The Emmerdale village’s vicar, Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin), usually manages to get himself entangled in some type of trouble.
In the past, he made the choice to visit the serial killer Meena (Paige Sandhu) in prison because he believed she could change her ways with the help of God, and the previous year, he got caught up in the catastrophic storm that ultimately claimed the lives of Liv (Isobel Steele) and Harriet (Katherine Dow Blyton).
Charles’s life was recently serene when he moved in with Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker), but given that this is Emmerdale, it goes without saying that the stable dynamic was never going to stay.
This time, it has been stopped by Alex (Liam Boyle), Dawn’s (Olivia Bromley) ex-drug dealer who is now dating Naomi, Charles’ daughter (Karene Peter).
Alex has been able to conceal his actual motivations for the previous several weeks by portraying himself as a changed guy who only wants to be in a loving relationship with Naomi.
But this week, we learned of his scheme to steal medications from the clinic, which he had developed with Clare, his genuine girlfriend.
The truth starts to come out when Charles finds Alex’s vehicle packed with narcotics, and drama follows.
After telling Naomi everything and seeing how she reacts, he decides to take a drive to decompress.
When Charles leaves, it becomes clear that Alex is on the phone at the side of the road. After hanging up, Alex walks into the road, where a vehicle ploughs into him.
Could the character have been able to let Alex die knowing how much things would change for his family and Naomi even without knowing if Charles was the one who struck Alex?
In response to our previous inquiry on Kevin Mathurin’s character’s potential for terrible deeds under pressure, he recently revealed:
“I believe Charles wasn’t always such a walkover,” I said. With his faith, Charles lets go and allows God take the reins, but every so often, I suppose, he will take the wheel back and do what is required. He hasn’t had to do that duty in a while.
“I believe that the Charles character sometimes would prioritise his family above his career and religion, even if he always puts his parishioners first. He also loves God and his work in the community. Whatever it takes, he will take to keep them safe.
Kevin reacted to Charles realising he was correct about Alex by saying, “Charles is upset from the get-go.”
He feels let down by the fact that he was correct all along and that Alex wasn’t, in a sense, a repentant criminal. Even more so, he extended an invitation to him and welcomed him into his family. He ought to have trusted his gut from the start.
As her father confronts Naomi about her boyfriend, Naomi is in “complete denial” that he is telling the truth.
Kevin said, “Naomi doesn’t want to believe it.”
She believes that since Charles has been against him from the beginning, we have been waiting for an opportunity to prove Charles was correct and that we have exaggerated every the little issue Alex may have. She is not thinking clearly at all since, in Naomi’s eyes, there must be a reason why he did it.
Kevin provided his character some sound advise after reflecting on the difficult situation with Naomi and Alex and said:
“As a parent, I believe that there are moments when you have to let your kids make errors and come to their own conclusions. You can direct them, provide remote help, and possibly indicate that maybe he isn’t the right person for them.
Yet, if they are unable to perceive it, all you need to do is provide support and be ready to hug — without afterwards exclaiming, “I told you so!”