In tonight’s Emmerdale (Tuesday 30th), viewers witnessed a chilling turn of events as Celia instructed Ray to kill April, while she took on the task of ‘finishing off’ Bear. In scenes that air on the 1 January, Celia is set to take great delight in informing Ray that Bear is already dead.
Joshua expresses immense pride in the show’s decision to tackle a subject that is often ‘brushed under the carpet.’ ‘To bring a story like this to the forefront makes great sense to us as a general public about the kind of things that are happening under our noses in plain sight in modern Britain today. Modern slavery is alive and well, and it’s horrifying.’
The actor also revealed that the storyline hit incredibly close to home, reminding his family of his late father’s own struggles with mental health. ‘As a big, strong man, as he was all his life, to see him reduced to somebody who felt redundant, who felt useless, I admit I have seen this firsthand, and I do know what can actually happen to somebody who, for all of their life, was a leader, to be reduced to somebody who could be just shoved from pillar to post quite easily.’
Joshua highlights that Bear’s entrapment wasn’t about physical weakness, but a ‘state of mind’ brought on by a loss of purpose.
‘Bear feels redundant and for somebody who feels they are no longer pertinent or needed, they find that they can withdraw; they do not think that they are worthy of love, care, or attention. ‘These people who have been exploited are not gullible people. They are people who are bright, intelligent, and have compassion. They were shown a little kindness by unscrupulous people and then exploited for that.’
Living in Bear’s shoes for this extended period proved more difficult than Joshua initially anticipated.
‘I didn’t think it would affect me, and at times, I just sat home with my wife and just burst into tears and said “where do we go next?” And as an actor, you don’t really have the opportunity that often to get that deep.’
Despite the ‘harrowing’ nature of the scripts, Joshua remains firm that recovery is possible for those who have been brought to the edge. ‘I do believe that there’s hope for everybody, with the right circumstances help, care, love, nurturing, counselling – people can be brought back from the brink. Otherwise, there is no hope, and I firmly believe in hope.’
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