Emmerdale's Bear Wolf actor Joshua Richards has warned that his character may be 'too far gone' amid a harrowing modern slavery storyline. The fan favourite is being manipulated by villains Ray Walters and Celia Daniels, and next week a young woman named Anya, who Bear had grown close to, dies. Her body is discarded in a feed shed, leaving Bear mortified.
Richards explained: 'He's absolutely horrified. He was told by Ray, who he trusts with his life, that everything is fine. Initially he gets angry, he's disappointed and somewhat saddened but because he's been manipulated heavily by Ray he almost forgives him.' Bear is forced to dig Anya's grave and holds a makeshift funeral, singing a song he used to comfort her.
The actor suggested Bear may be beyond redemption: 'He's too far gone at this point, he's decided in his mind already that he's walked out the door and he's never coming back.' However, Richards teased that Bear could eventually return to the village and 'bounce back', joking: 'He will because it's a soap.'
On Bear's relationship with his son Paddy, Richards said Paddy would be 'absolutely horrified' to learn of his father's ordeal. Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
