Sobbing Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) was left shattered after discovering that her step-mum Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) had been secretly seeing Ross Barton (Michael Parr) in Emmerdale. The shocking revelation came after weeks of deception, and a dark new storyline is set to follow.
It was naive of Laurel to believe she could keep her dalliance with Ross a secret from everyone in the village. The unexpected affair began a couple of weeks ago when Laurel confronted Ross, believing he was making eyes at Gabby. In reality, Ross was checking out Laurel, not Gabby. Blinded by infatuation, Gabby attempted to seduce Ross at Home Farm, but he rejected her, leaving her devastated.
As Gabby drowned her sorrows in wine, Ross continued to pursue Laurel. The thrill of sneaking around led Laurel to create excuses for her time with Ross, even roping in Sam Dingle (James Hooton) as a cover. Sam wanted dance lessons from Ross to surprise his wife Lydia (Karen Blick), but the secrecy led Lydia and Kim Tate (Claire King) to suspect Sam of having an affair.
Lydia confronted Sam in the pub, but the truth came out when Kim spotted Sam returning a shirt with lipstick to Ross. Kim deduced that the lipstick must have come from Laurel during a passionate moment. She voiced her theory in front of Lydia and Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw), who saw the guilt on Laurel's face. Just then, Gabby walked in and overheard everything.
Laurel tried to explain, but Gabby was deeply hurt that her step-mum had been sneaking around with the man she fancied. Laurel made matters worse by dismissing the affair as just sex, which crushed Gabby even more. Feeling rejected and betrayed, Gabby later sat alone with Thomas in The Hide, commenting that it was just them now.
Gabby will seek distraction by focusing on a new menu at The Hide and becoming passionate about her health and wellbeing. However, her search for inspiration on social media leads her to the darker side of the internet. Actress Rosie Bentham teased: 'I think she’s looking for something else to put her focus in and what can be seen as quite a healthy thing, investing in your health and everything, at what point does that become an obsession and unhealthy?'
Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV.
