Louise Appleton
| Louise Appleton | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||
 | |||||
| Portrayed by | Emily Symons | ||||
| Duration | 2001–2008 | ||||
| First appearance | 20 June 2001 | ||||
| Last appearance | 28 October 2008 | ||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||
| Introduced by | Keith Richardson | ||||
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Louise Appleton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Emily Symons. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 June 2001. Louise arrived in the village as a temporary barmaid and ended up as co-landlady with best friend Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen), before selling to Diane's sister Val Lambert (Charlie Hardwick) in 2006. The character last appeared in Emmerdale on 28 October 2008.
Casting
Symons was in London and struggling to get an agent when she was asked to join Emmerdale.[1] The producers were looking for an Australian to play their "sassy new Woolpack barmaid", Louise Appleton.[1] They were so keen to have Symons that they did not audition her.[1] The actress was given an initial six-month contract and Symons commuted up to Leeds from London for filming.[1] Symons began filming her first scenes in May 2001 and she told Allison Maund of Inside Soap that Louise would be nothing like her "ditzy" Home and Away character, Marilyn Chambers.[2]
Storylines
The men of Emmerdale could not believe their luck when gorgeous Australian Louise arrived and started work at The Woolpack. Bright, beautiful and classy, Louise was the full package but much to the young men's disappointment, she started dating older lothario Rodney Blackstock. The couple had a fun relationship and enjoyed each other's company but it didn't last as Rodney was still in love with his ex-wife, Diane Blackstock. Unfortunately Diane was also Louise's best friend and when she discovered that Rodney and Diane had slept together, Louise dumped Rodney but forgave Diane and continued to work at the Woolpack.
Her next boyfriend was shady businessman
Meanwhile, Terry moved on by marrying teenager, Dawn Hope. Seeing them together made Louise realise that she did have feelings for him after all and started dating after Terry and Dawn split up in 2004. Realising their relationship was serious, Terry and Louise decided to buy Alan Turner's B&B. Newcomer Matthew King offered financial advice and helped organise a mortgage – but wanted more than Louise's business. After pursuing her for weeks, Louise and Matthew began a passionate affair. Although she hated lying to Terry, Louise could not resist Matthew but eventually decided that she wanted to be with Matthew and ended things with Terry – just as they were about to complete the sale of the B&B. Louise shocked the village with her actions and even Diane was unable to feel any sympathy when Matthew abruptly dropped her days later. Realizing she'd been played, Louise threw herself on Terry's mercy but he didn't want to know. Alone and distraught, Louise went home to Australia. When she got back, Louise tried to put her life in order. She kept her head down, tried to make amends with her friends and steered clear of men but she was not alone for long.
When she met police officer Martin Crowe at a kid's judo class, Louise felt a frisson of attraction. They became friends and after a while, romance blossomed. However, Louise was taking on Martin's daughter,
In May 2007, it was stated that a "much loved" character would be killed at the village's anniversary and rumours arose that it would be Louise. She was involved in a car crash after ex-fiancée Hari Prasad ran her off the road. He knew that she was going to the police to admit that she had given a false statement, leading to Hari's arrest. Luckily Louise survived and told the police about her and Hari's lies so he was arrested for attempted murder and perverting the course of justice and was jailed for his crimes, selling his share of the veterinary surgery to Rosemary Sinclair.
In 2008, Louise received a lot of comments about her relationship with Jamie, who is younger than her. Believing that she was not good enough for him, she accused him of having an affair with a wine tasting woman. However, Jamie was having lessons so they could drink together so they reconciled. Later in the year, Louise feared she was pregnant but Jamie's relief to discover she was not made Louise unsure of their relationship. Jamie apologized repeatedly but he kept saying the wrong things. They became friends again and Jamie even proposed. The two were then engaged.
In May, Louise provided an alibi for
In June 2009, Jamie returned from a visit to Australia, despondent, as Louise was now with a man who, according to Val, looked like Crocodile Dundee and gave Jamie his ring back. She also sold her share of the B&B to Eric and Val Pollard, much to Terry's horror and her share in The Woolpack to Val Pollard.
After leaving the village, Louise has been mentioned often. In January 2017, Diane mentioned that Louise donated £100 from Australia to a donation page set up to raise money for Diane's adoptive stepgranddaughter Sarah's cancer treatment.
Reception
For her portrayal of Louise, Symons earned a nomination for Most Popular Newcomer at the 8th National Television Awards.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d Fletcher, Rebecca (14 July 2001). "Interview: Why Emily left Home". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Maund, Allison (28 April – 11 May 2001). "Emily moves to Emmerdale!". Inside Soap (178): 7.
- ^ "National TV awards: 2002 shortlist". BBC News. 15 October 2002. Retrieved 19 March 2012.