Emma Atkins thought Michelle Hardwick "was joking" when she found out their characters had to kiss on ‘Emmerdale’.
The 43-year-old actress’ alter-ego Charity Dingle and Michelle’s character Vanessa Woodfield shared their first smooch in the Woolpack cellar back in October 2017, cranking up their romance – which is known as Vanity by soap super-fans – but Emma wasn’t prepared for the initial "random" kiss.
She said: "I was on set, about to do a line run for a scene, and Michelle said, ‘Have you read the next block? We end up kissing in the cellar.’ I thought she was joking. It seemed so random.
"But then when you think about the way a soap works, it’s ever changing. Things move at a rapid pace. I read the script and thought, ‘Why not? This is what they’ve written, so let’s make it work.’ "
But upon finding out, Emma tweaked the script slightly to make the smooch comical as well as "exciting".
She said: "The cellar scene was so unexpected and I think we made something quite bold yet intimate.
"I asked the director and Michelle, of course, if I could pull the eye mask off Michelle’s face and ping it back to give the moment before they kissed some ‘impulsiveness’.
"We tried it and it just worked. Making use of her costume seemed a good way for Charity to make her move. It was funny as well as exciting."
Emma has particularly enjoyed the plot because it has been a "wonderful contrast" from playing out Charity’s dark past, about which it was recently revealed she was abused by evil DI Bails (Rocky Marshall).
Quizzed on whether Emma sees a long-term future for Vanity, she told pop culture website AfterEllen.com: "I had no expectations, as I know how storylines can change overnight or run for a while. You never know.
"I like seeing Charity being emotionally affected by someone in a positive way for a change. It was a wonderful contrast to the really heavy storyline of Charity’s past."
Emma Atkins: Vanity kiss took me by surprise
