a decision in the end?
"Yes, Alicia decides that she needs to follow her heart, and she tells Katie that she's off to get her man! I can't give too much away about what happens next, but as Natalie, I'd love for her to choose David - as I've said repeatedly!

"The Emmerdale fans feel the same way too. I think they must assume I have some kind of power, as they keep telling me, 'You need to be with David!' I just say that I can only pass on their comments, as I'm not on the writing team! Even my grandmother said recently, 'I'm sick of everyone talking to me about Alicia and David and asking me when they're going to get together!'"

What kind of a wedding would Alicia and David have if they went the distance?
"It'd be their third 'wedding', so it could just be a registry office ceremony with pizza and beers afterwards. Or maybe Alicia would go completely the other way and have a perfect romantic wedding - everything she's ever wanted. Sneakily, I think the first idea is probably best for David and Alicia!"

Emmerdale airs Alicia's decision on Friday, May 17 at 7pm on ITV

[walsh2509]

Dear god , you would get a better class of acting if you put a monkey in david's place , all that eeh errmm ooh eeh

[lizann]

does lachlan attack alicia?

[tammyy2j]

Emmerdale launched a dark storyline in Thursday night's hour-long episode (February 26) as Alicia Metcalfe was sexually assaulted by teenager Lachlan White.

Lachlan (Thomas Atkinson) had developed an unhealthy fixation on Alicia (Natalie Anderson) in recent weeks, but he took his obsession a horrifying step further when Alicia fell asleep on the couch at home while he was paying a visit.


With Alicia clearly traumatised by what happened, future episodes will explore the aftermath for the Metcalfes and the Whites as each member of both families is affected.

Here, Emmerdale's producer Kate Oates offers some extra insight on the storyline and where it goes from here.

Why did you want to do this storyline?
"It initially came from a conversation that I had with Natalie ages ago. She talked about how the way people may look at Alicia because of the way she dresses conflicts with her almost chaste moral compass. Alicia is someone who has been very devoted to David and she wasn't flighty in relationships even before she got married. That got me thinking a little bit.

"Some other things also influenced the idea as it grew. First of all, a documentary that I saw about how young people today are affected by what they see online and particularly teenage use of porn. I thought that was a really interesting subject and something that soap hadn't touched before.

"There's also a podcast called This American Life and I listened to a really fascinating one about a woman whose child really struggled with empathy. She was just at her wits' ends about what to do with him.

"When all of these things started colliding in my head, I thought that it could potentially be a really layered story where we could explore different kinds of themes about assault and how young people's mindsets are affected by the environment that they're in. We'll also see how families deal with it on both sides - the perpetrator's family and the survivor's family."

We've seen that Lachlan has been looking at very explicit content online. Can you tell us more about this aspect of the storyline?
"I don't think it's something that's been covered on soap, and yet it's something that is just all over the place. I don't know how my friends who have kids sleep at night - what's out there is really worrying.

"For girls and boys, the expectations on teenagers now are terrifying. They can be in positions where they've never had relationships themselves, but they've seen lots of people have sex on the internet and that has completely shaped the way they approach relationships, each other and the way they feel they should behave.

"I found that really fascinating and I wanted to talk about it on a forum like this, because Emmerdale does have a great reach and I think it is important to open that dialogue up."



Was it difficult to get the tone right in the show's early timeslot?
"It's obviously a challenging thing to explore at 7pm, so it certainly wasn't an easy thing to do but I'm glad that we've been able to approach it. We talked initially about whether Alicia would be raped. We discussed that at length, but we decided that didn't necessarily have to be the story.

"It was difficult to get the right tone. We worked really hard with compliance and with the writers. We also talked to Natalie about what she was comfortable with.

"Tom is a young actor, so we had meetings with him, his chaperone and the director too. It's a massive expectation to ask a teenage boy who's new to soap to play this kind of role. Tom has been really fearless with it though, and I really take my hat off to him."

How dangerous is Lachlan?
"When we were creating the character, we talked a lot about empathy and people who struggle with it. I think Lachlan is a character who does struggle with empathy. It was mentioned from the beginning that he'd caused trouble in previous schools, the White family had to move and that was really difficult for Chrissie. We laid that trail and it's the kind of thing that keeps Chrissie awake at night - her hope that Lachlan can become a normal kid.

"So there's that side of him, but equally one thing we learned when we were talking to various charities and support groups about this story is that they were very keen for us to hit home that Lachlan can be redeemed and he can show remorse.

