Emmerdale fans are hoping and praying Pierce Harris gets sent down for raping Rhona Goskirk this week.
But could the key to the whole case lie with his mum, Martha?
Pierce’s mum has been sporting some bruises and we all know Pierce is the one giving them to her, so why does she continue to cover for him?
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After things didn’t go well in court for Rhona on Tuesday following a brutal line of questioning from Pierce’s barrister, Paddy was concerned for his ex-wife.
He’d spotted the fresh bruises on Martha’s arm and decided to confront her and persuade her to reveal what her son was really like.
“I saw you covering up,” he told her as she pulled a jacket on to hide her arms.
But already prepared with a comeback, Martha replied: “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I was tipsy, my usual silly self, Pierce grabbed me to stop me falling.”
“What happens when you don’t get up, the next time you fall?” Paddy knew full well she was lying.
“He could lose his freedom, his career, all because of her,” Martha spat back.
“Or because of you, is that what he tells you?” Paddy responded. “Stupid women, stupid opinions and ideas. Martha, you’re not stupid and you don’t deserve any of this.”
Martha suddenly confessed everything: “He was just a teenager the first time, and he’s always sorry.
“I tried to make him face it, he’s still my son.”
An astounded Paddy urged her to tell someone: “Yeah, and you’re frightened of him. Tell someone.”
But Martha wouldn’t be convinced: “There is a different side to him and sending him to prison will kill that for good. We all deserve a second chance,” before adding: “Tell who you like, I’ll deny it.”
So it looks like she’s staying firmly on Pierce’s side, but fans don’t think that’ll be the case for long.
Things are certainly complicated between mother and son, that’s for sure.
Speaking to The Sun recently, actor Jonathan Wrather, who plays Pierce said: “We sort of decided perhaps there’s something potentially a little untoward but I don’t know how you would approach that.
“There was just something interesting, he became the patriarch of the family.”
Is he referring to incest then? “I wondered if there was and we thought about this and talked about it, and actually I think it was suggested or alluded to in some of the storylining.
“But it never made it to screen or was never written about. But I thought that area would be interesting.”
If Martha doesn’t come forward, we’re not quite sure how this is going to go for Rhona after Vanessa’s performance last night.
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Having failed to convince Marlon to lie on the stand, Vanessa took it upon herself to bend the truth in a not-so-bright bid to help her friend.
Blurting out that Pierce had confessed he raped Rhona, and then being forced to take it back when she was exposed for lying, Vanessa might well have ruined Rhona’s chances of ever getting justice.
So Martha really might be Rhona’s last hope. Unless of course Pierce gets a last minute attack of conscience…