Emmerdale viewers are struggling to decipher the true intentions of newcomer Serena Sugden, played by Casey Al-Shaqsy. The character, introduced as the long-lost second cousin once removed of Robert and Victoria Sugden, has been relentlessly asking questions about the death of John Sugden, Victoria's brother who was revealed as a serial killer before his demise.
Serena's Background Revealed
In Wednesday night's episode, Serena disclosed that she is a former police officer. She explained to Robert, "Turns out me and the police weren't a good fit. Felt too hard to make a difference, for starters. Not that I've ever been idealistic. Don't grow up expecting life to be a breeze in a mixed-race farming family." She added, "It wasn't awful but it wasn't always great either. The Yorkshire Dales aren't a melting pot of diversity. You get used to feeling on the outskirt of things."
Serena's Connection to John
Despite initially claiming to "hardly know" John, Serena later admitted they were closer than she let on. She revealed to John, "When my mum got ill... we were struggling to keep the farm. He cashed in his army pension and gave us the money. He knew we were in a mess... and he said he didn't need the money for anything. The John that I knew... it can't really have been him, not if he could do all that other stuff. The problem is, he stopped our lives from falling apart. Do you get to feel angry or tricked when you've benefited from someone else?"
Serena's Investigation and Offer
Serena then revealed she still had leftover money from John's gift and offered it to Vanessa Woodfield. She continued to press Robert for answers, refusing to believe that John took his own life. Robert, aware that Victoria has fled to Portugal, insisted, "Don't know how many times you wanna go over it all. That's the truth. It doesn't matter how much you wanna go through all of this. You already know everything there is to know. Vic's done nothing wrong. It sounds like you're trying to accuse her of something."
Serena shifted tactics, saying, "If she did do it, I'd be buying her a drink, not turning her in. I'm agreeing with you, she did do nothing wrong and I wanted the truth, now I've got it," as she read Robert's expression. In a final twist, Serena was seen marching to the police station, suggesting she might report Victoria.
Fan Reactions
Fans took to social media to speculate. One Reddit user wrote, "Robert, can you be any more incriminating? Don't think Serena is grassing them, but wonder what her true motive is behind investigating John!" Another said, "The reaction to Serena being an ex-copper is ridiculous; it's literally nobody's business. She's a stranger to everyone in the village, even Robert, so why do they feel entitled to her life history?" A third commented, "At absolute worst they're hiding a self defence kill but there's no need because the police should already know that. Everything Serena wants to know is like a file search away." A fourth added, "I still can't work out Serena? But I stand by the fact that there are Sugden branches that knew of his existence but not Jack and his children, seems a bit nonsense. I do like her, I always give newcomers three months."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