"That might not come just yet and it might be a longer journey, but it's one of those things that I hope the viewers can discuss amongst themselves. You often have those questions like, 'Are people born evil? Is it nature or nurture?' One talking point is whether it's a product of what he's seeing online, is it a product of the way people talk at school or is it something that's innately in him? That's what will trouble Chrissie as time goes on."

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star Natalie Anderson has discussed the tough journey ahead for her character Alicia Metcalfe, adding that her husband David will stand by her.

The ITV soap launched a dark storyline in Thursday night's hour-long episode (February 26) as Alicia was sexually assaulted by teenager Lachlan White.

Alicia arrives home and suggests to Lachlan they close up the shop early and he's chuffed when she asks him to make coffee.
© ITV
Alicia and Lachlan

Anderson revealed that the storyline is set to run for a long time and the aftermath will explore the impact the ordeal has on Alicia's relationship with David.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Anderson said: "The crying goes on and on and on for months. I am very lucky because I have a lot of history with Alicia and I am very close to the people who play my on-screen family.

"Even now I can't get through a scene with Leyla [Roxy Shahidi] without being so heartbroken and hysterical. Similarly her relationship with David has been through so much.

"David stands by her. I was thrilled about this. Matthew and I have filmed scenes together which are just so sad."

David comforts Alicia
© ITV
David comforts Alicia

She added: "People have championed this couple from the start and to see how this causes a distance between them is heartbreaking. They are desperately trying to get back to each other."

Anderson also said that although she believes the controversial storyline will divide opinion, she hopes viewers support Alicia.

She said: "It's very difficult. I hope people will take Alicia's side but it is not clear-cut. He is a child with issues.

"Every assault is wrong. But as the story plays out and the wider debates rumble on, are there any sympathies for Lachlan?"

She continued: "I've always thought of Alicia's dress sense as part of her armour. She couldn't have children so she dressed in that way to still feel feminine. She does dress sexily. And now it's gone against her.

"But that is her right as a woman. She can dress however she wants. It doesn't mean she is inviting someone to assault her. She is proud of her body."

[KiwiElle]

Emmerdale star Natalie Anderson has admitted that the show's team always knew her latest storyline would spark some complaints.

The actress's character Alicia Metcalfe featured in powerful scenes last week as she was sexually assaulted by 14-year-old schoolboy Lachlan White, played by Thomas Atkinson.


Natalie Anderson on This Morning

Nearly 50 viewers complained to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom after the episode aired, questioning whether the storyline was suitable for Emmerdale's pre-watershed timeslot.

Discussing the reaction on ITV's This Morning today (March 2), Anderson commented: "We knew that there would be [complaints]. It's a very contentious, sensitive storyline, so Emmerdale and Kate [Oates], our producer, were quite prepared for the fact that this would be shocking.

"Obviously everything was implied, nothing was explicit and there was so much research that went into it. We knew that there would be people who had complaints.

"I think, to be honest, in the grand scheme of things there's been more praise for the storyline than complaints for the storyline, which has been brilliant for us. Essentially we want to open up debate for why would a 14-year-old boy do this?"

Alicia arrives home and suggests to Lachlan they close up the shop early and he's chuffed when she asks him to make coffee.


© ITV
Lachlan and Alicia

Anderson also revealed how she reacted when Emmerdale's producer Oates first discussed the storyline with her.

She explained: "When I was first told about the storyline, I was incredibly shocked. I just didn't see it coming at all. Kate sat me down and said, 'This is where we want to go with your character'. I was like, 'Oh my goodness'.

"Then I started researching the topic, because it is more than just a sexual assault storyline. We're dealing with the impact of the internet on young people. When I started looking into that, I was really shocked and I rang her back and said, 'We have to tell this story, it's so important'.

"Equally for me as an actor, it has been difficult as well at times to film. But Tom who plays Lachlan is brilliant, absolutely wonderful. He's 16 and he's approached this with such maturity and professionalism.

"He's absolutely brilliant, a real credit to the show and himself and his family. He's helped me and put me at ease a lot because he's been very mature about the whole thing."


David comforts Alicia
© ITV

Alicia will struggle to cope in the coming weeks

Viewers have already seen Lachlan attempt to cover his tracks by telling the police and his family that he was in a relationship with Alicia. However, Anderson promised today that most of the villagers won't believe him.

She said: "There are members of the village that do question what's happened. A lot of the village do stick by her because he's got quite a bad reputation in the village.

"But obviously as we saw on Friday night, he has said, 'She's my girlfriend' and the police have to take that incredibly seriously. This is a minor who's making an accusation about an adult, so then they have to come and interview Alicia, which is absolutely horrendous for her as a mum.

"She's like, 'I can't even believe anyone would think that about me' and that's incredibly damaging to her and very upsetting."

[tammyy2j]

Alicia Metcalfe's sexual assault storyline develops further on Emmerdale next week as she finally gets a chance to give her side of the story to Lachlan White's mother Chrissie.

Chrissie (Louise Marwood) has stood by Lachlan since Alicia accused him of sexual assault last month, but she approaches the barmaid for an emotional heart-to-heart after beginning to realise that his story doesn't add up.

Here, Natalie Anderson - who plays Alicia - previews the big turning point in the storyline.

Lachlan returns to the village next week and confronts Alicia at the shop. What happens?
"By this point, Alicia is trying her best to put herself back together as best she can, but Lachlan is angry, humiliated and embarrassed. I do think there's a bit of Lachlan that really did love Alicia, so he is feeling hurt after she shut him down.

"When Lachlan sees Alicia at the shop and he follows her in, he wants to have his say and tell her that she 'brought it on herself' and she's lying about him. I think you'll see that both characters genuinely believe they are right in this situation. Lachlan is not necessarily predatory - he believes that what he's saying is right, but the fact that he genuinely thinks that is what is so wrong about this situation."

How does Alicia react?
"Alicia is completely terrified and tells Lachlan that he needs to go. Then she completely freaks out and goes hysterical. She throws things at him, but Alicia has got a history of assault and Chrissie says that she has now assaulted her son. So Alicia is dealing with the initial sexual assault, being accused of grooming Lachlan and now she has kind of committed an assault herself."

David later takes matters into his own hands by kidnapping Lachlan. Does Alicia think he's gone too far?
"Yes, she does to a point. She thinks, 'Oh my God, what has he done?' But equally she is quite grateful to David as well, because the police haven't reprimanded Lachlan and nobody else has told him off either. All she wants is for Lachlan to be sorry and admit that what he did was wrong. Once she has that closure she'd be able to move on, but Lachlan is not willing to do that because he doesn't believe that he is wrong.

"When David takes Lachlan, Alicia is really upset. She's desperately sad for David as well - he's such a loveable, bumbling guy but now he's been reduced to doing something so horrible. Alicia is just absolutely devastated for David. Potentially both of them could go to prison now and that would leave Jacob on his own, so it's like a melting pot of so many issues."

How does Alicia finally get through to Chrissie?
"Up until now, as with any mother, Chrissie has wanted to protect her son and believe her child. Lachlan is her baby, so she thinks Alicia is the one in the wrong. I think there was already a seed of doubt, but Chrissie has been trying to override that because she wants to do the right thing by Lachlan.

"When I read the scene where that all changes, I thought it was heartbreaking. It's very delicately written and it's very brave of Chrissie as well, because she stays and finally listens to everything that Alicia has to say. Chrissie wants to hear this because she needs Alicia, from a parent to a parent, to tell her what her son has done and what he's capable of. Then she can take the necessary action as a mother and do what she feels is best for Lachlan.

"The scene is not a shouting match - it's very moving and sad. I cried when I read it! I can only imagine how horrific it must be for the parents of somebody who commits an offence and what onus you'd put on yourself because of that."

Does Alicia blame Chrissie's parenting at all?
"No, Alicia still doesn't blame Chrissie. David says it's all Chrissie's fault, but Alicia says it's not - she has basically brought that young man up on her own. It could have been Jacob. Alicia is a mum's mum and she's not one to start judging people. She's got a past of her own, and people didn't take kindly to her when she joined the village. She understands that you just can't point the finger and blame the parents - there's a lot more going on and you have to wonder what's going on in society to make our young people behave like this."

How did you feel about taking on this storyline?
"Initially when Emmerdale's producer Kate Oates told me about the storyline it was a complete surprise to me. I was very shocked and a bit nervous, but I completely understood why she had picked Alicia as the character for this. Then I went away and did quite a bit of research into other accounts of similar real-life cases. I found some disturbing things and I remember ringing Kate back and saying that this is a story that really needed to be tackled.

"In the period between October and December last year, there were actually four high-profile cases involving children and attacks on women. There is obviously some kind of social problem going on here, so I'm really glad that we're doing this storyline because it needs to be highlighted. I will definitely say it's been the most challenging storyline I've done in my career."

How difficult has it been to get the tone right in your scenes with Thomas Atkinson, who plays Lachlan?
"Tom himself is 16 and there has been a really attentive level of care between his chaperone, the crew here at Emmerdale, the show's management and myself. We had many meetings and discussions prior to filming anything. In terms of duty of care, every box had been ticked.

