‘The shocked faces were real!’ Emmerdale stars react to ‘unexpected’ NTA win

Emmerdale fans were left overjoyed earlier this month when the ITV soap took home the highly sought-after award for Best Soap at the National Television Awards.

However, the win came as a big shock to the cast, as actors Zoe Henry, Emma Atkins and Charlotte Bellamy revealed when we spoke to them at the Cure Usher Ball, hosted by co-stars Laura Norton and Mark Jordon.

‘Charlotte and I were there and we were quite shocked,’ Zoe, who plays local vet Rhona Goskirk, explained.

‘All the other soaps have been exceptional this year. It’s not that we don’t think we’re worthy of it, we just didn’t think it was going to be our year, and it was!

‘So, there were shocked faces and they were for real.’

This year has seen Emmerdale tackle some huge storylines, from Heath Hope’s death to Marty Barton’s (Ash Palmisciano) prison ordeal, Moira Barton’s (Natalie J Robb) brain tumour to Tom King’s (James Chase) abuse of Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).

Tom and Belle’s storyline has certainly been a huge talking point in recent months, and Emma, who plays Charity Dingle, promises that that story will have a dramatic end.

‘I think Belle deserves a bit of a break now, and she’s wholeheartedly going to get one for a while,’ she told us.

There is more to come in Tom and Belle’s story (Picture: ITV)

There’s new romance ahead for Laurel (Picture: ITV)

‘But, obviously, they’ve got to wrap that up in some way, so there’s a lot more excitement in that.’

There’s also some unexpected romance ahead for Laurel Thomas and vicar Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin), which Charlotte, who plays Laurel, was keen to discuss.

‘I jump on the vicar!’ She joked, which clearly came as a shock to co-star Emma and former Emmerdale star Katherine Dow Blyton, who had reunited with her colleagues on the red carpet.

‘Not for the first time!’ Zoe added, referencing Laurel’s previous marriage to beloved vicar Ashley Thomas.

‘She loves somebody in a dog collar,’ Katherine teased, before coming to a realisation: ‘Although, she never jumped on Harriet!’

With so many storylines still to play out, Emmerdale will continue to bring the drama to our screens, as well as that coveted trophy to their cabinet.