It was pretty naïve of Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) to believe that she could keep her little dalliance with Ross Barton (Michael Parr) a secret from everyone in Emmerdale.
The unexpected story kicked off a couple of weeks ago, when Laurel confronted Ross because she believed that he was making eyes at Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham).
Ross was actually checking Laurel out. He had no interest in Gabby, but she believed otherwise. With her infatuation making her blind to the reality, Gabby attempted to seduce Ross at Home Farm. He put her straight and said that he didn’t fancy her, and poor Gabby felt awful.
As she hit the wine and started to feel sorry for herself, Ross continued to pursue her step-mum. Laurel got a thrill from sneaking around with Ross, but had to create an excuse as to why she was spending time with him when Sam Dingle (James Hooton) rocked up at Dale View.
Sam wanted some more dance lessons from Ross, who explained Laurel’s presence by saying that she had agreed to be Sam’s partner in their rehearsals.
It was a lie within a lie, as Sam wanted his ballroom practice to stay hidden from Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) so he could later surprise her. Unfortunately, because of the sneaking around and Laurel’s involvement, Lydia and Kim Tate (Claire King) began to wonder if Sam was having an affair.
Lydia confronted Sam about this on Monday, right in the middle of a pub that was full of other residents. In today’s episode, Lydia was busy working hard to put things right and apologise to Laurel and Sam.
It looked like it was the end of the matter – but Kim still had something to say.
While Lydia was talking to Laurel, Kim watched Sam enter the pub and hand a shirt back to Ross that had lipstick on.
With the knowledge that Sam hasn’t been sleeping with Laurel, Kim managed to work out that she must’ve transferred the lipstick onto Ross’s shirt during a particularly passionate moment between them.
She vocalised her theory in front of Lydia and Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw), who realised Kim was correct due to the suspicious look on Laurel’s face.
The duo poked at Laurel and Ross for more answers, but it happened right when Gabby walked in. Laurel tried to find an excuse for her actions, but Gabby was deeply hurt that she had been sneaking around with the man she also fancied.
She then made the situation even worse by telling Gabby that what happened between her and Ross was just sex. In Gabby’s eyes, this meant that Laurel had disregarded her feelings for something that she viewed as casual and ultimately meaningless.
Gabby doesn’t have a lot of luck when it comes to relationships, which is probably why her emotions were so heightened during the discovery about Ross and Laurel.
That afternoon, while Gabby ignored Laurel’s messages, she sat alone with Thomas in The Hide. She made a comment about how it’s just them now, finding the rejection and betrayal incredibly hard to deal with.
Gabby will search for a distraction from her feelings by continuing to focus on a new menu at The Hide. She will also become incredibly passionate about her own health and wellbeing.
As she searches for inspiration on social media though, it isn’t long until Gabby lands on the darker side of the internet.
Teasing the new story for her character, actress Rosie Bentham said: ‘I think she’s looking for something else to put her focus in and what can be seen as quite a healthy thing, investing in your health and everything, at what point does that become an obsession and unhealthy?’.
