Emmerdale's Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley) is caught between marrying Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) and running away with her ex-husband Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle), and the actress thinks there is only one correct choice.
Dawn was set to marry Joe until Billy was attacked and left in a coma, with all the evidence pointing to Joe. Convinced he is responsible, Dawn decides to flee the village with Billy and their three children.
Olivia Bromley's Verdict
Olivia Bromley, who has played Dawn since 2018, says: “From my perspective, Dawn should’ve chosen Billy all along.”
“He’s very stable, he’s so loving, he’s always loved her and was a wonderful dad.”
Dawn married Billy in 2022, but their wedding was hijacked by serial killer Meena. They later had three children: Lucas, Clemmie and Evan. When Joe returned, Dawn began an affair and eventually left Billy – a decision Olivia disagrees with: “We don’t always choose the person who’s the right person for us.”
“She’s absolutely addicted to Joe and she just constantly chooses him even though its not the right thing for her.”
Billy's Perspective
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star, Olivia said: “I think Billy and Dawn work really well together and they always did. They were from similar worlds and understood each other on a different level.”
Jay Kontzle, who plays Billy, says: “Billy just wants Dawn back ultimately. Joe taking Dawn from him, I don’t think he’s ever got over it.”
Dawn has defended Joe through a stolen kidney, three deaths and framing Moira for human-trafficking. But Olivia says Billy's attack is her final straw: “[Billy] has been attacked and she thinks it’s Joe, and this is the person that she has sacrificed everything for, and he has attacked the father of her kids and she’s just absolutely devastated.”
“She has defended him and defended him for so long that she’s got to the point where she’s like ‘ok I’m such an idiot.”
What Dawn Doesn't Know
Unbeknownst to Dawn, Joe is not responsible for the attack – Billy was attacked by Kev in a 'wrong place, wrong time' moment. Olivia says if she knew the truth, she would have acted differently: “If it wasn’t Joe, she wouldn’t make that choice at all. She wouldn’t leave with his child, she wouldn’t run away with her children.”
Aided by Caleb Milligan (Will Ash) as part of his revenge plan, Billy and Dawn plot to flee the village on her wedding day with their children.
Joe is aware that Dawn and Billy shared a kiss, but Ned says Joe has suspicions: “He's not fully convinced that everything, which seems to be going so well, is going to go well.”
“Like all villainous characters, they don't believe that they are bad people. They believe that they deserve happiness in the end, and he wants this to be the day that he and the love of his life deserve.”
Teasing upcoming episodes, Ned says: “Is he planning his own terrible revenge story?”
