Former Coronation Street star Paula Lane made her Emmerdale debut on Tuesday night as she arrived in the Yorkshire Dales.
The actress, 37, was back with a bang as her new character Ella Forster exploded onto screens and it looks like she has already struck up a friendship with Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley).
Ella is introduced as PA a loud and bossy executive named Jules (Wayne Cater), but by the end of her debut episode the character had already dramatically quit her job after dousing Jules in a pint of beer and calling him a “whiny scrotum.”
Jules was hosting an event and spent the evening making snide comments, continuing to insult Mandy as he mocked her choice of outfit.
Mandy had decided to dress to impress and wore a black dress held together with decorative safety pins in a throwback to the iconic dress worn by Liz Hurley in the 1990s.
Coronation Street star Paula Lane, 37, made her explosive debut in Emmerdale on Tuesday night as her character struck up a friendship with Mandy Dingle
Paula left our screens almost eight years ago after playing feisty Kylie Platt in Corrie from 2010 until her character’s tragic death in 2016, and the star is delighted to be back on ITV
Still, Jules couldn’t resist poking fun at the outfit choice and continued to call Mandy ‘Liz’ despite her telling him not to.
When Ella reached boiling point, the young professional had enough of her boss’ bullying. She turned to him and explained that her only problem is “the whiny scrotum that I get to call my boss.”
As Jules wonders if this is her termination, she hits back, “No, but this is it” and, much to his dismay, pours a beer over his head.
Speaking about her new role, she said Subway: ‘It’s the last straw when she sees how he humiliates Mandy, and she really wants to stand up for her.
‘And I think about that carefully, of course, Mandy just sees that. She is a good friend to have and they have an instant spark. And it develops from there.”
Paula teased that she and Mandy could make a great pairing, while also confirming that romance could be on the cards for her.
“There might be some fireworks, there might be a little competition. There’s a little love triangle going on. But behind closed doors, who knows what could happen. I will be working in the heart of the village from the new operating room.’
Paula left our screens almost eight years ago after playing feisty Kylie Platt in Corrie from 2010 until her character’s tragic death in 2016, and the star is delighted to be back on ITV.
When Ella reached boiling point, the young professional had enough of her boss’s bullying when she turned to him and explained that her only problem is, “The whiny scrotum that I get to call my boss.”
Ella and fan favorite Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) will build a close friendship after bonding in Ella’s first scenes
Paula also confirmed that romance could be on the cards for her character, who will be working at the new GP practice
Paula took to Twitter after the episode and thanked fans for their support
Fans were over the moon to have the star back in the land of soaps, responding to Paula’s post with their words of support
Taking to Twitter after her first Emmerdale episode, Paula wrote: ‘So many lovely messages about @emmerdale and Ella – I’m so grateful to be part of this show.
‘Everyone was so welcoming and I couldn’t have asked for a better start you can follow me tomorrow morning on @thismorning.’
Overjoyed to have the star back in the land of soaps, they replied to Paula’s message with their supportive words.
One wrote: ‘I have a strong feeling that Ella is going to be one of my favorite British soap characters, not just in Emmerdale but in all soaps. You did a great job and you are a phenomenal actress. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Ella. I’m very excited.’
A second wrote: ‘You were excellent’, while a third chimed in: ‘Looking forward to seeing Ella’s journey’.
Another added: ‘Just saw you’ve joined Emmerdale. I have to go look again.”
Another wrote: ‘I can’t wait to see what kind of drama you bring to this soap, the question is will you survive this time?’