After Emmerdale fans established newcomer Ella Forster (Paula Lane) was hiding a secret, a strong theory that she was somehow connected to Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu) started to develop.

We all remember Meena – the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Leanna Cavanagh, Ben Tucker and Andrea Tate. She left our screens in 2022 after being charged with many, many crimes but recently, we started to wonder if we’d be seeing her again.

When Liam (Jonny McPherson) opened up about Leanna’s murder, Ella’s reaction left many fans suspicious. To add to this, we also learnt she had a friend who encouraged her to go into nursing and what was Meena’s career while in the village? A nurse.

The clues were peppered throughout Ella’s storyline so eventually, when the big reveal came around, we were 99% certain she was going to tell Liam she was somehow connected to the woman who killed his daughter.

Even though her character doesn’t have any connection to Meena currently, actress Paula Lane isn’t ruling it out totally, as she explained to us here:

‘I enjoyed reading them to begin with just because I found them quite funny. Because obviously, there’s absolutely zero connection unless she’s come across her in prison. So you never know, them crossing paths could be a theory.’

‘Most people didn’t see that one coming’, she said, describing the fan reaction to Ella’s past.

‘I’ve had a few messages actually, like via social media. All very positive on the acting front. But I think it is quite thought-provoking. You know, where you sit with it morally? Because obviously I’m a mother. If somebody did that to my child, I would find it enormously difficult to forgive. That’s what’s brilliant about this storyline is that it kind of does get you questioning it quite a lot.

‘On the whole, I feel like people sort of believe that she served her time. That’s where the majority kind of sits from what I’ve seen.’

As a result of her past, Ella has been essentially running her whole life. She tries to find a home somewhere, her secret is discovered and then she leaves – again and again.

‘Yes, through the help of Mandy and Manpreet’, Paula said when asked if the village has accepted Ella now.

‘And Liam to an extent, people have been willing to mean luckily for me. Actually, I’ve kind of gone. Oh, come on, we’ll welcome you in.’

‘As time goes on she starts working at the vets. Because she and Liam can’t work together anymore. And she ends up getting a job and that boosts her confidence a little bit because her and Tracy are up for the same job. There are some great scenes there where Tracy is not one of the people who wants to accept her. She’s very much on the other side and won’t forget what she’s done.

‘But it does boost her confidence when she starts working again, getting more involved in the village and people getting to know her for kind of who she is. Aside from the past.’