Hilary Potts

Hilary Potts is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. Portrayed by Paula Wilcox, she made her first appearance in April 2007 and her last in May 2008.

Storylines

Hilary is Laurel Thomas' (Charlotte Bellamy) mother and mother-in-law of Ashley Thomas (John Middleton). She and her husband, Douglas Potts (Duncan Preston), arrived on 30 April, for a meal with their daughter. All went well, but after they left, they were involved in a car crash. Both survived the crash and returned to the village to see their new grandson, Daniel. Tragically, Daniel died in February 2008. Hilary and Douglas stayed until the funeral but a devastated Laurel told Hilary she blamed her for Daniel's death, as Hilary convinced Laurel not to check on Daniel when they heard him crying. Hilary tried to work out their problems but Laurel asked her to leave. Hilary and Douglas went home but visited again several weeks later. Laurel and Hilary reconciled and Hilary and Douglas moved in with Ashley and Laurel.

The family began to move on from the tragedy of Daniel's death, but Daniel's postmortem revealed that he had been a carrier for cystic fibrosis. Ashley, Laurel and her parents were puzzled as neither family knew of any relative with that condition. Hilary became concerned when she learned Melanie Doland (Caroline Strong), whose son, Arthur (Alfie Clarke), who was born the same day as Daniel, said her sister had died of cystic fibrosis. A few weeks later, Greg Doland (Shaun Prendergast) told Hilary that Arthur was allergic to seafood. This was common in Hilary's family. Hilary became convinced that Daniel was not Laurel and Ashley's son, and despite Douglas, Ashley and Laurel thinking what Hilary was saying was due to her grief, she convinced the doctor to check the blood types again. This proved what Hilary had been saying - that Daniel was not Ashley and Laurel's son. Laurel was devastated and slapped Hilary for adding to their agony. Hilary felt guilty for what her daughter had gone through, but told Doug she knew the Dolands were raising Laurel's and Ashley's son.

When Hilary found out the Dolands were going on holiday to Spain, she vanished with Arthur. They were soon found, but Ashley told the Dolands about the possible baby mix-up. Greg and Mel attempted to emigrate with Arthur, but Ashley stopped them. Hilary called the police, who said they couldn't intervene, but fearing she would lose her son, Mel ran away with Arthur. Laurel refused to accept that Arthur might be her son. Hilary told Laurel she couldn't watch her ignore her son and went home. Doug receives a phone call from Hilary on Arthur's first birthday, asking for a divorce.

In January 2011, Doug and Hilary reconcile off-screen and go on a cruise together to try and make their marriage work again. However, when Doug returns to Emmerdale in 2014 for a now-divorced Laurel's wedding to Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) Hilary isn't with him. Doug initially tried to claim she's ill; however, he eventually admits to Laurel that the marriage is over for good.