Paula Lane has revealed she didn’t know her Emmerdale character Ella was going to be a child killer when she signed up for the ITV soap

Paula Lane didn’t know Ella was going to be a child killer when she signed up for Emmerdale.

Paula – best known for playing Kylie Platt on Coronation Street – joined Emmerdale a few months ago but admitted she never knew that her character Ella was going to turn out to be a child killer. Ella was revealed to have killed her 11-year-old best friend when she feared losing her friend’s mum, who had become like a mother to her.

Explaining how much she has enjoyed being able to lead such a “gritty” storyline, but she admitted she was “quite nervous” to be tackling such a serious storyline during her first few months on the soap.

Ella actress Paula Lane revealed she didn’t know she was going to be a child killer on the soap

Speaking about her initial reaction to the storyline, she said: “When I took the part of Ella, I didn’t know the storyline was going to be this storyline but I think any actor worth their salt will take something very gritty and that’s going to give you full exposure and run with it. I knew that it was in safe hands and they were going to do a great job with it.

“Combined with the writer and director, I knew they were going to make it something. Initially, I was quite nervous to play it out. You never know which way the audience will go. Ultimately, you look for the truth in it and it follows on from there.”

Paula revealed that all in all, the reaction has been very positive to her input into the storyline – but she admits it has left people divided over what Ella did when she was 11-years-old.

“I’ve had a few messages, via social media, which are all really positive on the acting front. It is quite thought-provoking where you sit with it morally. I’m a mother, if somebody did that to my child, I would find it enormously difficult to forgive,” she said.

“That’s what is brilliant about this storyline. It does get you asking questions. On the whole, I feel like people believe she’s served her time. That’s the majority from what I have seen.”