Emmerdale icons dismissed rumours on bizarre story – but it’s come true

If you think the resurrection of Emmerdale supervillain Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) seems less like a farfetched bit of soap gossip, you’re not alone. So did Emmerdale actress Zoe Henry.

In a recent interview, Zoe, who plays Rhona Goskirk, confessed that she thought that her character’s longterm love interest’s return from the grave was simply too bonkers to be true.

“It was a big secret!’ She gushes. ‘But rather bizarrely, Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) and I had both heard a rumour but both dismissed it because ‘he’s SO dead! I mean, he’s SO dead! He was SO blue, he’s dead!’

Indeed he was. Graham was famously bumped off onscreen by Rhona’s abusive ex-husband Pierce Harris (Jonathan Wrather), who not only ran his rival over, but hit him with a torch. There was no chance Graham could survive that.

However in Soapland, ‘no chance’ happens nine times out of ten.

Although his body was identified and cremated, it was revealed earlier this year revealed Graham faked his death using his SAS training to survive the attack, returning years later after plotting revenge against his ex-wife Kim Tate (Claire King), for trying to have him killed.

Now Graham’s back in the village and on a mission to break Kim’s control over his former protégé, Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).

But that’s not the only reason Graham’s back. He’s also drawn back to the great love of his life, Rhona. The problem is – she’s married to Marlon now.

Zoe Henry recalled the moment she and Mark first heard the rumour of Graham’s return.

‘We had a conversation and Mark said: ‘Have you heard…?’ and I said, ‘Yeah I have heard!’ Anyway, we ended up getting called up for a meeting and on the way up, Mark went: ‘It’s happening, isn’t it?’ I asked: ‘What do we say? Do we say that we’ve heard the rumour? This is really awkward’.

“We said to Laura [Shaw]: ‘We know!’ She was like: ‘Oh my God, what? Nothing is secret in this building’. Anyway, we managed to keep it from the audience, which is the main thing. That’s the best kind of reveal, when the audience goes: ‘Whaat!’ Which is kind of what we did’.

‘Whaat!’ is certainly a fair description of the audience reaction when Graham first resurfaced during the Corriedale crash. After Corrie newcomer Jodie Ramsey escaped from the back of his van, he made a mysterious phone call revealing he was ‘cancelling the contract’. That was a giant red flag indicating to the audience that Graham was still up to his neck in the criminal world.

That doesn’t stop Rhona from carrying a candle for her ex. Ever since he confessed his enduring love, the feisty vet of the Dales has been torn between two men – sweet dependable Marlon, and dangerous, intense Graham.Who will she pick?

We seemingly get our answer in recent episodes, where Graham’s decision to cancel the hit on Jodie comes back to bite him. His employers are out for blood. The next thing Rhona knows, she arrives at Home Farm to find Graham’s been stabbed!

As she tends to him, his body in her arms, who should show up but Marlon? Uh-oh…

Heartbroken Marlon has to ask his wife the question he most dreads an answer to – does she still love Graham? Rhona’s silence speaks volumes.

When Graham recovers, he confronts Rhona to get answers outside the Woolpack. He needs to know who she chooses. Will Rhona tear her family apart for Graham?

Zoe Henry’s giving nothing away. But she does give us some insight into how her character is feeling.

‘I think it’s lip service, really. She is saying all the right things and I wonder if it’s a bid to try and convince herself that there are no feelings – and of course there are. It was severed – there was no falling out of love, there was no affair or anything. It just ended very suddenly.’

“The minute she sees Graham and when she accepts that he’s actually alive and there, it’s a deep dive back into where she was six years ago.’

Tough break, Marlon.