Viewers hoped to see Emmerdale villain Anthony to get comeuppance but off-screen, and according to co-star Georgia Jay, Nicholas Day had a hard time portraying his character.
Nicholas Day was visibly rattled by his portrayal of Emmerdale paedophile Anthony Fox as Georgia Jay reveals he had a “difficult” time on the set of the long-running drama.
The seasoned actor, who gained fame as Detective Sergeant Michael Morley on the ITV series Minder, made his Emmerdale debut last November as fan favourite Ruby Fox-Miligan (portrayed by Beth Cordingly) was reunited with her father Anthony.
But once the newcomer was formally introduced to everyone in the Dales, fans of the Yorkshire-based drama were then given an insight into his relationship with Ruby as it was revealed he had sexually abused her.
This notably resulted in Steph’s birth and the latter is completely unaware Anthony is also her biological father. But when Anthony vanishes from the eponymous village, Steph goes on the hunt for answers and discovers she is the product of incest.
Though viewers have been keen to see Anthony get his comeuppance, actress Georgia Jay hints that Nicholas Day’s portrayal of Anthony was a harrowing feat for the soap star.
Anthony actor Nicholas Day was said to have had a difficult time while on the Emmerdale set due to his role (Image: ITV)
Speaking about her time on the set of the Yorkshire-based program with her on-screen grandfather, Georgia says she didn’t have much of an opportunity to bond with Nicholas.
“It was so early on when he was filming all his stuff”, she reveals, “We were quite separate in away, even though we had all the family stuff. He filmed all of his, people finding out about him, months ago. But he did an absolutely phenomenal job at it.”
She then continues: “the only thing I could observe, even though it wasn’t spoken about, you know, how he did an incredible job but also how difficult it was for him, stepping into the mindset of someone like that and having to play someone like that. And that’s what I could observe and see. At times, it could be really, really difficult.”
Last week viewers saw child sex abuse survivor Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) attack Anthony after discovering his paedophile past. Later he returned to the scene with boyfriend John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) and found Anthony had died, seemingly of his injuries.
Steph is set to discover Anthony is her biological father as the paedophile was revealed to have abused his own daughter Ruby (Image: ITV)
However, instead of calling for help, ex-soldier John disposed of Anthony’s body. With no idea her grandfather is dead, Steph is determined to figure out what has happened. Leaving no stone unturned, Steph eventually learns the sinister truth in explosive scenes And the emotional toll ripples into Steph’s identity and relationships.
“She feels completely lost when she finds out – it shatters the foundation of her identity and leaves her questioning everything, about who she is and where she sits in the world. She feels betrayed, ashamed, angry and, at the same time, just in total despair for herself and her mother. She’s carrying the weight of her mother’s pain and trauma.
“It’s going to be a really rocky road for Steph in terms of this whole identity being shattered. I think with anybody that finds out, it’s a trauma. Many sufferers go through PTSD and other forms of mental struggles and I think that Steph will go through a few of those.”
But how will she cope with this horrifying secret? Georgia remains optimistic for Steph as she teases a fresh start for the Miligans. “I see this as the making of a true family because it’s all been built on a foundation of lies. It’ll be a long road but I do think they’ll build a family that’s really, really strong and built on trust.”
