Rhona Goskirk
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| Rhona Goskirk | |||||||||
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Zoe Henry | ||||||||
| Duration | 2001–02, 2010– | ||||||||
| First appearance | 17 September 2001 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Steve Frost (2001, 2002) Gavin Blyth (2010) |
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| Spin-off appearances |
Paddy and Marlon's Big Night In (2011) | ||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Occupation | Veterinary Surgeon | ||||||||
| Home | Smithy Cottage | ||||||||
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Rhona Goskirk is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Zoe Henry. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 17 September 2001. The character was introduced by series producer Steve Frost and appeared initially in 2001 and 2002. She returned to Emmerdale as a full-time character in March 2010, reintroduced by series producer Gavin Blyth. She has been through storylines including giving birth to Leo Goskirk, who has Down's Syndrome, marrying Paddy Kirk, and becoming addicted to painkillers.
Casting
Henry joined the cast of Emmerdale as Rhona in 2001 for an initial seven episodes.[1] The actress returned in 2002 for another brief stint, departing in December.[1] On 13 February 2010, Kris Green of Digital Spy reported Henry had reprised her role and Rhona would be returning to Emmerdale later in the year.[2]
Storylines
Rhona first appeared in the village in September 2001 as a locum, helping Paddy (Dominic Brunt) and covering for Zoe (Leah Bracknell), whilst she was away on holiday. She and Marlon (Mark Charnock) fell for each other and they began dating as his ex-girlfriend, Tricia (Sheree Murphy), had left him and the village. However, Tricia returned and Rhona left not long after, before Zoe returned.
In June 2002, Rhona returned to cover for Zoe when she needed time off due to her mental illness and Paddy needed another vet. She and Marlon soon resumed their relationship and began spending time together again, realising they had more in common than they first thought, including Laurel and Hardy films and design. When Tricia found out that Rhona had returned, she was very upset but Rhona left again in December 2002.
Rhona returned in 2010 again as a locum. This time, she covered for Paddy, after he was beaten up by foster son Aaron (Danny Miller). Rhona worked there for a few weeks whilst Paddy recovered but soon clashed with receptionist, Pearl (Meg Johnson), due to Pearl's protecting Paddy. She stayed at The Grange B&B and it was later revealed that between 2002-2010, Rhona married but divorced, realising that he was not the right person for her. Rhona left after completing her contract but returned when Paddy needed time off to look after Aaron, following his suicide attempt. She planned to stay in the village in a more permanent position, moving in with Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) and Ryan Lamb (James Sutton) but didn't stay long, due to her romance with Marlon. She moved in with him, Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) and Lizzie Lakely (Kitty McGeever) but moved out again after ending things with Marlon as she realised she had fallen in love with Paddy. She confided in Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) that her relationship with Paddy had become difficult and was seriously considering leaving the village so Laurel told Paddy to sort things out with her before she left.
Rhona finds out that she is pregnant with Marlon's baby which has Down's syndrome. She considers having a termination but changes her mind after a conversation with Hazel Rhodes (Pauline Quirke) opens her eyes. On 1 February, she attends her scan with Paddy and Marlon. When she goes in, the sonographer is an old school friend, Stephanie Ray, and it is revealed that Rhona was very rebellious when she was at school. She tries to set Marlon and Stephanie up on a date but he hated her. Marlon decided that they should try pregnancy yoga and whilst there, she decided to go to the next class alone, because Marlon was very irritating. She goes to the foetal heart scan in March and is told everything is fine but worries herself so they visit a Downs Syndrome support group where she feels more comfortable talking to people in her situation. In April, she and Paddy decide that it would be best to tell Aaron about the baby's condition and are touched by his reaction. She experiences Braxton Hicks Contractions twice before she goes into labour in the Woolpack, after being knocked over during a scuffle between Aaron Livesy and Adam Barton. She gives birth to a boy who is named Leo.
Rhona starts to make plans to propose to Paddy. However, Paddy gets drunk and Rhona cannot go through with it. Paddy later tells Rhona that he feels getting married is unnecessary, but when he feels guilty he proposes and she accepts. Paddy is offered a job in New Zealand and he and Rhona agree to go. Marlon decides to go too, so he can be close to Leo, but he later changes his mind. Rhona tells Marlon that she still taking Leo to New Zealand. Rhona and Paddy marry, with Marlon arriving at the church at the last minute. During the reception, Marlon informs Rhona and Paddy that he has taken legal action against them taking Leo out of the country. After a lot of debate between Rhona and Laurel about taking Leo to New Zealand, Rhona takes off but Paddy is forced to stay in the village after assaulting police officer, later on Rhona and Leo make a reappearance in the village.
Rhona's college friend, Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick), arrives and immediately gets off on the wrong foot with Paddy, however after Paddy has been struck off from work, Vanessa, also a qualified vet joins the surgery, she later agrees to have a share in the surgery and when Paddy is able to return to his duties, it becomes him, Rhona and Vanessa who have their names above the door. Rhona's life takes a turn for the worse when she becomes addicted to the painkillers she is taking for her back ache, she gets hooked on them and later when she runs out of the pills, her personality changes and starts becoming aggressive to Paddy and Vanessa whenever they say anything. Things also become worse when she is looking after Leo, he refuses to eat his dinner and she gets angry before running off being sick. Upon her return from a farm, Vanessa spots Rhona raiding the drugs cabinet at the surgery, warning her off the penalties if she ever got caught, Rhona apologises and returns upstairs, later on Rhona crawls into a ball in a corner while Leo is left crying in his cot, when Vanessa comes back, she is shocked a Rhona's state and tells her Leo is fine before giving Rhona a pill to make her feel better to which later she is up and about with Paddy saying how well she looked compared to the morning.
Rhona's dependence on drugs becomes increasingly worse. She receives pills from Vanessa, who tries to help her wean herself off them. Vanessa confesses that she has fallen in love with Rhona. Rhona initially spurns her affection before giving in since Vanessa supplies her with drugs and knows her secret. Rhona then starts buying drugs from a dealer named Gary. Paddy and others are suspicious of Rhona's odd behaviour. Paddy checks her phone and sees that she has been contacting Gary and lying about where she goes. At one point he confronts her and grabs for her phone. Rhona screams and hits Paddy repeatedly before he demands that she leave.
