Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale villain Celia Daniels will announce the shocking death of Bear Wolf this week, following months of cruel enslavement. But with Bear’s family believing he is missing, will they realise the truth about Celia before she flees the village?
Bear said farewell to his loved ones earlier this year, after falling out with his son Paddy Kirk. He claimed that he was going to stay with a friend in Ireland, but was then shown roaming the countryside on his own.
Later, viewers learnt that Bear had been trapped by Celia and her son Ray Walters, and forced to undertake manual labour in exchange for lodgings. He and other vulnerable people were kept cooped up in squalid conditions, with no hope of escape.
In this week’s episodes, April Windsor discovers Bear’s whereabouts and seeks to free him from the villains’ clutches. Bear refuses to leave with the teen and she flees the farm alone.
Celia witnesses the teen’s rescue attempt and orders Ray to kill her, while she deals with Bear herself. However, in tomorrow’s episode (1 January) Celia tells Ray that Bear is already dead.
ITV
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Describing the storyline as “outstanding”, Joshua Richards (who plays Bear) shared his pride at being able to shine a line on modern slavery.
“Modern slavery is alive and well, and it’s horrifying. I think it was very brave for them to bring this subject forward and I’m intensely proud of what we, as a team, have done,” he said. “It was a huge collaboration and this is a subject that most of the time is brushed under the carpet. But they brought it to the forefront of our minds.”
Speaking about Bear’s isolation from his family, Richards explained how his character felt “redundant” and “obsolete”, causing him to “withdraw” from society.
ITV
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He continued: “And much to the dismay of the family. It becomes very much of an attack upon the ego, of the individual that they are disappearing and do not think that they are worthy of love or care or attention, and that’s a very sad thing, and that’s where people end up being lonely because they can isolate themselves. They don’t feel that they’re loved.”
The actor worked with The Salvation Army throughout the storyline and even spoke to some survivors of modern slavery, which he described as “very illuminating” and “very humbling”.
“These people who have been exploited, who are not gullible people – they are people who are bright, intelligent, and have compassion – were shown a little kindness by unscrupulous people, and then exploited for that.
“And I found it very upsetting and you know, a lot of people say, well, I’d never be scammed, for instance, online. But so many people are and they are intelligent and bright. And that is what we’ve got to be aware of in this modern day society. That there are people out there who can show you a bit of kindness, and then they will exploit you for it, and it does happen, and it’s happening now…”
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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