Bad news is on the horizon for Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) in Emmerdale, as she is about to lose yet another man. In her recent relationships, one turned out to be gay, another turned gay, and now one has turned to her step-mum. What makes it worse is that the passion is about to explode between Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) and Ross Barton (Michael Parr), leaving Gabby both rejected and mentally scarred.
A Frisson of Dancing
There is going to be a little frisson between Laurel and Ross as they dabble in the dancing that has excited the locals. Meanwhile, Gabby starts to believe that Ross is flirting with her. She dons her sexiest outfit, a negligee, to seduce him. However, in an unbelievably pride-denting moment, Ross rebuffs her as she fawns over him. The mortification is so intense that she will likely never recover.
Gabby Confides in Dawn
Gabby confides in Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) about how she feels, having not had the best luck with men in recent years and now coping with this massive rejection—although she does not yet know it is Laurel she has lost out to. Dawn is outraged on her behalf and confronts Ross. But this only makes it more embarrassing; he states once and for all that his eyes are definitely not on Gabby. Nice work, Dawn.
Ross's reaction comes because he is perfectly happy with how things are going with Laurel; they are nice and spicy, just how he likes, but he promises to keep it on the down low. Laurel enjoys their little dalliance more than she expected. 'Sexual liberation. But I don't want her to become the local bike!' Charlotte Bellamy laughed. 'That was genuine [Laurel's relationship with Ray]. But she's been stung, hasn't she? So maybe just some frivolous affairs will see her through. But I'm sure it won't carry on like that.'
Ross Smitten, Sam Gate-Crashes
It seems Ross is pretty smitten—he is excited when she agrees to another night with him. Nicola King's (Nicola Wheeler) mind is exploding with all the local gossip. But just as Ross and Laurel get down to it, ever the king of bad timing, Sam Dingle (James Hooton) gate-crashes. He is desperate for more dance lessons, and Ross is forced to come up with a quick lie. But it is Sam; he is not picking up on anything. All he knows now is that Laurel is going to help him dance.
Laurel loves the thrill of secret sexy times, and when Gabby announces she is over Ross, Laurel feels it clears the path to take things further. But can she bring herself to confess to Gabby?
Gabby's Lack of Support
Reflecting on how Gabby lacks a strong support system in the village, star Rosie Bentham explained how Laurel's new situationship with Ross will impact her character: 'I think that's what's so key. It's like she has no one left now. I feel like if Bernice was here, maybe Bernice would probably egg on the Ross thing and be like "Just do it! He's looking at you, look nice." But she hasn't really got someone that she can bounce off. So I think that's why she gets so in her head about it all. And she's like, "Forget this. It's me, myself and I now, let's channel something else in my life." Kim would just roll her eyes and look the other way. Obviously, Ross works at Home Farm, so Gabby is still going to have him swanning around in front of her, so that's obviously going to be difficult.'
'I feel like she's always had that want to prove herself,' Rosie added, teasing what lies ahead for her character. 'She's a 24-year-old girl and so social media and everything is so, especially at the moment, you've got to shrink yourself to feel validated and feel part of society and find your place. Then getting rejected on top of that, it spirals and 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? So, it's where that's going to go, which I actually don't know yet, but it will be exciting to see.'
