Yahoo News Emmerdale star Amy Walsh says Vanessa's cancer story is emotional to film
Emmerdale star Amy Walsh has revealed that the show's cast have been shedding real tears while filming Vanessa Woodfield's cancer storyline.
Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) has been diagnosed with bowel cancer and next week's episodes see Amy's character Tracy Metcalfe discover what her sister is going through.
Although Vanessa has wanted to keep her illness private for now, her fiancée Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) tells Tracy the truth next week. She does so after Tracy organises a surprise birthday party for Vanessa, not realising it's the last thing she'd want at the moment.
Speaking about filming the scenes, Amy explained: "Michelle and Emma are both so good on screen and their relationship off screen is great too, and I'm this third wheel in amongst it!
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"I love working with the two of them and it's really easy, because we have such a good relationship off screen. We're so close. Even in the line run, Michelle will be in tears and I am too because I can't bear seeing her cry.
"The story we're telling is so important and we're flagging the symptoms to look for with this type of cancer. I do feel proud every day that this could save somebody's life, just from viewers hearing what alerted Vanessa to finding out she had bowel cancer.
"Personally I think it's a really positive story to tell. Even though it's so awful, it is worth telling."
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Asked how the cast lighten the mood on set after filming such heavy material, Amy replied: "We're so moved by the story, so it's an emotional day of filming if you're doing those scenes all day.
"But we're all such good friends off screen and I love spending time with Michelle and Emma. We're always telling stories about what happened at the weekend. We make jokes all the time, we're always laughing in between takes. We just love spending the day together."
Emmerdale fans will see tension between Tracy and Charity in upcoming episodes, as they disagree over how best to support Vanessa.
Amy added: "Tracy is frustrated at Charity. Charity has known all along and Tracy doesn't feel she has protected Vanessa enough. Tracy gets it into her head that she has not done enough to support Vanessa. As her sister, Tracy now wants to step up and play that role.
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"Charity, being Charity, goes about things a different way. She loves Vanessa, but her way is different to everybody else's. But they both want what's best for Vanessa, at the end of the day. It's not about them being the best or wanting to be the one closest to her, they just both want her to be okay.
"You'll also see that there's a lot of Tracy not coping behind the scenes, but putting on a brave face for Vanessa. It's the same with Vanessa, as she's not coping, but is trying to deal with it on her own rather than putting it on Tracy and Charity. We'll see how that unfolds.
"There's a moment in the hospital where Tracy loses it a little bit, but then she manages to be strong again for Vanessa. It'll be an interesting journey for both of them, because they have both been through a lot and they're all each other has in terms of family now."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
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