Emmerdale fans were left stunned as Holly Barton returned to the village during a scene focusing on Moira Dingle’s brain surgery, but what has the actress Sophie Powles been up to?
***THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE ITVX EPISODE OF EMMERDALE***
Sophie Powles has made a temporary return to Emmerdale, reprising her role as Holly Barton in a new storyline.
In Wednesday’s episode (November 20), available to watch on ITVX, Moira (played by Natalie J Robb) undergoes brain surgery amidst her health struggles, leading to a surprise reappearance of her late daughter Holly.
Long-time viewers will recall that Holly tragically passed away in late 2016 following a fatal drug relapse. The character, portrayed by Sophie, had been grappling with addiction for years and died in 2016, just six months after her return to the soap.
Sophie was brought back to film poignant scenes where Holly appears in Moira’s dream during her life-saving operation, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Sophie has had stints on the soap since 2009 but made her last appearance in 2016 until now. In addition to being an actress, Sophie is also a mum and recently enjoyed a weekend getaway with her Emmerdale family.
Photos from the trip featured other stars such as Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle), Zoe Henry (Rhona Ghoskirk) and Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle), with the group donning 80s attire for the occasion.
Outside of Emmerdale, Sophie has appeared in The Long Shadow, Britannia High, Holby City and Dalziel and Pascoe.
Discussing the brain surgery storyline, Natalie J Robb, who portrays Moira, hinted at potential changes in her character, saying: “There could be some slight personality change, it could be that she just faces things differently because she’s been faced with such an ordeal. She chooses to deal with things maybe a bit differently because life is so precious and it was nearly taken away from her. I think if anyone loses a loved one or a dog, which I did in February, the grief was overwhelming and it really makes you go ‘Right, you’ve got to really appreciate every day as you live it.'”
Natalie confessed that filming the intense scenes was “emotionally exhausting” for her. She explained: “Emotionally it was exhausting because of the journey of it, feeling the fear of it, going through some of the earlier scenes between Cain and Moira which were lovely where she is really scared, there was a lot of scenes because we shoot a lot of things together.
“We did a lot of the emotional stuff in one or two days so you’re aagh after that. But it is exhausting but it’s also rewarding when you see it go out and you know that you’ve done a good job, that’s the main thing.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX
