EMMERDALE fans have slammed one villager for ‘bad parenting’ after leaving their 10-year-old son at home by himself.

The character in question has been part of the ITV soap for over two decades.

4

Advertisement

4

4

Viewers weren’t happy with Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) after she seemingly left her 10-year-old adoptive son Carl (Charlie Munro Joyce) home alone.

The boy had been at home feeling unwell when Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) arrived, frustrated with his own mother Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy).

Nicola sent Carl upstairs to sort out some laundry, while she spoke to Arthur.

Fans were especially frustrated at it seemed the youngster had been trying to tell Nicola something.

Taking to X, one person wrote: “Nicola isn’t a very good mother.

“Carl was trying to tell her something yet will listen to Arthur who isn’t your son. Bad parenting sorry. #Emmerdale.”

Another commented: “Come on Carl, surely you’ve paired the socks by now.

“Go and tell your Mum what you saw……oh hang on your Mums just left you home alone #Emmerdale.”

A third penned: “Carl – run out of the house! #emmerdale.”

While a fourth remarked: “Carl is too young to be left in the house on his own… #Emmerdale.”

It comes as soap fans hoped Carl could expose his cousin Tom King (James Chase) as an abuser and coercive controller.

Tom has been tormenting his estranged wife Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) in a storyline spanning several months.

This culminated in Belle attacking Tom with an axe, although he survived – and managed to get his hands on a key piece of evidence.

Although Belle knew there was likely evidence of Tom’s abuse on his iPad.

However, he nabbed it before the police – but was seen smashing it to pieces by Carl.

To cover his tracks – and ensure Carl’s silence – Tom got him a remote controlled toy car in return for not mentioning what he saw.

Will Tom be brought to justice?

Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.

4

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Filming on the final ever episode of Gavin And Stacey has finished “for the last time ever”, the BBC has confirmed.

The last episode of the hit BBC sitcom, which originally aired between 2007 and 2010, will air on Christmas Day. In September, James Corden had shared a behind the scenes image of the first day of filming.

Now, in a post on X/Twitter, the BBC wrote: “And that’s a wrap… for the last time ever.” An image, accompanying the post, showed a clapperboard reading: “Gavin & Stacey: The Finale”.

As reported by DigitalSpy, filming concluded in the Welsh town of Barry in September with co-creator and star Ruth Jones addressing fans who had gathered on Trinity Street to say goodbye.

58-year-old Jones said to the crowd: “You haven’t seen anything because we’ve been indoors, which shows you are true committed fans of the show and we hope that you won’t be disappointed on Christmas Day, when all will be revealed.”

“This is our farewell now to Barry and to Trinity Street, so you won’t be seeing us here anymore but we’ve had a wonderful 17 years. It’s been fantastic” she added.

Fans were left emotional at the news that the show had concluded filming. Replying to the post, one fan said: “So excited I could combust.”

A second wrote: “Yeah, heart already shattered.”

A third added: “Tears in my eyes.”

A one-off festive episode aired in 2019 ended on a cliffhanger when Ruth Jones’s character Nessa proposed to Neil “Smithy” Smith, played by Corden.

Jones and Corden, who created and wrote the series and play the title characters best friends, confirmed its return in May, sharing a script titled “Gavin And Stacey: The Finale”.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Advertisement

Try for free

In the sitcom, Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play young couple Gavin and Stacey who fall in love despite one living in Essex and the other in Wales.

Larry Lamb and Alison Steadman star as Gavin’s parents Mick and Pam, while Melanie Walters portrays Stacey’s widowed mother Gwen with Rob Brydon as her Uncle Bryn.

The 2019 comeback episode had the highest overnight Christmas rating in 12 years with an average audience of 11.6 million viewers, making it the biggest festive special since 2008.

By the new year, it had been viewed by 17.1 million people, making it the biggest scripted programme of the decade at the time.

open image in gallery

The episode won the impact award at the 2020 National Television Awards.

The festive final episode of Gavin And Stacey will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on December 25.

Additional reporting by PA.

Here is a list of the most devastating deaths that have taken place in soapland over the years.

EASTENDERS

Barry Evans – Evil Janine (Charlie Brooks) lured her trusting fiance to Scotland for a quickie marriage after learning he was dying. 

Her plan to inherit Barry’s fortune was thwarted when Barry told her that the doctors had mixed up his medical files. 

Furious that she was no longer set for a windfall, she pushed Barry off a cliff after telling him their love was “fake”. 

Bradley Branning – Bradley was accused of killing Stacey Slater’s rapist Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) after he punched him twice on the night he died. 

He was spotted in the Square by a police woman who chased him up a fire escape.

Bradley lost his balance and tragically plunged to his death. 

CORONATION STREET

Tina McIntyre – Tina was getting it on with Peter Barlow – despite him being married to Carla Connor.

When she threatened to reveal the truth, Carla’s brother Rob got into a physical altercation with her.

Tina lost her footing and fell off a balcony – then warned Rob she was going to tell the cops he pushed her.

In a panic, Rob brutally clobbered her over the head with a metal pipe.

Molly Dobbs – Molly was one of the victims in Corrie’s 2010 tram crash, alongside Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold).

Married to Tyrone (Alan Halsall), Molly had been having an affair with Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) in the months before her death.

This resulted in the birth of their son, Jack (Kyran Bowes), who was named after Jack Duckworth.

As fate would have it, Kevin’s wife Sally (Sally Dynevor) was by Molly’s side in her final moments.

Sally was stunned as Molly confessed Kevin was Jack’s father, before dying of her injuries.

Vera Duckworth – Having appeared regularly in Corrie since the 1970s, there was no denying Vera Duckworth was an iconic character.

Alongside her husband Jack, the pair formed one of the soap’s most beloved couples.

Viewers were heartbroken when Vera was killed off in 2008, being discovered having passed away peacefully in her chair.

Liz Dawn, who played Vera, made a brief return two years later for Bill Tarmey’s exit as Jack.

Paul Foreman – Fans were heartbroken when Paul Foreman succumbed to his illness after battling motor neurone disease.

Introduced in 2018 as David Platt’s (Jack P. Shepherd) cellmate, he later embarked on a romance – and marriage – with vicar Billy Mayhew.

The MND storyline was announced in 2023 – with the expectation it would result in the character’s death.

EMMERDALE

Sarah Sugden – After the family got into financial problems, Sarah’s son Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) decided to make some quick cash from an insurance company by setting fire to the Sugden barn.

He didn’t realise his mum was inside the building, and she got trapped in the blaze.

Nine villagers – The shocking 1993 plane crash episode brought in 18 million viewers for Emmerdale.

Mark Hughes was killed by a falling wall, Archie Brooks was burned by jet fuel, Elizabeth Pollard was killed by debris and newcomer Leonard Kempinski died in a car crash caused by the crash. 

Five other non-recurring characters from the village also died. 

HOLLYOAKS

Carmel McQueen – The talented singer died in shocking scenes when a train crashed into a her family’s car.

Carmel managed to free her cousin Theresa from the rubble – but got stuck in it herself.

Moments later the train exploded and Carmel died in the arms of her family members, promising to be their guardian angel.