Emmerdale star Natalie Anderson breaks silence on dramatic Corrie debut with major twist

A former Emmerdale star has joined ITV's other soap, in a plot twist that nobody could have expected. first appeared on screens in 1996 but later became a household name during her appearance as Nurse Stella Davenport on The Royal between 2005 and 2008.

But two years after walking away from the period medical drama, she cemented herself as Alicia Metcalfe in until her exit in 2015. Since then, she's gone on to land roles on and the hit, Fool Me Once. Now, the Bradford-born actress is returning to her soap roots as she takes on the role of Danielle on .

In recent weeks, fans of the soap have seen unlucky in love Todd Grimshaw fall for Theo Silverton, believing he had finally met his true love. But in a plot twist, viewers and Todd were left stunned when Theo walked in with his wife, Danielle, alongside him. Todd had been questioning why Theo was giving off mixed signals in recent weeks.

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Sadly, his suspicions were confirmed when Theo arrived at the funeral home with his wife to organise her mums funeral. But he attempted to clarify the situation, explaining while he has been married for 19 years, he'd always known he was gay. However, it appears that Danielle has no idea about her husband's double life.

"I think she's aware that all isn't well but I don't think his secret is what she's alluding to in any way," Natalie said of whether Danielle is aware of Theo's secret. She went on to add: "They have been married a very long time and whilst there have been strains in the marriage when you have been married for such a long time those things are bound to happen anyway so I don't think she's thinking it's anything more than the strains of a long term marriage."

However, she believes that their marriage has "primarily" been a happy one but acknowledges that "complacency" may have crept in as they navigated family life and juggling children. "I don't think she suspects anything else at all though. If anything maybe she would suspect other women could turn his head," she said.

That, however, is not the only plot twist. Theo introduces Todd and Sarah to Danielle, claiming they're a couple. Instantly, she knows something is up and says Todd is "too good" for Sarah. Later on, George reveals that Todd is gay – leaving both Danielle and Theo in complete shock as they were brought up in "the church" and is "opposed" to homosexuality.

Natalie added: "The belief system that she's been brought up with means she's in shock really but equally at the same time she thinks if Todd's gay then somebody has been covering up for someone and immediately again she jumps to the conclusion that Sarah is the problem."

Danielle accuses Sarah of having an affair with Theo but she doesn't know whether their marriage is over as "family is everything". But what would happen if she knew the true extent of her husband's cheating? Natalie said: "We must remember that Danielle is grieving, she's only just lost her mum so her emotions are all over, one minute she can be crying and the next minute she's shouting at somebody. I think if the secret was to come out I can't imagine she's going to take it very well. She's a woman dealing with a lot of very intense emotions right now."

"I can't imagine her going down without a bit of a fight and just accepting things," she said of finding out about Todd and Theo's affair. Natalie concluded: "I think she would want to protect what she feels is hers. If the family were to split I think she would be extremely protective of the children because family is everything to her. I certainly can't imagine it being smooth sailing with everyone going off happily into the distance."

Should Danielle and Theo split, who could she see herself sparking a romance with? "Steve's always a good catch isn't he," she said before adding: "Or even Roy, maybe? He comes from a respectable background but Danielle could end up throwing rolls across the cafe at him!"

Speaking about joining the show, Natalie said: "Danielle is such a brilliant character! I'm so thrilled to be playing her. She's a deeply layered woman and it's been wonderful to explore some of those layers as I've gone on this journey with her. She's also a bit of a shapeshifter so you never really know what you're going to get and I've absolutely loved playing that, there's lots of surprises with her!"

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