Emmerdale star Nicola Wheeler has revealed what’s in store for her character in next week’s episodes.

In a harrowing storyline, Nicola (Wheeler) and Jimmy King (Nick Miles) will be forced to contend with the actions of their adoptive son, Carl Holliday (Charlie Munro Joyce), after he’s taken into police custody for circulating an indecent image of Clemmie Reed (Mabel Addison).

Revealing that the situation will lead to a falling out between Nicola and Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy), the actor said: “While Laurel is unhappy it’s going as far as it is, she does agree what Carl did was wrong. Her sympathy lies with Clemmie.

“Ultimately, Clemmie has to face that embarrassment and gets to the point where she wants to change school, she might get bullied. She has to face consequences, everyone knows what she looks like in her underwear, she’s deeply ashamed. Carl will get over it quicker than Clemmie, so the sympathy from others is for her.”

Noting that Carl’s actions will make Nicola feel like a failure, Wheeler explained: “The biggest mistake her and Jimmy made was giving Carl a phone in the first place and not monitoring it.

“There are some wonderful scenes with Laurel – they have no clue what their children are looking at [online], what their children can be exposed to when they’re not even looking for it.

“Not always searching nasty little websites with misogynistic men, etc – it might be pop-ups, and suddenly they’re dragged into something else. The way algorithms work, they feed into a system they don’t understand and are being exposed to things nobody should be exposed to, adults or children.”

Olivia Bromley, who portrays Clemmie’s mum Dawn, revealed that she was “shocked” after learning of the storyline.

“I was really shocked when I first read this storyline because the children who are involved in it are so young… It’s a real problem,” she told Soap Scoop.

“I also think that [on] this side of the incident photographs, Dawn expected to have more time to be able to prepare her child for going out in the world. I think that’s what’s caught her off guard… I’m really glad we’re doing this story.”