Emmerdale’s Laurel Thomas has had a difficult year.
Losing husband Ashley to his dementia battle, she’s now trying to put the pieces of her life back together without him.
So it’s no surprise she’s desperate for comfort from anywhere she can find it, and when ex-husband Marlon Dingle moves in for a kiss, will she find herself reciprocating?
Hang on, Marlon’s dating Carly Hope, isn’t he?
He is indeed, and he’s even planning another proposal to her after the first one fell by the wayside.
Viewers will remember Marlon was hoping to pop the question to his girlfriend just before her ex, Matt, turned up. And as they try to comfort each other over the loss of their little boy, Billy, Marlon has felt pushed to the side.
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He realised he needed to give them space to come to terms with everything that happened, and that in order for Carly to move on with him, she needed closure on her past, so he let them be for now.
For her part, Carly has told Matt he needs to leave so she can focus on her future with Marlon and April, but he has a business proposition for her first, which leaves her very intrigued.
She lies to Marlon that she’s meeting Tracy, but when he spots her with Matt, she’s busted and the lanky chef immediately assumes she’s cheating on him.
Upset and heartbroken, Marlon turns to Laurel for support.
“They’re each other’s go-to person in times of crisis,” Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon, revealed to Inside Soap. “He’s insecure about Carly and Matt and Laurel tries to get it out of him.
“There’s a sequence where you see Matt and Carly together in the car getting closer, and you also see Marlon and Laurel getting closer.”
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As they grow closer to kissing, Mark revealed: “They’re a security blanket for each other.
“The leaning in and possible kiss is him seeking some kind of purchase in the world – it’s familiarity. Laurel is a rock sticking out of the ocean.”
Whether Laurel reciprocates the kiss, or whether Marlon even pushes it that far remains to be seen, but things are looking in shaky territory for Marlon and Carly.
Can they find a way to come back together after both being tempted away?
Marlon might just be seeking a form of comfort from Laurel, but he’s definitely making the wrong move. Will he confess to Carly? And can they put this behind them and start again?