Emmerdale fans have been sharing their predictions as they spotted the start of Cathy Hope's new storyline. It was teased earlier this month that the young character, played by Gabrielle Dowling, will be the centre of a huge new storyline in the new year.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News and other press, the ITV soap's executive producer Jane Hudson gave a hint of what's to come in 2023 and vowed Cathy's story' 'hasn't been seen in a soap before'.
She said: "You'll see a really big story for Cathy, Bob's daughter, which is really emotional and topical. It's her first big story really and it's a challenging one. I think it's one that a lot of parents will connect with and it's one I haven't seen a soap do before."
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And during Thursday night's hour-long trip to the Dales, viewers think they have seen the start of what's to come as Cathy's mood changed ahead of a choir performance in the village. The teen seemed happy to be taking on a main role and asked her dad, Bob, if she could go into town for some new clothes.
While he said no, Wendy suggested she wears what she had planned to don at Christmas. However, Bob also said no to the suggestion leaving Cathy annoyed. She also riled up her dad by calling him 'Bob' instead of 'dad'.
But Cathy didn't listen and later returned to the cafe in a purple fur jacket with Bob demanding she take it off and wear something else. She refused to listen and left for her performance but was suddenly hit by nerves and didn't appear to want to be involved with the choir at all.
Later, after asking if she was OK, twin brother Heath listened as Cathy confessed to feeling "scared" at times. While she could not explain how she really felt, she admitted to going through sudden moments of hating things, which would then lift.
"Sometimes you bite my head off and all. But more than normal. Are you okay?" Heath said to which Cathy responded: "It’s like this thing comes down and I hate everything and I’m scared. And then it’s gone."
It was then that Bob returned to the cafe with Wendy and appeared to immediately upset his daughter. Making a remark about her choir performance, Cathy ended up hitting out, slamming her dad as 'pathetic'.
Cathy shouted: "I knew you would be like this. You hate me. You think I am useless, you all do. You never listen to me. You don't have a clue what is going on, you think you are great but you're not, you're pathetic."
While Bob was left confused by the outburst, Heath appeared to be on his sister's side as he too made a comment to his dad before leaving to find Cathy. Emmerdale viewers, meanwhile, have come up with a few possible predictions as to what's to come for the young character.
@RyanTheSoapking tweeted: "Cathy lashing out at least twice at Bob tonight - this is definitely a MH [mental health] storyline coming for her. #Emmerdale." @Momrocks50 said: "Schizophrenia maybe Cathy is starting to suffer from #Emmerdale."
@KickAssCantona2 wrote: "Cathy is Bi-polar for sure #Emmerdale @emmerdale." @ifeelflames shared: "Do we think Cathy is going to a mental health issue, something like bipolar or borderline personality disorder. They keep saying she has this big storyline coming up #Emmerdale."
But @JamieTVandNews suggested: "Oh. Cathy just called her Dad 'Bob' and he said, 'Don't call me Bob.' Is this a clue that maybe her storyline IS a switched at birth? #Emmerdale," however, it was pointed out that this storyline has been done before.
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