Emmerdale star explains Serena and Thea's secret connection

Emmerdale star Casey Al-Shaqsy is on hand to explain the show's latest storyline twist – Serena Sugden is secretly in cahoots with fellow newcomer DS Thea Ramsden!

Viewers discovered the truth in the closing moments of Monday's episode (17 August), when it was revealed that Serena is helping Thea to pursue a secret vendetta against the Tate family.

This explains why Serena has been snooping around Home Farm and gathering information, but where does it all go from here?

Hi, Casey! What can you tell us about the secret connection between Serena and DS Ramsden?

"Thea is the person who Serena has been secretly texting. They are very, very close friends. That's something that anyone can relate to – you know, your bestie from home! She is one of Serena's best friends in the world.

"Serena's journey into the village was genuinely to see her family. She did want to get closer with the Sugdens, but when she mentioned to her best mate that she was going to Emmerdale, Thea has gone, 'Huh, I need you to do me a favour!'

"So whilst all the drama's happening with her own life, Serena is then looking out for somebody else too and trying to get all this information for her."

So what is Thea up to?

"We can't get into why Thea is doing it yet, but Serena didn't know that Thea was in charge of the Dr Todd case until she turned up in the village. Serena thinks: 'You're kind of ruining everything by being here!'

"It wasn't Serena's choice to keep all of this a secret. Thea is the one who's saying that people can't know about their connection. But now Thea is working on a case that she's involved in, Serena points out that this is making her life very difficult!

"There are going to be trials and tribulations between them both because it's putting Serena in such an awkward position. But it works out, because Serena needs her help anyway with that case..."

Does friction start to develop between the two friends?

"Thea tries to help Serena a little bit, but that's only because there's something in it for her. So you can expect a bit of friction with Sarah and a bit of friction with Thea.

"There's also the friction with Robert. I keep saying that Serena doesn't lie, she just doesn't tell you the whole truth. She knows that has upset her family in the past, but now there's this whole other issue to worry about.

"But again, it's not her secret – it's Thea's secret that Serena is trying to keep. She's worried that she's going to get kicked out again, when she's just doing something she thinks is right!"

Why did Serena decide to help cover up the truth about Dr Todd's death?

"Serena's first reaction was to call the police. But she also feels very protective over Charity because when they first met, Charity was in such a terrible way.

"Serena feels an element of closeness towards Charity and wants to look after her. Obviously Sarah is Serena's family as well, but there was a dead body involved so she was very conflicted about it at the beginning!"

How does Serena cope with the pressure of covering it up? Especially when Sarah just wants to confess the truth…

"Serena may look cool about it all – she always looks cool but she's not happy about it! She knows how fragile Sarah is. As much as Serena keeps trying to talk Sarah down, there's always the chance that she might still say something.

"There are times when she's screaming at Sarah, asking: 'Do you understand?' You really do see the rough sides of Serena with Sarah coming up, because Sarah is causing a lot of problems."

Would Serena throw anyone under the bus to protect herself?

"That's a very good question – but she's not been put in that predicament yet, as far as I'm aware. She has thrown other people under the bus before, so possibly.

"We saw the situation with Ross recently. Serena does actually like Ross, as you can see, so she feels bad that she's been using him. But again, with all the stuff that she does that's deemed wrong, she's doing it for what she thinks are good reasons for good people. She does feel bad about it."

Does Serena feel divided loyalties between Thea and Charity?

"I think she sees them separately. She doesn't feel divided loyalties because they're very different relationships. Serena cares about Charity and it's a new friendship between them. She cares about people who enter her life.

"With Thea, they have a history together where they're very close. But Serena never sees the two together. She never thinks 'if I do this, then that means this'. She feels bad about not telling the whole truth because she's already done that a lot before this! But it's a separate situation, separate relationships and she cares about them both."

When will we know everything Serena is hiding?

"Oh, I don't know. The Sugdens always have secrets, they always have something to hide and they're always up to something!

"So as much as I would like to say you'll find out tomorrow and everything will be straight and narrow, I think it'll be a while. But if she was on the straight and narrow, she'd be boring, right?"

Has it been nice to come in as part of such a historic family for Emmerdale?

"It's absolutely amazing. I keep saying that I still actually don't believe that I am Serena Sugden! I watch TV and I'm like: 'That's not me!' It's been epic and I feel incredibly privileged.

"I've been here for four months and I feel slightly overwhelmed at times that I'm a part of it – it still hasn't sunk in. I've been looking up the old episodes and saying 'That's Serena's uncle!' and things like that. It's really cool."

Did you watch the show when you were growing up?

"I used to sit on my living room floor with my mum because she used to watch it religiously. So I know all the characters from all the soaps. I remember seeing Charity and Cain together as a couple. And did someone tell me that they're cousins and they nearly got married as well – and had a child? (Laughs.)

"That's why it's so weird that my first episode was with Emma Atkins, who plays Charity. I also got starstruck by Cain. I don't usually get starstruck, I talk to everybody! But I saw him and I was quiet for once! I was a bit awkward because I used to fancy him!"

Have you told Jeff Hordley (Cain) that?

"No, but he's going to find out now!"

Who would you love Serena to have more scenes with?

"On screen at the moment, I live at the Sugdens' but a lot of my scenes are with Thea and about Dr Todd, which is amazing. But I would like to have more scenes with her cousin Robert. It'd be really nice for the audience to see the bond they have as a family.

"I passed Ryan [Hawley, who plays Robert] the other day and he asked: 'You still living at my house?' I was like, 'Yeah, I was in there today filming scenes!' I just don't see him at the moment. So more scenes with my family would be great."

Would you like to explore Serena and Ross's relationship more?

"Well, I did my chemistry read with Mike [Parr, who plays Ross]. I'd love Serena to have more of a thing with him and we've spoken about it, but we'll see. It'd be nice, but we've also spoken about the fact that Serena is a character who's a very strong person. I think she's hard to tame. So we shall see!"

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.

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