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How do you join one of the UK’s most well-known soaps without feeling a little bit overwhelmed by working alongside faces who have been on our TV screens for years? It was a question on Casey Al-Shaqsy’s mind earlier this year, when she joined the cast of Emmerdale as Serena Sugden.
Shortly after her arrival, the character was confirmed to be the distant cousin of Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley). Since her first scenes with Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) back in June, Serena has been very busy interacting with a lot of iconic residents.
With so many legends around her, Casey Al-Shaqsy had plenty of reasons to feel a little daunted. Speaking to Metro about getting settled into the role, the star revealed how one actor in particular made her feel when they met for the first time.
‘I think I actually got starstruck by Cain. I don’t get starstruck. I talk to everybody. And I saw him, and I was quiet for once, and I walked past him, and I was like, hello, I’m Casey, can’t wait to work with you. I was a bit awkward because I was like, that’s Cain! And I used to fancy him as well.’
She continued: ‘When we did the christening, I watched it back and, like, thank God you can’t tell, but I almost threw up. So I’d been there for two weeks, and I’d had lovely interactions with everyone. I’d had Woolpack scenes. I’d worked with Emma, I’d worked with all these amazing people. I was like, great, I feel settled.
‘And then I got into that christening, and it was all the Dingles in one corner. Then it was Matty and me. There was Sarah and Jacob, and then Charity and Mackenzie, and I was literally stood there, and I went, ‘Can I sit down?’ And I had to leave the room. I couldn’t sit with everybody because I just felt really overwhelmed.
‘It made me feel really sick because I was just like, this is such an iconic family that I look up to so much and such incredible people. They’re so kind and wonderful that I was like, I don’t feel well. That’s the only time I’ve ever felt like that. But that was a big day.’
Casey went on to reveal that she hasn’t actually told Jeff Hordley about fancying him when she was younger but hey, he’ll know now, that’s for sure!
Shortly after her arrival, Serena told everyone that she was in town to reconnect with her family members, but this week’s episodes of the ITV soap have revealed that she also came to the village for another reason.
It’s been revealed that DS Thea Ramsden (Chelsea Edge), who is investigating Dr Caitlin Todd’s (Caroline Harker) death, is actually Serena’s friend. She also has some sort of connection to the Tates, and has been asking Serena to break into Home Farm to find something that can destroy Kim Tate (Claire King).
Revealing more about the friendship Serena and Thea have, Casey said: ‘They are very, very close friends. Serena’s sort of journey into the village was to see her family. She does want to get closer with her family. But she’s mentioned to her best mate, ‘I’m going to Emmerdale’. And she’s gone ‘I need you to do me a favour’.
‘So whilst all the drama’s happening with her own life, she is then doing her usual Serena way and is looking out for somebody else and trying to get all this information for her. Obviously, we can’t get into why yet, but she didn’t know that Ramsden was on the case.
She added: ‘So when she turns up at the village, it’s kind of like you’re kind of ruining everything here. And it wasn’t Serena’s choice to make it a secret; it was Thea’s. She’s trying her best to keep the secret like Thea wanted her to.
‘But she’s also like now you’re here working on a case that I’m involved in; you’re making my life very difficult right now. And there’s going to be times it’s going to be trials and tribulations between them because it’s like you’re literally putting me in such an awkward position.’
Teasing what’s ahead for Serena, Casey noted: ‘All she does is care about other people and do stuff for other people. But if you watch the show, when’s the last time you see anyone do anything for her other than give her a place to stay? Everyone is always asking things of her, and she’s always doing things for other people.
‘Thea tries to help her a little bit as well, but that’s only because there’s something in it for her. She gets a bit of friction with Sarah. She gets a bit of friction with Thea. And then the friction for her with her family, with Brian, is just like, this is something else!
‘I always say Serena doesn’t lie; she just doesn’t tell people the whole truth. She tells the truth, but leaves bits out, and that’s what gets her into trouble. She knows that’s upset people in the past, and now she’s keeping another secret because it isn’t hers to tell; it’s Thea’s..’
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