Paula Lane makes an explosive debut to Emmerdale and promptly brands character a ‘scrotum’
She made an impact!
A familiar face to soap fans turned up in Emmerdale in Tuesday (January 16)’s episode, as former Coronation Street star Paula Lane arrived in the Dales.
Paula’s character, Ella Forster, was first seen at the vets’ ball, which took place in the Hide. Ella was PA to a loud-mouthed and bossy managing director called Jules (Wayne Cater) who was already throwing his weight about and being obnoxious before the event had even properly started.
His horrible behaviour went up a notch when Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) arrived. Mandy had taken the invitation’s instruction to ‘dress to impress’ very seriously. She was wearing a black dress held together with decorative safety pins in a throwback to the iconic gown worn by Liz Hurley in the 1990s.
Jules – who thought he was hilarious – kept referring to Mandy as ‘Liz.’ Worse for her, Paddy (Dominic Brunt) refused to stand up to Jules and acted like he was ashamed of Mandy.
She made an impact!
Luckily, a champion was at hand in the form of Ella. It was clear that she’d had enough of her boss’s bullying, spiteful ways and didn’t care any longer about keeping her job. So when she heard Jules having another pop at Mandy, she’d had enough.
‘It’s the final straw when she just sees him humiliate Mandy, and she really wants to stand up for her,’ Paula Lane told us. ‘And I think through that, obviously, Mandy just sees that.’
Wading into the situation like a superhero in scrubs, Ella told Jules that her only problem was ‘the whinging scrotum I get to call my boss.’
As Mandy tried to muffle her giggles, Jules started to tell Ella that if this was her way of handing her notice in – but she stopped him.
‘It isn’t,’ she said. ‘This is,’ and proceeded to pour the contents of a pint glass over his head.
Mandy roared with laughter and it looks like a brilliant friendship has been born, as Ella is set to move into the village permanently soon.
‘She’s a good friend to have,’ Paula said. ‘And they just immediately have this spark. And it develops from there.’
The actress, who left Coronation Street eight years ago when her character Kylie Platt was murdered, hinted at what we can expect from her character in the near future.
‘She is 29. She is a single woman, who is very professional. She doesn’t mince her words, but she’s not scrappy. I think she’s definitely a good friend to have on your side. And I’m really pleased that she kind of quickly finds a friendship with Mandy and I think them two are definitely going to be a great pair.’
Ella will join the team at the new GP’s surgery in Main Street and Paula confirmed that romance could be on the cards for her.
‘There might be some fireworks, there’s a little bit of competition, perhaps. Little love triangle going on. But behind closed doors, who knows what can happen. I’m going to be at the heart of the village, working out of the new surgery.’
