ITV Emmerdale Kerry Wyatt’s past 16 months explained as Laura Norton teases character’s future

Kerry Wyatt has been absent from Emmerdale for nearly two years but Laura Norton returns to the ITV soap tonight with some big news for her family

Kerry Wyatt has been absent from the Emmerdale village for several months – but she makes a sudden return tonight.

Laura Norton is reprising her role as Kerry tonight after going on maternity leave. She was last seen on our screens struggling to cope with the death of her partner Al Chapman, but where has Kerry been this past 16 months and what has she been up to?

Speaking about what her character has been up to, Laura told us: “She’s been on a cruise ship as a Cher impersonator and she has been a naughty girl. How I’ve told myself the story of how it’s unfolded – she had such an awful time. She made friends with Chas, she met this guy who she never thought in her wildest dreams would want to be with her. They had an affair, he died. And I think she just felt really low. I think those times in your life, you just remove yourself from everyone that knows you.

“I think she’s just gone somewhere where she can reset as Kerry and be the best version of herself where she’s not got a past and baggage around her. People know her as this really fun person and she’s not being a terrible mum and she’s not being called out for being a rubbish friend, I think she’s just found a new lease of life but it’s almost like reset her too far. She’s just up to her old tricks and just making a few bad decisions and being a bit naughty, all in the name of the fun!”

Laura praised the show’s team for helping her settle back into her role. She said: “Every department’s made it very easy for me because the script, the story, the writing and then the costume and the wig.

“Just as soon as you put her clothes on, it’s just like, ah, there she is. And I think having such a long period of time off, because I did have a year and a half, but I had the year when I’d come back after me maternity with Jesse, I’d had a year and a half off with him. So all in total just feels like that year was so quick and I’ve had a long time off work. I was worried that I couldn’t do it anymore. Can I walk and talk at the same time? Can I still act? You know, all of that kind of stuff. I felt very blessed when I opened the script and realised how she was coming back and it did make it very easy.”

Laura also warned there’s trouble ahead now Kerry is back and teased her character could ruffle some feathers on her return.

“I can tell she’s just in that mode where she’s just going to make a bad decision after bad decision after bad decision. She’ll have to be careful because you know, she’s on a thin wire with Amy. So I think she’ll probably poke her nose in too much and God knows which direction that will go in then after that. Hopefully she won’t spoil anything,” she teased of what’s to come.