Emmerdale star Emma Atkins has predicted that Strictly Come Dancing fans will "adore" her co-star Lawrence Robb, who is competing on this year's series of the BBC show alongside Jowita Przystal.
The 34-year-old soap star made his debut on the dancefloor last weekend, performing the Paso Doble to Aperture by Harry Styles. The couple finished the night in eighth on the leaderboard with 20 points alongside Cach Mercer and newcomer Maddie Ingoldsby.
Support from on-screen wife
Lawrence is best known for playing Mackenzie Boyd on Emmerdale, who is currently married to Charity Dingle, played by Emma for more than two decades. The 51-year-old actress admitted she was "chuffed" to hear that her on-screen husband would be taking part in Strictly, but said his stint is unlikely to persuade her to appear on the show herself.
"I was chuffed to bits for him. He came into the dressing room and announced it to me and Katie [Hill] and then all afternoon we couldn't stop singing the theme tune," Emma told the Daily Express at the Inside Soap Awards.
"I think if anyone can rock it then he can. He's lovely and I think the audience are going to adore him."
Live show nerves
When asked what she thought would make Lawrence most nervous, Emma said: "The live shows, like everybody is. I would say for sure that element of intensity is crazy."
Although she said "never say never" about taking part herself, it seems Emma won't be hitting the Strictly dancefloor anytime soon. "It's the live stuff that makes me panic. It's a nerve-wracking thing. I quite like watching it in the comfort of my own home egging my friends on," she confessed.
Charity's current storyline
It's been a turbulent few months for Charity, who is currently in prison for a murder she didn't commit. Her granddaughter, Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) accidentally killed Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker) after discovering that she had sexually assaulted Charity.
Charity subsequently took the blame for Todd's death, with Sarah backing her version of events and claiming that the killing had been an accident. However, after discovering that Leyla was not her biological daughter, Sarah retracted her statement. Charity is currently being held on remand, struggling to cope behind bars.
Emma admitted that she is looking forward to returning to the lighthearted side of her character that fans are so used to seeing, revealing that she misses being "really funny". "I want to get her mojo back so she's behind that bar slinging the one-liners out and being funny. I do miss that because when I go serious, I go serious," she said.
