Actress Caroline Harker, who plays evil Dr Caitlin Todd in Emmerdale, has revealed how she drew on 'cruel' people from her past to portray the bullying character. The 60-year-old, who joined the soap last year, said she also watched world leaders to fine-tune her bullying skills.
Dr Todd has been mercilessly bullying trainee doctor Jacob Gallagher, played by Joe-Warren Plant, to the point where he breaks down in tears to his wife Sarah. When Jacob tries to make a formal complaint, he discovers his tormentor has already submitted a dossier of damning evidence against him, including voice recordings.
Caroline said: 'She reminds me of certain world leaders. They say the unsayable, then do the unsayable. They have no fear of consequences and no empathy.' She added that she has stored experiences of bullies in her mind, including from her time at a boarding school convent where 'a few of the nuns had cruel streaks'.
The London-born actress comes from an acting dynasty spanning centuries. Her mother Polly Adams played Mrs Brown in the 1990s series Just William, her late father Richard Owens appeared in The Avengers, and her sister Susannah Harker was nominated for a BAFTA for House of Cards. Her great-grandfather Gordon Harker appeared in films in the 1920s and 1930s, and her great-great-great grandfather William was a theatre actor.
Married to actor Anthony Calf, whom she met on the set of the 1993 TV adaptation of Riders, their two daughters are also in the business. Despite her impressive pedigree, Caroline admitted she was nervous when she first joined Emmerdale, saying: 'It was like the first day at school every day.'
Dr Todd, a senior doctor at Hotten General Hospital, also has a second victim in her sights: Charity Dingle, played by Emma Atkins. Threatening to expose that Jacob is not baby Leila's biological father, she proceeds to blackmail her. Caroline said: 'It's a power game. She's not afraid of anyone.'
