Emotions were running high in the Emmerdale village tonight (January 18) as the residents gathered to say goodbye to Heath Hope (Sebastian Dowling).
Heath died at the start of this year after being involved in a car crash. We now know that Angelica (Rebecca Bakes) was definitely behind the wheel when the accident happened but for weeks, people believed Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling) was responsible.
When tonight’s episode opened, Bob (Tony Audenshaw) and Wendy (Susan Cookson) were on the bridge listening to the sound of the river. Wendy gently told Bob that they needed to start getting ready, but the weight of his son’s death and everything that’s followed afterwards was becoming overwhelming for him.
As people started to get ready, Chas (Lucy Pargeter) was in the pub back room.
When Paddy (Dominic Brunt) arrived, he asked Chas if she was alright and then got talking about Eve, their daughter.
Heath dying at such a young age was another reminder that life is short, and can change suddenly in minutes. Paddy reflected on this and said how important it is to cherish moments with Eve. The little girl will grow up and experience so many life events, something Chas and Paddy’s late daughter Grace won’t ever do.
Grace was born in October 2018 after Chas learned in February of that year that she was pregnant. After Chas discovered at a scan that Grace had a condition called Bilaterial Renal Agenesis, she tragically died soon after she was born, living for just 29 minutes.As Heath’s funeral drew to a close, a guilty and overwhelmed Angelica was found by Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) at the graveyard.Nicola believed that her daughter was just struggling with the funeral and saying goodbye to her friend, but she then broke down in tears and confirmed she had lied, and that she was behind the wheel when the car crashed after all.