"That was brilliant for Tom and I, because it meant that we could go forward and do our work. It was difficult because he's 16 and I'm 33, but the amazing thing with Tom is that he is an amazingly professional young man and he has worked away from the show. He's worked in the theatre and he's got a career, so he's very well aware of his surroundings and obviously he takes his work very seriously.

"Tom has been nothing but professional, which has been great for me because it's definitely put me at ease a lot. He's a credit to himself, and his chaperone Dave has been amazing too. We've been able to have a level of conversation where we can be quite frank. I'll say, 'Oh maybe we need to do this in a particular scene', or 'Don't be afraid of coming slightly too close in this scene'. We've discussed our boundaries."

How do you feel about the other issues that this story addresses?
"I don't want to trivialise this in any way, but this story is not just a story about sexual assault. It's a storyline which explores how a mother deals with a child who has quite clearly got issues, so we'll see how that affects Chrissie and how a couple put their lives back together afterwards.

"We're also exploring the social impact on young people at the moment and why a child like Lachlan would think that his actions were alright. We need to think about what they're subjected to in terms of the media, online content, and pornographic images and videos that can be accessed very easily.

"We've seen that with Lachlan - he's accessed porn online and he's obviously had fixations on girls before, so we've been building up to this storyline and it's dealing with lots of different wider issues. It's a much more layered story, as it's involving a minor. An adult knows right from wrong, but Lachlan is 14 so where is the blame?"

Do you find it worrying that young people can access explicit content so easily?
"Absolutely. It was something that was really brought to my attention when I started to do the research for this storyline. I typed in what happened to Alicia on Google to see what would come up. There were various real-life accounts which had happened to different people, but then there were also countless pornographic websites pointing to that kind of thing and almost glorifying it. I was horrified.

"Even at the moment, Fifty Shades of Grey has been banded about everywhere on mainstream television. A 9-year-old knows how to use an iPad, so if they want to know what Fifty Shades of Grey is, they can type it in. What comes up is pornographic images and lots of sexual content.

"That's what scary because children are very savvy. My 2-year-old knows how to work an iPad. You can get CBeebies and children's games on the iPad, but if he's faffing about, you don't know what could come up. It's really scary that there doesn't seem to be any passcodes or privacy. I keep saying that Google should have a password protection before you can access certain things."

On a personal level, was it good to get a dramatic storyline again?
"It was because we knew that we had it coming up. Myself and Matthew [Wolfenden, who plays David] were very nervous but very excited about it as well. Beforehand it was lovely to have some really fun scenes. Because Matthew and I knew we had this coming up, we wanted to make sure people remembered how fun and loveable they were as a couple. We really enjoyed playing that because we had this really dark time coming. Because we took it to that fun level, you'll see the impact of this and it's really heartbreaking when you see how it changes them."

Alicia hasn't been believed by everybody and it was the same in EastEnders' recent rape storyline. Is it still important for soaps to get the message across that survivors should speak out?
"Absolutely - 100%. There's a term called secondary wounding, when you are not believed or people almost disregard what's happened. That happens a lot with sexual assault and rape victims. If it's almost disregarded or people show their social ignorance towards your situation, it can hurt you just as much - it's that old term of adding insult to injury. We need to change those stigmas.

"That's why Emmerdale took a brave stand in showing that Alicia reported the assault straight away. We wanted to show that you can report it straight away and even though the police don't believe her initially, we have to change that.

"It's definitely right that we - and EastEnders as well who have done an amazing job - say, 'Please, please speak out'. When Kate told me that Alicia would report it straight away, I was so happy with that because I thought it showed real strength. That's what you should do if you can bring yourself to do it, because that's the only way we're going to change anything. It's also up to us as a society not to point the finger, blame or dilute anybody's situation. Every person's story is very different and nobody has the right to do anything to you if you don't want them to."

How did you switch off after filming?
"I'm incredibly lucky - I have the most incredible husband in the land! When I get home, I also have to switch into mummy mode straight away. That means I close the door on Alicia's life and go into my own. My husband James has been so supportive. He knew I had this story coming up and I'd run certain things by him. I've involved him all the way through and whenever he knew I'd had a big day filming, he'd ask me how it went.

"We'd talk it out and in a weird way it was a bit like therapy! That was really good for me to talk about it on a professional level with my husband. He knew what I was doing at work so that made things easier. He was so lovely and helpful, so on the day that we filmed the assault, he had tea, a glass of wine and a bath ready for me. It was easy to detach my life from Alicia's life!"

[alan45]

I thought she was leaving

[lansineva]

Natalie Anderson leaving at the end of the year. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-t...talie-Anderson

[Perdita]

Shame, I like her character and of course, David will be left heartbroken and I presume she is taking Jake with her, unless she is being killed off