Emmerdale youngster has impressed during tense plot.
It’s produced real on-set tears, now Emmerdale star Steve Halliwell has revealed how the fallout from the tragic death of Gemma has even had hard-bitten crew applauding.
The youngster died as a result of a shove from pal Belle Dingle, played by Eden Taylor-Draper.
Jane Cox, who plays Belle’s mum, Lisa, confessed to being unable to stop crying at the funeral.
Now Steve says the highly-charged moment she confesses to dad Zac this week was similarly real.
“It was a very emotional scene,” admits Steve.
“Any father with a daughter will understand the pain he is going through and the love they have for one another. But how can he help? He can’t go to prison for her.
“It’s just the pain of it all we’re trying to express. We actually got applause from a couple of the crew which is very rare.
“There was one cameraman who has been in the business goodness knows how long. He has seen all the greats that have recorded at Yorkshire Television and I told him how much I appreciated it.
“It means so much. There’s no vested interest they’re not going to get a better job by flattering us. It’s just genuine.”
Eden’s performances have wowed 20-year Emmerdale veteran Steve.
The 16-year-old actress has had a clutch of nominations and wins at awards ceremonies, which Steve reckons are richly deserved.
“Some child actors are cute and then, as they get older, that cuteness disappears,” he adds.
“You see that they are not really good actors.
“But Eden is going to go on and be a really clever actress as an adult now.”
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