Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) has been behaving rather mysteriously on Emmerdale recently, leading fans to wonder what he might be up to.
The popular character has been taking mysterious phone calls and Dawn (Olivia Bromley) recently discovered a large wad of cash in his bag, which he was quite cagey about. He said he’d been doing extra PT work and was saving up for a holiday for the family – something Dawn didn’t think they could afford.
At the time, Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) was being blackmailed by a mysterious person – who later turned out to be none other than Kim Tate (Claire King) herself who had concocted an elaborate revenge plan against her husband after discovering he’d been unfaithful with his ex, Rose Jackson (Christine Tremarco).
Before the big reveal in which Kim lured Will to a remote location where he ended up flat on his back in a pre-prepared coffin, viewers had wondered whether Billy might have been desperate enough for cash that he’d resorted to blackmail.
It didn’t sound like Billy’s style, but there was clearly something shifty going on with him. Could it be connected to drugs? Or linked to the return of Ross Barton (Michael Parr) to the show?
Upcoming episodes will reveal exactly how Billy’s been earning cash – and he’s literally playing a very dangerous game that leaves him needing medical treatment.
The first clue is when we see him hiding a pair of boxing gloves from Dawn. She’s distracted anyway, because she’s just been told that they can bring baby Evan home.
Billy decides they need to get a car and asks Mack (Lawrence Robb) to keep an eye out for one. Mack is suspicious as Billy seems to have a large amount of cash, and he’s also nursing an injury.
The next day Billy fails to turn up to take dawn to collect Evan, and she has to ask Gabby (Rosie Bentham) for a lift. The reason for Billy’s non-appearance is soon revealed, when he appears on Mack’s doorstep bruised and bloodied.
Billy is cagey about his wounds and refuses to go to hospital, and eventually reveals to Mack that he’s been taking part in unlicensed boxing matches.
He explains that he’s taking part in the hugely dangerous and illegal sport because he can’t see any other way of supporting his family.
‘It doesn’t go well in one of his fights. He ends up falling, damaging his side, and obviously he can’t find the strength and will to go and tell Dawn exactly what’s happened’, actor Jay Kontzle explained.
‘So because he’s already had an initial conversation with Mackenzie in regards to getting him a new car, he feels that he’s the only person at this moment that he can really talk to and to try and get a little bit of help. I think for Billy it’s subconsciously that he still wants that person to talk to. He has that relationship there, he’s got someone to take the burden on a little bit, not just have the whole thing on his shoulders.
‘He explains the fact of why he’s doing it and wants that support. And it’s actually much needed. I think that there are two reasons for him to go there, one to get cleaned up and try to cover his tracks, and to have a friend to talk to and help him along the way. Whether it is the right thing or the wrong thing to do, he still wants that conversation with someone.’
As he’s still refusing to go to hospital but has wounds that need stitches, paramedic John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) arrives to help out.
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Will this be the wake-up call Billy needs to stop him putting his life in danger? And will he tell Dawn what’s been going on?
‘Billy’s felt quite helpless over the last month or so’, Jay said.
‘He’s the only earner at this moment in time, because Dawn’s obviously staying at home with Evan and making sure that she’s around and making sure that she can help out as much as she can with the kids. So Billy feels like the only way he can really pull his weight is by working. But at the same time, he does feel helpless that he can’t help his sick child.
‘So at the same as earning more money, he wants that release as well. So he goes off and does a bit of unlicensed boxing. He knows that, in terms of fitness, it’s one of the things he’s good at. He knows it could be an easy earner for quite a bit of money, which at the moment is really needed just to keep the family afloat. It’s the only way he knows that he can do that.’
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