Emmerdale actress Katie Hill, who plays Sarah Sugden tells of her wild ride on the soap and why she loves playing a part in some of the show’s most dramatic storylines
It is the kind of dramatic storyline that has Emmerdale fans coming up to soap actress Katie Hill in the street to warn her of the consequences. Katie’s character Sarah Sugden is having a baby – with her own grandmother, Charity Dingle, acting as surrogate and carrying the child.
When she found out about the wild plot, the 23-year-old actress initially reckoned it might put her off having children herself. But in fact she says it has had the opposite effect – and has made her keener than ever to become a mum. Katie, who has been acting in Emmerdale since she was 14 years old, says: “I thought beforehand this was going to go one of two ways.
“It could have been a case of ‘Oh no, I am not ready, I don’t want this now’. But in fact it’s gone the opposite way. I have always wanted to be a mum and this storyline has definitely made me even more broody. One hundred per cent, I have wanted to be a mum since I was five. I always used to love playing mums and dads in the playground. I used to fold up a cardigan to use as a fake baby, as we couldn’t have toys in our school playground.”
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Having said that, the actress is aware that starting a family at 23 would mean making big life changes. Katie, who lives with her boyfriend of six years, says: “I need to live my youth a little bit longer. I can also hear my dad in my head going ‘I am not ready to be a grandad just yet’.”
Her character Sarah had already been through a lot – childhood leukaemia and a heart transplant – before she was dealt another blow: a diagnosis last year of cervical cancer. That led her to have an emergency hysterectomy, which meant Sarah could never carry a child.
Seeing how distraught she was, her gran Charity (played by Emma Atkins) offered to help Sarah and husband Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) by carrying a baby for them – which is due next month. Sarah has eagerly been waiting to become a mum. But in an explosive twist, Charity had a one-night stand with Ross Barton behind husband Mackenzie Boyd’s back. To make matters worse, a DNA test later proved the baby’s dad is Ross, not Jacob.
Fearing the truth will destroy Sarah, Charity has been digging herself deeper into a hole of deceit ever since. Katie says it’s a “pinch-me” moment to be involved in one of Emmerdale’s biggest plots of the year. She says: “As an actress, to be part of it all is incredible.”
Being an actress means Katie is fulfilling a dream that began when she was a toddler. She says: “From about the age of two I would always be getting straight in front of the camera whenever mum got one out. My sister and I always did drama together and I went to classes. My parents were supportive from the day dot.” When she was nine they enrolled her with agency Scalakids, which supports children to pursue an acting career. And five years later Emmerdale came knocking on the door.
Katie says: “Even now when I walk past the audition room, it all comes flooding back.” Katie’s parents, who are now retired and who live near her in Leeds, are her biggest fans, alongside her older sister. The actress says: “Mum always watches me on Emmerdale and thinks this story is so exciting. She is so inspirational, funny, caring and everything you could ask for in a mum. If I ever get to her age and can be anything like how my mum is, I would be so content and happy. She’s always been so supportive.”
Katie will spend Mother’s Day on Sunday with her family, tucking in to a hearty roast dinner together. Another big fan is her real-life gran, who Katie says has been a positive female role model throughout her life. She continues: “I adore my grandma. She is a big fan of Emmerdale too, but can’t quite understand how a gran [like Charity] would give their granddaughter the gift of a child.”
Katie loves being involved in the dramatic plot, which she reckons has been a big draw for Emmerdale fans. She says: “People come up to me all the time in the street saying ‘I’ve got something to break to you… the baby is not yours’. Obviously, I tell them I know. But what’s so great about a soap is it is on in people’s living rooms every night and they do get invested.”
Katie feels for Sarah as all this unfolds around her. She says: “She is in this happy baby world and she can’t wait to be a mum. She has been through a lot and she can’t wait to move on. She is also indebted to her gran. I don’t think she will ever be able to say thank you enough to her. Obviously, she doesn’t see Charity’s guilty looks.”
Katie joined Emmerdale in 2017 and spent most of her teenage years working on the ITV soap. She says she has always looked up to co-star Emma and to Jeff Hordley, who plays bad boy Cain Dingle. There was another “pinch-me” moment, she says, when Jeff’s character chose to confide in hers about his recent prostate cancer diagnosis before even his own missus.
Since then, Sarah, who affectionately calls grandad Cain Grumpy, has been determined to support him. She has even been helping him steal cars, because he is experiencing financial struggles while his wife Moira is in prison. And this week he finally told his wife Moira about his troubling cancer news.
Katie says: “When I found out Cain would be telling Sarah first, I felt so excited. There is a special bond between them. I feel lucky to be given these stories. Sarah has so many layers to her and while like her I am quite wise, I am not into stealing cars. I am too much of a goody two shoes!”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
