Emmerdale's Denise Welch says 'it's an honour' as she makes dramatic soap debut

Denise Welch has expressed her excitement about joining the Emmerdale cast, describing it as "an honour" to be part of the jury in the high-stakes court case involving Tom King and Belle Dingle.

The seasoned actress, known for her roles in Coronation Street, EastEnders, Hollyoaks, and Doctors, is set to appear in the ITV soap as Heidi on Wednesday's (December 18) episode.

The pivotal court case will unfold during Thursday's (December 19) hour-long episode, where Heidi and her fellow jurors will determine the fate of Tom (played by Jame Chase), who has been accused of horrific abuse against his wife Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper).

Denise shared her thoughts on the role, saying: "I thoroughly enjoyed shooting this important episode of Emmerdale. Like many I've been gripped by the Belle and Tom storyline so to play a head juror in the story's culmination was an honour."

She added that parts of the script were inspired by real-life cases and that the charity Refuge contributed to the research.

Denise also mentioned her connection to the subject through her work on Loose Women, stating: "At Loose Women (wearing my other hat) we launched our Facing it Together campaign this year which has been hugely successful in shining a light on all sorts of abuse including of course coercive control so the subject matter is one I'm passionate about. To share the jury scenes with Charlie Dale and Jack Ellis and also to see lots of my Emmerdale mates made it a job to remember."

Denise, who is well-known for her role as Sally Webster's love rival Natalie Barnes in Corrie from 1997 until 2000, Jane Howard in Doctors, Alison Slater in EastEnders and more recently Trish Minniver in Channel 4's Hollyoaks, hinted at the suspense surrounding Tom's trial, reports Leicestershire Live.

Fans will have to wait and find out if the jury find Tom guilty or not guilty.

Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 7.30pm and available to stream from 7am on ITVX