ALCOHOLIC Laurel Thomas turns to booze to cope with her grief in the aftermath of her termination – after being in recovery for years.
Laurel and Jai decided to undergo a termination in the ITV soap after receiving confirmation that their baby would have Down’s Syndrome.
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Laurel clashed with Rhona, whose son Leo has Down’s Syndrome, when she told her about her baby dilemma, but she and Jai still agreed to terminate the pregnancy.
Viewers then watched Laurel struggle to cope in the aftermath of her huge decision in the countdown to Christmas.
Full of self-loathing, Laurel struggled to accept sympathy or kind words from any of her friends.
And next week’s episodes of Emmerdale will see Laurel continue to reel in the wake of her termination.
Viewers will then see grief-stricken Laurel grow tempted by a glass of champagne.
Will she cave and fall off the wagon?
Viewers will have to tune in to find out.
Actress Charlotte Bellamy – who plays Laurel – has said of the storyline: “Terminating a pregnancy is an emotive subject, but I think, as a programme, what Emmerdale does brilliantly is portray difficult stories that are important to tell.”
She added that she’s hopeful that “Laurel and Jai’s story will take the audience on the journey of them coming to this conclusion and having some understanding why they do”.
“There are some very powerfully written scenes that I hope will give a fair portrayal of their situation.
“When I embarked on this storyline I was well aware of the responsibility of the subject matter, but the scripts have been so well written and I think the story is told fairly.”
