When we first met Ella Forster (Paula Lane) in Emmerdale, she appeared to be a kind young woman who enjoyed making friends with the likes of Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) and Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley).
As time has ticked by, focus is now on Ella’s developing relationship with Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson).
While things seem to be going well, it’s becoming increasingly obvious Ella is hiding a secret from Liam and frustratingly, we have no idea what it could be.
So, it’s time to investigate.
Join us as we don our deerstalker hats and grab our pens and paper as we try and work out just who Ella Forster really is.
Her apparent connection to Meena Jutla
You remember Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu) right? The utterly mad singing and dancing serial killer who was responsible for killing Leanna Cavanagh, Andrea Tate and Ben Tucker.
Fans have wondered if Ella is connected to Meena for a while, but a scene in the episode broadcasted on May 14 fuelled this theory more than ever.
Ella had spent the night with Liam at Tenant’s following their successful date in the scrapyard. She came downstairs to find a note that Liam had popped out to get croissants.
Ella looked relaxed and happy at this point, but when she looked around the room she spotted a framed photo of Leanna. She picked it up and sat down in a chair to look at it.
She was interrupted by Liam coming back and she moved to the table to have breakfast, leaving the photo on the coffee table.
Ella told him to go with the flow, but as he was talking on a couple of occasions she glanced back at the photo of Leanna.
Then Liam started talking about his daughter, saying that Ella’s spontaneity was ‘refreshing. Especially after… Leanna.’ He said she put him at ease and made him feel more like himself than he could remember.
‘Not that I’ll ever be the same again, not since Meena stole Leanna from me,’ he said – and at these words Ella’s expression changed and she said she had to do something and dashed off, leaving Liam wondering what had happened.
Ella had seemed to be OK with the mentions of Leanna, but was it Meena’s name that made her react strangely?
Ella’s nurse friend
We know Ella works as the receptionist at the surgery in the village. A few weeks ago, during a conversation with Liam, Ella said that she used to have a friend – who worked as a nurse – and also encouraged her to go into nursing.
And let’s not forget, who worked as a nurse while in the village?
Meena Jutla.
Ella’s uncle
Liam and Ella’s most recent date featured them collecting items from the scrapyard that he could then repurpose at his allotment.
Romantic.
During their afternoon together, Ella mentioned that her Uncle taught her all about recycling. It was a brief moment, but we of course wondered why she mentioned this family member, given she doesn’t open up about them a great deal.
Did Ella say this just to show Liam they have a lot in common? Or, could it have been a lie, and she’s just saying it to string him along?
June Phillips
We met a lady called June Phillips recently when Ella visited her at a care home. It was established Ella and June had a strong connection and in the past, they experienced something that made them both ‘very sad’.
Unfortunately, June died shortly after we were introduced to her. Ella was utterly heartbroken when she was told the news and to make things worse – but more intriguing for us – a lady at the home told Ella to vacate June’s room because she isn’t her relative and therefore, wasn’t allowed to deal with the aftermath of her death.
In upcoming instalments of the ITV soap, Ella will attend the June’s funeral, but things descend into disaster when a man approaches Ella and Liam, ready for a showdown.
Does an argument unfold because this man knows who the real Ella is?
Hints from actress Paula Lane
Paula Lane hasn’t given us many hints about Ella’s past, but she has previously told us that ‘Ella does have a past that is going to be revealed.
‘She does have responsibilities elsewhere outside the village that mean a great deal to her and I’m so looking forward to exploring this further.’
She also said: ‘When something/someone so important to her is put at risk she will fight so hard to protect that situation. This is a part of her we’ve yet to see and there is currently a lot at stake and a lot to fight for!’
Could this be in connection with June Phillips?
The photograph
Shortly after Ella moved into Liam’s house, Mandy found a photograph amongst her belongings that featured two young girls together.
When Ella realised what Mandy was holding, she quickly snatched it back.
This photograph turned out to be a massive clue to Ella’s real identity.
After noticing Ella acting strangely during a chat with Liam, Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) turned detective and decided to do some digging.
She was able to establish Ella didn’t have any social media or a driver’s licence, and grew determined to find out why.
After breaking into Liam’s house and being confronted by Ella, it was confirmed Leyla had stolen the same photograph Mandy found.
During a chat with Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough), Leyla held the photograph up and told her friend to look on the back for the names.
And neither of them said Ella.
On the reverse side of the image were the names Ruth and Joanne. Suzy and Leyla managed to work out that one of the girls in the image had to be Ella – but they couldn’t establish who was Ruth, and who was Joanne.
With confirmation Ella definitely changed her name in the past, it’s left Leyla – and all of us – wondering what happened to this new face for her to make such a life changing decision.
Once the truth about her is finally revealed, what will this do to Ella’s future in Emmerdale?
