The mystery of Amelia Spencer’s disappearance deepened in Emmerdale as police confirmed she is still alive, but suspect someone she knows is behind her abduction – with suspicion falling on biological dad Daz Spencer.
The cops revealed their breakthrough tonight (Thursday 14 June) when they found CCTV footage from a nearby town centre of the schoolgirl with an unidentified woman in a hoodie. While the sighting was obviously good news, another discovery of what appears to be Amelia communicating with someone in an online chat room suggested the sinister possibility the girl had been groomed by somebody she trusts into running away.
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The fact that person’s username was ‘Helmand2009’ led straight to Daz, who admitted under investigation he had served in the Afghanistan locale during a stint in the army in – you guessed it – 2009. Putting all the pieces together, Daz looks like he has something to hide – but with the storyline set to take some unexpected, and apparently very dark, twists in the coming weeks theories are rife as to what’s really going on. RadioTimes.com has done some digging…
Daz has staged it to look like the hero
The finger pointing at Daz this early on doesn’t necessarily make him a red herring – what if Emmerdale are double bluffing and he really is behind it? The revelation of Daz being Amelia’s birth father means he’s got much to prove to the family. There’s a sneaking feeling the soap are taking inspiration from 2008’s notorious Shannon Matthews case, the real life staged kidnapping of a young girl by her family for the reward money (dramatised by BBC1 as The Moorside starring Sheridan Smith). What if Daz has organised the abduction and plans to swoop in and miraculously find her to paint himself as the good guy who saved the day?
Dan is framing Daz to discredit him
On the flipside, Dan’s devastation at not being Amelia’s real dad may have driven him to drastic behaviour. What if he’s orchestrated the disappearance and faked evidence incriminating his brother as being responsible? It would take the jealousy and resentment between the siblings to a whole other level, and turn Amelia against her birth father, though it could explain Dan’s weirdly laidback attitude when his daughter initially vanished. He didn’t even want the police involved at first and seemed strangely certain she’d show up – isn’t that a bit odd?
Someone wants revenge on Daz
Much has been hinted about Daz’s dodgy past. He was in the army and been in trouble with the law, and is no stranger to scams – another reason to suspect him. But maybe his involvement is indirect, and someone he once crossed has befriended Amelia and kidnapped her by way of revenge. Do they want reward money to pay back cash Daz stole? Or they just want to cause pain and worry for the family having found out the paternity bombshell? This whole storyline could be the tip of the iceberg in terms of properly exploring Daz’s life before the village.
Nasty schoolgirl Leanna is involved
Mean teen Leanna Cavanagh, daughter of local doctor Liam, made a cruel dig about the disappearance earlier this week when she spitefully smirked Amelia would be back soon “in a coffin,” barely out of Dan’s earshot. Then she made a secret phone call claiming she had information, cheekily demanding dosh in return. What does she know? A far-out possibility is the two girls are in on it together – Amelia has been through an awful lot and may have asked Leanna to help her get away from the family dramas and stay hidden for a while, and maybe even scam some reward cash in the process. Or is Leanna just an attention-seeking troublemaker?
Amelia is the victim of online grooming
The most serious possibility is the vulnerable 11-year-old has been targeted by online predators posing as friends but with a sinister agenda. In the Shannon Matthews vein, another real life case that could be the spark for the story may be the Rochdale sex abuse ring, already adapted to Bafta-winning effect as BBC drama Three Girls and also the basis of Corrie’s award-winning Bethany Platt grooming plot. Emmerdale have warned things will go down a gritty and shocking path – will any of these theories prove to be correct?
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from Radio Times https://ift.tt/2l8VyA0
