Caleb Miligan's secret liaison with Sadie King is set to explode into a Christmas twist that could destroy his marriage to Ruby in Emmerdale. Actor William Ash has revealed that Caleb is consumed by guilt as Sadie's plan to seduce him, orchestrated by Joe Tate, nears its devastating conclusion.
Caleb's Guilt and Betrayal
Sadie, played by Patsy Kensit, convinced Joe that she would tear Caleb and Ruby apart by seduction rather than digging for dirt. William Ash explains that Caleb feels betrayed by Sadie, who tricked him into believing Ruby had slept with Ross Barton.
'He's absolutely consumed by the guilt of it all,' Ash said. 'He feels betrayed by Sadie as well, she's tricked him into doing this by making out that Ruby has slept with Ross, so he feels really remorseful.'
Despite Sadie's admitted real feelings for Caleb, Ash doubts the feelings are reciprocated. 'No, I don't think so,' he said. 'There's a bit of something there, he looks at her and thinks she's an attractive woman. Personally, I think his relationship with Ruby is that strong now that he isn't attracted to anybody in that way, that's why I think the betrayal of Ruby is informed by anger and getting his own back.'
Cain's Warning and the Kiss
Caleb's brother Cain Dingle, who has his own history with Sadie, learns of the indiscretion next week after warning Caleb to stay away. Ash notes that Cain sees Caleb as an idiot for his actions, having predicted the fallout.
'When Caleb confesses to Cain about what he's done, Cain is like 'I told you so', he could see this coming,' Ash said. 'Caleb's ego got the better of him, he thought he could keep Sadie under control.'
The situation escalates when Sadie plants a kiss on Caleb, and he doesn't pull away. Ash describes the moment: 'She kisses him initially – Caleb is a bit drunk – she goes to kiss him, and at first he's resistant, then he goes to kiss her, just as he's about to go down that path again, they hear a noise outside the office.'
Caleb is terrified, immediately rushing outside to see who witnessed the kiss. Ash confirms, 'He's terrified. He immediately goes outside to see who it was. There's quite a few people who he's mainly worried about knowing: it could be Ruby who's seen it and then storms off, there's quite a few people who it could be.'
Marriage at Breaking Point
The betrayal could prove fatal to Caleb and Ruby's marriage, which had grown strong after overcoming past challenges with Anthony and Steph. Ash admits the stakes are higher this time.
'The betrayal is so much greater this time,' he said. 'Their relationship became so strong after everything that happened with Anthony and Steph, they've overcome so much, he's always been a bit of a philander, Ruby and Caleb thought they'd put all that behind them, so something like this for Ruby, I don't know on the surface how it looks. It depends how Ruby sees it but I think she would definitely kick him out – I don't think there's any coming back from this.'
As Christmas approaches, the secret looms like a ticking time bomb. Ash teases: 'You've got this secret, it's like a ticking time bomb. He's working over time to keep it under wraps. It's inevitable that it's going to get out but because he is naïve and working really hard, he thinks he's going to be able to stop it.'
