Emmerdale star explains Emma Barton 'return' in Moira story

Emmerdale star Natalie J Robb has weighed in on Moira Dingle experiencing upsetting visions of her nemesis Emma Barton. In scenes airing tonight (September 9) on the ITV soap, Moira will have hallucinations of Emma, who died in 2017. In the barn with Ruby, Moira thinks she's seeing Emma and fires her shotgun in defence, hitting a lightbulb and .

Speaking to and other media, Robb addressed Moira's rage outbursts as a consequence of her sanity slipping. "She's definitely unsettled by it," she said. "Clearly convinced it's partly menopause, but what starts to worry her is the way she's reacting, different outbursts she can't control her anger at the minute.



"And she's having a little bit of a drink as well, so we don't know if that is a contribution to it also, but is not drinking as much as maybe the audience are led to believe. And there lies the interesting stuff to come..

." Following an affectionate moment with Nate, spotted by Caleb, Cain accuses her of having rekindled her affair with his son. Ruby then heads to the barn to gloat amid Moira's struggles, but realises something is off when she doesn't respond to her insults and starts pouring tractor fuel.

That's when Moira begins to feel "very triggered", with visions of Emma blurring with Ruby. "I think it sets something off in her. She starts to see Emma's face in Ruby's face," Robb explained.

"Ruby obviously doesn't know what is going on. Moira has totally lost the plot. 'Who's Emma? Who's James? I don't know who these people are!' "Moira is actually quite frightened.

At that point, that's who she believes she's seeing, and Ruby says something quite similar to what Emma said to her just before she tried to kill her in the barn. "[She's] very triggered, loses the plot a bit and doesn't know where she's at." Robb also admitted being uncertain about whether the illumination storyline would work at first, but has promised a great time for viewers.

"When you hear about it, sometimes you wonder if it will work, but I've definitely been assured it looks really good in the way they've done it and everything else. David Beecham is such a wonderful director and it was such a wonderful team that week, a fantastic week of filming," she said. "Everything was done properly with the special effects team, and everything else there was so much positivity around it.

"It might sound a bit strange to you all, but I think with all the layers that are going on and all the things that are happening, it will all make sense. I haven't seen it, but I've been told it looks really good.".