'Emmerdale' stars tease Chas and Charity's latest feud: 'All hell breaks loose'
The feud between Emmerdale's Charity and Chas Dingle is about to explode into all-out war, according to the stars who play them.
Speaking at a recent press event, Lucy Pargeter explains that her character Chas will take a job at the B&B after rejecting new landlady Charity's offer, which she sees “as an opportunity to be in big competition with the Woolie.”
Co-star Emma Atkins says that in the wake of this revelation, her alter ego reverts to type. “I guess when Charity’s confronted in that way, she just goes ‘right, this is war!’ I just think it’s game on.”
Dingle drama soon follows as Chas and Charity go head-to-head to host the biggest and best event - the pub’s grand opening versus Liv and Vinny’s engagement turned wedding reception at the B&B.
Read more: Next week on Emmerdale
“All hell breaks loose,” Atkins continues. “Because it culminates in this massive, chaotic, ridiculous row.”
“It’s rooted in sincerity, really,” Pargeter says. “It’s all the past two years of them being at each other’s throats, so all these things get brought up and then it all gets blown up. It doesn’t put a plaster over it, but it’s been coming for a long time.”
Read more: Emmerdale: New owners of the Woolpack revealed
The argument soon turns into a food fight, and the stars didn’t always relish the filming process.
“The thought of doing a food fight [in] the village which is at least 20 degrees colder than anywhere else in the world in January, involving wet food stuffs wasn’t appealing at all,” Pargeter explains.
“Although weirdly, adrenaline always seems to kick in in these moments, when you think ‘this is going to be awful’,” adds Atkins.
“It was awful!” laughs Pargeter. “There was one bit, [Emma] said ‘I don’t like anything going in my ear’ so during this fight, I did manage to tip an entire bowl of melted chocolate on her head but kindly avoided her ear!”
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Thankfully, there’s much less drama behind the scenes as Atkins and Pargeter are close friends in real life.
“I think we love each other so much as people and as human beings, I don’t care what I’m doing with [Emma] as long as I’m doing something with her,” Pargeter says of their working relationship.
Atkins agrees. “There’s a lot of trust there, I think. We have a friendship to begin with anyway, that always helps. There’s a lovely understanding, a lot of respect.”
Read more: Corrie and Emmerdale set to move to new timeslots
“Yeah, I respect you massively,” Pargeter tells her co-star. They are also on the same page when it comes to the Woolpack twists.
“I was devastated actually, when I got the script saying that my character loses the Woolpack,” Atkins sighs. “I was like ‘how can I not be working with Lucy any more? This is absolutely outrageous!’”
Read more: Emmerdale stars back strong future for Liv and Vinny
“So was I,” Pargeter adds. “I was devastated for her and then I just went ‘oh my god, now I lose the Woolpack!’ It was bad enough her losing it, now I lose it?”
But Pargeter is full of praise for their latest storyline. “Then we had the opportunity to come together this way, which turned out even more fun than just working behind the bar."
Viewers will see Chas and Charity’s feud reach its peak next week, when Emmerdale moves to the new timeslot of 7:30pm.
Watch the latest Emmerdale spoilers