Emmerdale star Olivia Bromley has divulged details on the special episode that will see Dawn Taylor and April Windsor’s storylines collide, with the actor calling its subject matter “difficult”.

April has found herself in danger in recent weeks as she became closer to Dylan Penders, with the pair being exploited by the villainous Ray Walters as part of his criminal operation.

Dawn, meanwhile, is dealing with her own problems as an indecent photo of her adoptive daughter, Clemmie, is shared in a group chat. Carl Holliday is taken in for questioning following the incident, which has huge ramifications for the Tate and King families.

Friday’s (17 October) episode will see Dawn recall to Joe her traumatic past, which included being coerced into sex work and drug addiction. The parallels to April’s life are clear, with the ITV soap electing to combine two storylines.

In the same episode, April will face her most terrifying situation yet as she’s trapped in a hotel room by one of Ray’s associates, with the teenager panicked as she tries to find a way to escape.

Speaking ahead of the dramatic scenes, Bromley, who plays Dawn, shared that her character would protect April if she knew of her situation, saying: “She would just want to scoop her up and tell her to get out of there, because she’s lived it.

“Dawn lived it in an interesting way – from [the] perspective of not having [a] stable family home life and living on the streets with her boyfriend. She explains a lot to Joe about this, and you see how she got herself into such a difficult situation for so many years.

“Now she’s someone that’s quite accomplished. She’s got a smart head on her. She’s a good mother, she’s empathetic. She’s made mistakes and is flawed, like everyone is. But ultimately, she’s got a good heart.”

“With April, she’s got this wonderful family,” she continued. “She’s in a stable, loving home, she’s got school and yet still managed to go down this path. It’s interesting, the toxic influences that children can come across – you think everybody’s safe [but] they’re not.”

“Dawn opens up to Joe about [how] the choices she made were out of necessity, but also out of being groomed at a very young age with someone that she thought loved her. That can change the whole path of your entire life – that’s what we’re starting to see with April.”

Bromley, who began playing Dawn in 2018, also spoke about the significance of Clemmie’s storyline in conjunction with April’s, explaining that the topic of cyberbullying is an important theme to represent in modern-day soaps.

“I think cyberbullying is a really difficult thing, because it’s really hard to escape. Kids used to be able to come home from school and escape bullies, hard times or manipulation. Now, it’s really hard to do that, because you’re constantly on your phone.

“It’s insane how much we’re looking down at technology and not really looking out into the real world. It allows the amount of hours that kids and teenagers are consuming this media; no wonder people can be manipulated, radicalised or groomed in whatever way.”