After months of anguish it looks like Emmerdale’s Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) finally has a chance of happiness – until she does something that threatens everything.
After Rhona was found not guilty of kidnapping Ivy, the baby who’s biologically hers but legally isn’t, there was relief all round for her, Marlon (Mark Charnock) and the rest of the family.
Throughout the court case Gus (Alan McKenna) and his legal representatives had tried to portray Rhona as being unstable, arrogant and selfish in trying to deprive Gus of his child. In return she argued that Gus had stolen the embryo that had been half hers without her consent.
After Ivy’s birth mother died Gus was unable to cope and Rhona and her family stepped in and a strong bond was forged between them and Ivy.
Rhona was acting on her maternal instincts when she took the child, she said, and had only ever had Ivy’s best interests at heart.
Following Rhona’s acquittal, Gus himself faced prison because he’d stolen the embryos. He came to see Rhona to ask her to support him with a statement. In return he said he wanted her to look after Ivy.
Rhona wasn’t ready to trust Gus after all of his previous lies, but eventually Ethan (Emile John) drew up a formal agreement that Ivy would live with Rhona.
As the day of Gus’s sentencing arrives, he and Rhona decide that the most important thing from now on is Ivy’s welfare.
He’s hopeful of getting a lighter sentence thanks to Rhona’s statement and tries to reassure Marlon that the family will still be very much a part of Ivy’s life even after he gets out of prison.
Even though she has what she wanted, Rhona seems preoccupied and is nervous as the sentencing approaches. Marlon does his best to calm and reassure her, but she has a lot on her mind and is clearly troubled.
In court she takes to the stand and begins to read out her statement. Zoe Henry told us that even she was shocked by what happens as her character speaks.
‘Rhona does something that I’m like, “Hang on a minute, what she does in court, is that pre-meditated? Because that changes everything,”’ she said.
‘Actually what she does is tell the truth, and sometimes it just takes her by surprise, which is kind of what happens in that moment. I think truth be told, Rhona would love Gus, in a magical fairytale way, to just disappear and have that baby and be a happy family unit, all together, but she also knows that’s not particularly fair, so I don’t know.’
What effect will Rhona’s actions have on her family – and Ivy’s future?
