Amanda Donohoe (Emmerdale's Natasha) interview
Next week on Emmerdale, Natasha (Amanda Donohoe) leaves the village.
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How is Natasha feeling as Ryan’s trial approaches?
“Natasha is pretty much in denial, she’s shut down and feels numb because there’s no other choice. It’s the decision she made and she has to carry it through to the end.”
How does she feel about Maisie’s return to the village and the fact she’s staying with Faye?
“It’s untimely for Natasha and I think she wishes Maisie had stayed away. The fact she’s moved in with Faye pushes Natasha to the edge and helps her to maintain the plan and let Ryan take the blame. She’s always blamed Faye and it’s the trigger she needs to continue the lie.”
What is she hoping to achieve when she asks Faye to go for a walk? How can Natasha think of having a go at Faye when she is the reason her son is behind bars?
“Well Natasha wants to see Maisie but she won’t agree to see her mum so she has no choice but to go through Faye, which she obviously detests.“
Can she blame Faye for slapping her?
“Not really, anything Faye does pushes Natasha into the red and they always end up arguing.
How does Natasha think Nathan performs when he goes in the witness box?
“Natasha isn’t witness to Nathan’s testimony because she’s waiting to be called herself. However, she knows how evil Nathan is and he won’t have trouble finding the will to stand and lie.”
What does she think has happened to Nathan when she later can’t get hold of him? Is she worried about him disappearing or more angry that she can't get hold of him?
“Natasha just believes he’s done one of his bunks and is drowning his sorrows somewhere. She’s annoyed but not suspicious, he’s always been a little unreliable and difficult.”
What does she do to try to find him?
“She keeps calling him but then Will unexpectedly returns home. He runs away from where he’s been staying with friends and it means Natasha is no longer free to wallow in the situation so she has to concentrate on her youngest son.”
How does Natasha feel as she takes the stand herself? Does she waver in her evidence or is she still determined to pin the murder on Ryan?
“There is so much planted evidence against Ryan that Natasha doesn’t actually have to lie on the stand. She did hear him tell Mark he’ll kill him, she did know they had a fight in the village. So it all fed into her plans. Lets just say she’s economical with the truth.”
Does she think she’s convincing?
“I think she’s a terrible liar because at heart she’s an honest person…and a murderer! The writers and I have made sure that Natasha stayed true to herself by never telling a direct lie, she either stayed silent or it was just a repetition of the truth in different ways.”
What will it take to persuade Natasha to confess?
“So far nothing, no one has come up with anything to prompt her to confess. Her motives are, and always have been, to protect her family so if that came into question maybe she would… Confessing just isn’t an option at this stage, she tried in the beginning but Nathan was very persuasive and made her see it would destroy Will and Maisie.”
Could she see herself confessing to Maisie and Will – but still not handing herself in, and instead suggesting they all move away and start afresh somewhere else?
“It’s not her plan, it happened so long ago anyway that it would destroy her family even further. It’s against her nature so she’s not about to change. She can’t comprehend telling the children, not voluntarily anyway.”
How determined is Natasha not to go to jail?
“Remember Natasha wanted to confess months ago but she chose the other path when Nathan wore her down and she crumpled. So now, after all they’ve been through, she is more than determined not to go to jail.”
How would you like to see Natasha leave the village? Should she confess and let justice prevail? Could she convince her family to up sticks and continue to live the lie Mark began? Or will she try and make someone else take the fall?
“It’s funny because there are so many murderers in Emmerdale who have clearly got away with murder (Carl King). But I think its about seeing justice done. If she had confessed sooner it would have been a much lesser sentence. She could have pleaded momentary madness, emotional duress and cruelty but she didn’t and continued the lies that Mark began. The person she least wants to get hurt in all this is Ryan but thanks to her evil son’s doing Ryan is the one in the docks and she has no choice.”
How does it feel to be leaving a character you've grown to love behind?
“I'm sad to leave but feel I have delivered a good, well rounded character that I hope people have believed in and are interested in seeing how it all ends.”
What's it been like being part of Emmerdale for nearly two years?
“I feel privileged to have worked in front of such a mass audience. I have worked the hardest I have ever worked in my whole life, I enjoyed it and grew to really like Natasha. I feel sorry that she had such a pig of a husband and it was sad to see such a strong woman so momentarily broken.”
What are your plans post-Emmerdale?
“A very long holiday! I'm going to have a very long break and I'm very much looking forward to moving back home and doing some gardening.”
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