Calli Kitson
Published November 22, 2025 11:00am
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Celia Daniels arrived earlier this year (Picture: ITV)
Emmerdale fans have been thoroughly impressed with Jaye Griffiths’ portrayal of Celia Daniels so far.
The character arrived earlier this year and was introduced to us as a local farmer. After a situation with Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt), Celia began working with Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) as they plotted to destroy Kim Tate (Claire King).
As time went on, it became apparent that Celia was hiding a huge secret. We discovered in October that Celia is the mum of Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), the man who’s been forcing April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) to deal drugs.
Ray would often mention his boss to them, but absolutely no one expected Celia to be that person. Celia is in charge of the entire drug dealing operation, and we discovered a few days ago that she’s also exploiting vulnerable adults on her farm as part of a modern day slavery storyline.
It’s a deeply disturbing storyline in some places, but fans cannot help but love Jaye’s performance within each episode. It’s clear the star has thought a great deal about her character and the way she works, and has even gone as far as thinking about the reasonings behind her wardrobe items.
Celia is in charge of a huge drug dealing and exploitation ring (Picture: ITV)
‘I love my scarves’, Jaye smiled in a chat with us recently.
‘I love my hat and my stick. I love that she just walks around with this stick. It’s like, “Could you be more literal? You walk around with a big stick”. It is glorious. I think she went through a catalogue going, “okay, what do farmers wear? Oh, great, I’ll buy that!”
‘She doesn’t do farm work, I don’t think she’s been in a field in her life. She just swans about. It’s just great, just doing deals on her phone. So when I saw the costume, I just nearly gave Ian a kiss, our designer. It’s just perfect. Love her.
Jaye went on to reveal: ‘Celia wears a cravat because someone has tried to cut her head off. So it’s very subtle, and it’s only halfway across, because obviously they didn’t succeed in cutting her throat, and that’s why she wears the cravat. I asked our execs if they would not tell scripts, because I don’t want it ever mentioned.
‘So there’s a lovely bit where Bob looks at my neck and then his eyes flick away, and that’s the only time, that’s it. It’s just a hint of a former life, a life elsewhere where bad things have happened to her. So, that’s why she wears a cravat.’
One of the slaves is Bear, Paddy’s dad (Picture: ITV)
We know that Ray is Celia’s adoptive son. She picked him up from the streets and raised him in her dangerous world. As a result of this, dealing and taking advantage of people is all Ray has really known. While he’s to blame for a multitude of crimes, Celia’s grooming also makes him a victim as well.
He’s been given a glimpse into an alternate universe by spending time with Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy). Ray likes Laurel and she serves as a reminder that his life could’ve been very different. He knows that he won’t ever be with her long term, but enjoys the connection that they have none the less.
Speaking about Ray and Laurel and what’s ahead for them, Jaye added: ‘Laurel goes to kiss him, and he won’t kiss her. That breaks Celia’s heart, because that means she’s not a floozy, she’s not a one-off. That he’s so serious about her, he won’t even kiss her.
Ray has been enjoying time with Laurel (Picture: ITV)
‘He likes her that much, and that is too real for Celia. So now the possibility is he might leave her, and I think that would come close to breaking Celia. It was only four lines in that scene of, “it broke her heart to witness it”, and then she covers it up, of course.
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‘She is very much about losing control of him, but underneath that it’s about someone else loving him, he’s mine. She has managed their situation because they move so frequently, that she’s the only one he relies on, the one he turns to, the one who’s forever sorting things out for him and with him.
‘To lose that, that would mean Celia was truly alone in the universe, and I’m not sure she’s ready for that. That was a one moment we could show an inch of fragility, a moment of weakness, because otherwise you just see her strolling about hurting people.’
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This article was first published on November 13, 2025.
Arrow MORE: Bear fights back in explosive Emmerdale spoiler video as Ray faces his wrath
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