'It's hard sometimes to pick yourself up'

Actress Paula Lane shares her latest hard-hitting storyline in Emmerdale and why joining the cast of the Yorkshire-based soap is her dream come true

- JEN PHARO

Viewers fell in love with Paula Lane when she played troubled tearaway Kylie Platt in Coronation Street. Now the actress is bringing her on-screen charisma to another complex role as reformed killer Ella Forster in Emmerdale.

Ella has arrived in the village with a bang. Not only has she romanced Doctor Liam Cavanagh, and become pals with Mandy Dingle, but she’s also revealed she brutally murdered her best friend when she was just 11 years old.

Now she’s about to suffer the heartache of a silent miscarriage, which further complicates her relationship with Liam ( Jonny McPherson), who accuses her of never being pregnant in the first place.

Her storylines have been dark and heavy, and Paula says playing such emotional scenes means she has to keenly guard her mental health.

In an exclusive interview with OK!, the star confesses that it’s exercising in the Yorkshire Dales that keeps her sane.

“Like anybody I can struggle with my mental health,” Paula tells us. “There’s a hell of a lot going on in the world and it’s hard sometimes to pick yourself up, but I really try to focus on myself. I reset myself every day and that might be through yoga, a walk with the dogs, or a run. Exercise for me is key in terms of just releasing and getting myself in a happy place. I love to run, I’m very, very fortunate that I live in a beautiful place where I use a lot of mindfulness.”

One of Paula’s most powerful scenes saw Ella relive her childhood trauma to Cain Dingle, who is played by Jeff Hordley. She recounted the events that led to her murdering her best friend Joanne on her own birthday. Afterwards, Paula was glad to be supported by her castmates Jeff and Jonny, before decompressing on the way home to see her husband, actor Tom Shaw, and their children Arthur, nine, and Penny, eight.