Emmerdale spoilers follow from the Christmas Eve episode.

Emmerdale star Laura Norton has lifted the lid on her character Kerry Wyatt’s latest outrageous storyline twist. The show’s Christmas Eve episode ended with a major surprise, as Kerry was revealed to have married Eric Pollard in a local registry office – although they quickly clarified that it was just part of a financial scam.

Jacob Gallagher and Sarah Sugden made the discovery after arriving at the venue for their own secret wedding. Jacob couldn’t believe that his grandfather had tied the knot with Kerry of all people, while Eric had his own gripes over Jacob’s plans to get hitched without him there.

In the coming days, there’s even more drama in store as Charity Dingle plots to throw a surprise wedding for Jacob and Sarah on New Year’s Day, after their first attempt was derailed by Kerry and Eric. Will it be second time lucky?

Here, Laura Norton – who plays Kerry – shares what’s going through her character’s mind as she faces the prospect of married life with Eric Pollard!

Hi Laura! How was it to film Kerry and Eric’s shocking wedding twist?

“That period of filming was the most fun I’ve had in ages, because obviously last year we did all of the limo stuff and I had to say goodbye to a few of the girls in the show that I loved. It was really bittersweet. Obviously it was an amazing piece of television, but this recent stuff was just great to get back to ‘old school Kerry’.

“Now Kerry is partnered with Eric and it’s like a duo that you shouldn’t put together, but for some reason it just works. They are in a situation that is so ridiculous, it’s all so incredibly funny. So I’ve loved it for several different reasons.”

Eric’s desperation to provide for Jacob has inspired the wedding, hasn’t it?

“Yes, Eric recently opened a bank account in Kerry’s name without asking her first. A lot of people would lose it and never speak to that person again or feel really betrayed. But Kerry is just like: ‘God, you should have just said, because I’m going to go one step further now and say we should do this’. That’s where you just go: ‘My God, she’s incredible’.

“There’s nobody else like her and you are constantly opening a bunch of scripts and going: ‘What is she doing now? She’s doing what?’ There is always funny stuff. Kerry has got a heart and she wants to do right by people, but she makes terrible decisions, so there always ends up being a bit of chaos left behind her. So it’s just really fun to play.”

Was it fun seeing the shock on Jacob and Sarah’s faces?

“Yeah, because it’s the last thing that they expected to see! In true Kerry style, she has decided: ‘Even though this marriage isn’t real, I’m going for it. I am getting married, so I’m gonna get dressed up’. So she’s gone to town. She’s doing it for all the right reasons and she’s made the decision for Eric and Jacob.

“Obviously I don’t think she realises the severity of it at that moment. She just expects everyone to approve. It’s not until the coming weeks afterwards that she realises it was a bit rash, and not approved of by everyone…

“This wedding was a massive shock to Sarah and Jacob, plus it means they missed out on their own wedding. Jacob has been planning this special day to marry the girl of his dreams. He’s fuming because he doesn’t even know why they’ve done it, they’ve just completely ruined his day.

“It is just so complex – as ever – and so fun to play. I must confess there’s been a lot of giggling!”

What did you make of Kerry’s pink cowgirl costume?

“I’m a bit of a Beyonce fan myself, as I’ve been to every concert. So when I went to the Cowboy Carter concert, I dressed up a bit. But when I got the costume for Kerry to film the wedding scenes, I was like: ‘This is how I should have dressed for that concert!’

“As on the day I went sort of half hearted. I went dressed as Laura and put a black cowboy hat on, but I was like: ‘This is how I should have gone! All the luminous pink and just going for it’.”

We know the marriage is a ruse to keep Jacob’s inheritance safe, but is there a genuine affection between Eric and Kerry?

“Oh God, totally. Kerry, however dysfunctional and chaotic she is, is a girl with a heart who makes true friendships. She is loyal and does genuinely care and about and love people.

“When Kerry came into the village, Eric and Val had adopted Amy. They did a really fantastic job, as Amy was well cared for and very happy. They thought Kerry was such a mess and a car crash, but they were kind and they took her in as well, because they loved Amy.

“But now Amy’s gone. I feel like this is misplaced guilt a little bit. Kerry genuinely does care about Eric. They’re both loveable rogues and they’ve both got a really similar default, but I feel like it’s a full circle moment where it is like: ‘You looked after my daughter and I know that my daughter would want me to do this for you’.”

