Laurel Thomas

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Laurel Thomas
Emmerdale character

Played by	Charlotte Bellamy
Duration	2002-2004, 2005
Date of Birth	1974
Date of Death
Marital Status	Married
Occupation	Cleaner
Family	Ashley and Gabby

Laurel Thomas (née Potts) is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Charlotte Bellamy.

[edit] About Laurel

Laurel Potts made a suitably eccentric entrance in Emmerdale – dressed as a bumble bee!

The kooky romantic turned up to perform at Marlon and Tricia’s engagement party but collapsed midway through and had to be rushed to hospital.

However, the disastrous start was the beginning a whole new adventure for Laurel, who was taken in by kindly pensioners Betty Eagleton and Seth Armstrong. However, the one thing Laurel longed for was a man – and she’d set her sights on someone who just didn’t feel the same way.

Reverend Ashley Thomas thought the world of Laurel but just didn’t fancy her and, after the heartbreak of his divorce from wife Bernice, wasn’t really looking for anything serious. Rejected by Ashley, Laurel threw herself into her work as a cleaner for pal Nicola Blackstock’s business. Her hard work paid off and she was soon a permanent fixture on Nicola’s books.

In 2004, tragedy struck the village when a freak storm claimed the life of Tricia Dingle and caused Ashley and his girlfriend Louise Appleton to crash their car. As the desperately ill vicar clung onto life, Laurel proved to be his guardian angel and the strong bond between the pair deepened.

Now realising that Louise wasn’t the woman for him, Ashley broke it off and after a series of false starts finally began dating Laurel. Although she’d now got everything she’d ever dreamed of, Laurel wanted to broaden her horizons and went off to work as a volunteer in Tanzania. (This was due to actress Charlotte Bellamy taking maternity leave).

Ashley was sad to see her go and throughout her time abroad, feared she might not come back to him. So when she did, Ashley took the opportunity to propose to his girlfriend for the second time – and she delightedly said yes!

But while the couple were planning their wedding a storm cloud was brewing. Ashley’s boss, the Bishop, was none too impressed with his employee’s hectic love life and banned him from marrying Laurel.

In defiance, Ashley quit his job but soon found he couldn’t cope with not being a vicar anymore. However, Laurel was willing to wait for him and her love was certainly put to the test.

Ashely's curate, Ethan Blake, you see, had been Laurel's confidant throughout her agony and realised that he was also in love with the potty Potts and wanted her for himself. When she didn't reciprocate his love, he didn't take it on the chin, instead he told the Bishop that he and Laurel had kissed!

Ethan was having a re-think and eventually came clean to the Bishop, who decided that Ashley and Laurel had waited long enough to tie the knot and gave them his blessing. But married life wasn’t going to be quiet for this couple.

They arrived home for their wedding night to find Ashley’s estranged father Sandy in their marital bed. There were tense times as the vicar tried to come to terms with his father being nearby but with Laurel’s help he’s managed to forgive and forget and even start to like his old man.

Meanwhile, Laurel’s professional life was changing to. The departure of her friend Nicola Blackstock, who left Emmerdale in shame, meant Laurel got put in charge of the cleaning business. She also had her hands full being a full time mum to Gabby, being the perfect vicar’s wife, running the choir and trying to keep up with Ashley’s troublesome niece Jasmine. Laurel was devastated when Jasmine and her friends Debbie and Daz accidentally set fire to the vicarage, and they lost everything.

When Jasmine started having an affair with Debbie's dad, Cain, she confided in Laurel. Laurel promised to keep it a secret from Ashley, even though she felt very uncomfortably lying to her husband. After the truth came out Ashley was furious with Laurel. Lauel went away on a holiday with her parents thinking that the break would help her marriage. When she returned all was normal and they promised that there would be no more secret. Little does she know that Jasmine has a bun in the oven and if the troubled teen confides in Laurel again, will the vicar's wife keep another big secret from her husband?