Olivia Bromley has spoken to Digital Spy about the Dawn Fletcher wedding week ahead in Emmerdale, confirming that fans should brace for something far more explosive than a traditional soap nuptial, and that the chaos is entirely intentional.
Dawn is set to marry her fiancé Joe, but she has other plans entirely. Behind the scenes, she is quietly plotting a getaway with Billy and the kids, with the help of Caleb. Whether that escape comes off (or whether Joe finds out) is the central question hanging over what promises to be one of the soap’s biggest weeks of the year.
A wedding week that won’t go smoothly
‘It’s gonna be a crazy week for her,’ Bromley told Digital Spy. ‘It’s not going to be a smooth-sailing wedding, it never is.’ She was quick to put the upcoming ceremony in context by reaching back to Dawn’s previous attempt at saying ‘I do.’ ‘Her first wedding was a disaster,’ she said. ‘She was kidnapped and hung over a viaduct, and this wedding is potentially even worse.’
The wedding dress, Bromley revealed, had to be built around two practical constraints. Dawn is seven months pregnant in the storyline, and there is a great deal of physical action woven into the episode. ‘This had to be a very practical wedding dress situation,’ she said, ‘but it was lovely.’
It’s the kind of detail that sums up where Dawn finds herself: a character perpetually trying to hold something together while everything around her threatens to fall apart. Bromley has been playing that tension across a love triangle involving Joe and Billy for months, and she is candid about what makes the story work.
The love triangle and the Inside Soap Awards 2026 nomination
‘Oh, well, the endless love triangle,’ she said, with an audible lightness. ‘It’s been fun, actually. I think there’s a lot of nuance to the story.’ She noted that Dawn and Billy have built a relationship over years, making Joe’s arrival all the more disruptive. ‘Joe Tate’s come in and caused chaos, as he does, and caused Dawn’s life to completely upend.’
Part of what gives Bromley’s performance its texture is how closely it mirrors the professional dynamic off screen. She has worked with Jay Kontzle, who plays Billy, for years. ‘Even me as an actor,’ she said, ‘it’s been really interesting. And also, the three of us have had loads of fun.’
When pressed on where Dawn’s heart truly lies, Bromley did not hesitate. ‘I think, despite what everybody is telling her, despite what I would advise her, despite what the audience are screaming out for, she just wants to go back to Joe. She can’t help it.’
That kind of layered, emotionally complicated performance has earned Bromley a nomination for Best Actress at the Inside Soap Awards 2026, which she described as ‘such an amazing thing, and such a lovely privilege.’ The nomination covers her work across the past 12 months, a period that has pushed Dawn through some of the most demanding material the show has given her.
Bromley took part in a photoshoot for Inside Soap to mark Emmerdale’s nominations, and a full interview with her and co-star Ned Porteous appears in the current issue of the magazine alongside exclusive photos of six cast members. Votes for the awards are open now.
As for what else is coming down the line, Bromley kept it deliberately vague, but enthusiastic. ‘We’ve got some very exciting stuff coming up towards the end of this year,’ she said. ‘It’s just the best soap. I’m biased, but there we go.’
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX. Voting for the Inside Soap Awards 2026 is open now.
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