How is Kerry coping after losing Amy?

“I think Kerry has buried her grief, because admitting it is too much for her. She can’t face having to deal with the fact that Amy has really gone and she’s never going to come back. She has seemingly put it to the back of her head. She just pretends stuff is not happening and she’s putting her fingers in her ears.

“Kerry wanted Amy to be proud of her when she was alive. But she is gone now, so this marriage to Eric the only chance that she’s got. So she’s going for it, full throttle!

“Obviously Kerry really cares about Jacob as well because his mum was in that limo crash. He tried to save her and didn’t manage to, so she feels a bit guilty about that. Now that Kerry longer has this daughter in her life, she’s putting the misplaced guilt onto Jacob and trying to mother him, in a good way. It is a really complex situation, but I’m loving it.”

In upcoming scenes, Kerry attends Jacob and Sarah’s surprise New Year wedding and comes up with another new plan – involving what she wears!

“Yes, Kerry’s not a fool, because obviously her and Eric are already getting questions about the wedding. It needs to be pulled off and look legit, so she thinks ahead. Let’s just say there are no flies on her!”

We’ll also see that Jai is upset over Kerry getting married…

“Yes, I don’t think Kerry realised how much Jai did care about her. She knew she just didn’t have the time and space for that relationship at that moment.

“Then all of this stuff came up with Eric and she just felt like it definitely wasn’t the right thing. But then she starts to see how much Jai is wounded by the fact that she’s now with Eric. Jai’s a bit jealous and she’s just like: ‘Why?’ And then she confesses everything to him…”

How will things play out between Kerry and Jai moving forward?

“Kerry and Jai have hated each other for years. She worked under him at the factory and they were always bickering. They come from two completely different worlds and now she works up at the depot and it is the same sort of dynamic.

“There was this moment when they both got to look at each other in a different way. It was a massive surprise to both of them and for the fans. I had quite a lot of messages on social media with people just saying: ‘I don’t know why, but that really works’.

“Kerry brings out a nice side of Jai. I think that’s why he’s attracted to her, as he’s been very doom and gloom and everything she does is a joke. Jai had stuff going on with his son, so Kerry genuinely tried to help and suggested things to him. I think it changed his attitude towards her.

“As to what will happen in the future, watch this space. Who knows? But it did surprisingly work well.”

Are there any future storylines you would like to see?

“In terms of Kerry’s future. I would like her to acknowledge and face up to Amy’s death and have a moment with that, because I feel there’s so much that we didn’t see and so much more to dig into.

“I’ve always said, since I joined the show, that the real love story is Amy and Kerry. Kerry was not a good mother to her. She never got the opportunity to be. She was just starting to be better and now Amy’s gone forever, so all of the things that she wanted to tell her about her past and her childhood and why she wasn’t a good mother, she’s lost that opportunity forever. That has got to have some sort of profound impact on a person.

“So I would love somehow, even if it’s conversations between Kerry and Pollard, or Kerry and Jacob, for her to just catch up with her backstory and the facts about why she was such a bad mum. She could admit it to someone else and more importantly admit it even to herself.”

We know that you and your partner Mark Jordon do a lot of work for the Cure Usher charity, after your two children were diagnosed with Usher Syndrome. What do you have planned for the next year?

“We have lots of ideas and this year it is about thinking outside of the box because we are so aware that everyone is supporting their own causes. There’s a lot of people doing a lot of good work for some amazing charities, and so we have to try and think of different ways to get people to think about the charity and the condition so we can keep raising awareness. We’ll keep doing something different – keeping the fundraising ideas fresh so that we can keep it alive.

“We will do another ball – they are such a success and they provide a huge chunk of money that the charity is now getting, that it’s never had before. So we want to try and make that an annual thing because the money is doing such good work. It’s going directly into research for treatment.

“We feel passionately about this. We are in the position to raise awareness and talk about Usher Syndrome. I never thought I’d be in this position. It wasn’t what we expected but we thought: ‘How can we turn this into a positive?’ We are just doing what we feel like we want to and need to do.

“In the beginning, it was like this thing is happening to our family, but then you start meeting other people that are going through the same thing and you go: ‘It’s not just about us anymore because I’ve met all these incredible people’. Now I want to do it for them as well.

“There is this community fighting for them and speaking out for them because it’s so rare and it’s so unheard of as a condition.”