Emmerdale spoilers: Cathy’s heartbreaking reason over funeral request as Bob loses it

With the day of Heath Hope (Sebastian Dowling)’s funeral rapidly approaching in Emmerdale, his step-mum Brenda Walker (Lesley Dunlop) knew she had to do something about Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) refusing to speak to his daughter Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling).

Bob blames Cathy for the car accident that killed Heath, knowing that she stole Wendy’s (Susan Cookson) car to drive herself and her brother, along with Angelica King (Rebecca Bakes), to a party in Hotten.

Cathy has been adamant that she wasn’t driving the car at the time of the crash as Angelica had taken over driving. Although Brenda believes this, Bob persists in thinking Cathy is lying.

When Bob blanked Cathy in the village in Wednesday’s (January 17) episode, Brenda had had enough and called out his behaviour, telling him he needed to step up and reminding him that Cathy is still a child.

Bob and Cathy clashed again

It seemed that her words had hit home when a bit later Bob came to Brenda and Eric Pollard’s (Chris Chittell) house, where Cathy has been staying since the accident, to talk to his daughter.

Cathy was writing her eulogy for the funeral service and had it almost finished. Bob admitted he’d barely started his as every time he tried to write something the words came out wrong.

Brenda told him to sit with Cathy while she and Eric made some tea, and after a while, it seemed that Bob had started to thaw towards his daughter.

They both agreed that there wouldn’t be any hymns at the funeral because Heath hated hymns.

Bob suggested a song he wanted to be played – Getting Started by Sam Fender. He said Heath had often played it on his guitar.

Cathy’s mood changed. She said she didn’t like that song and didn’t want it played. Rather than asking her why, Bob just assumed that she was being moody or selfish and said, ‘Why does everything have to be about you?’

She tried to tell him that it wasn’t just her being moody, but Bob wouldn’t listen and stormed out, leaving Cathy to tell Brenda the sad reason why she couldn’t face hearing that particular song at the funeral.

It had been playing in the car when they crashed, she said. Her last memory of her brother was of him singing that song ‘at the top of his voice.’

‘What an absolute mess,’ Brenda told Pollard after Cathy had gone to her room, as she wondered how the family would face the funeral.