Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles) has bid farewell to the Emmerdale village once again, returning home to Portugal after a brief but very welcomed visit.
The popular character staged a comeback earlier this week for the wedding of daughter Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham), who was due to wed Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson).
In typical Emmerdale fashion, the ceremony wasn’t without a hitch or two, with Vinny failing to turn up on time after he secretly headed to the police station to report blackmailing thug Mike.
Mike, as viewers know, was a user on the LGBTQ+ forum that Vinny visited a number of weeks ago after attempting to kiss best mate Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah).
The newcomer turned out to be a violent bully, who recorded Vinny’s private conversations and threatened to out him if he failed to pay up thousands of pounds.
Vinny did just that but ultimately decided that he wasn’t going to live in fear, reporting Mike on the morning of the wedding.
Gabby remains in the dark about her beau’s ordeal and, despite Bernice’s doubts, they tied the knot in a romantic ceremony.
The reason Bernice urged Gabby to reconsider getting married was because her daughter cheated on Vinny when in Portugal earlier in the year.
Gabby, however, refused to take her mum’s advice and insisted Vinny was the man for her as she exchanged harsh words with the matriarch, which left her feeling sad.
It wasn’t just Gabby whose wrath Bernice was on the receiving end of as Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) was less than pleased to find her sister back in the village given how they left things previously.
Bernice, as viewers will recall, was in serious debt ahead of her 2023 exit after buying things in Nicola’s name. She was on the run in a matter of speaking and attempted to evade the law by setting in motion her departure from the village.
But before exiting, she resolved to make things right by giving Nicola her shares in the B&B.
Two years on and Nicola still has not forgiven Bernice, who spent much of Thursday’s (September 16) edition of the ITV soap attempting to make amends.
The ice partially thawed between the siblings but Nicola made it quite clear that she still wasn’t over the betrayal – and Bernice sleeping with Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) only proceeded to complicate things further.
But with the wedding at an end, it was time for Bernice to sadly leave our screens again.
Metro’s Deputy Soaps Editor Stephen Patterson says…
It’s hard to put your finger on but there is just something that feels so quintessentially Emmerdale about Bernice.
Like Kim Tate or Charity Dingle, the show just feels inherently better when she’s in it.
Perhaps its the fact that she ruled the roost during some of Emmerdale’s greatest eras (the late nineties and early noughties to be precise) or maybe it’s just how the writers never fail to deliver when it comes to material for her, but she fits perfectly into the fabric of the show – no matter the era.
From deliciously camp dialogue to overly dramatic stories, everything Bernice says and does is brilliantly bonkers – and it’s always played to perfection by star Samantha Giles.
At a time when soap in general can be quite dark, characters like Bernice are more valuable than as ever as she never fails to lighten even the bleakest of episodes.
Don’t stay away too long Bernice – I fear you’re already missed.
Not crying, we promise.
Before departing, she contemplated the idea of staying in the village and picking up from where she left off with Bob but ultimately she resolved to return to Portugal.
Gabby prepared to depart with her mum and Vinny as they shared a taxi to the airport, with the newlyweds heading off on their honeymoon.
After a hug with Bernice on Main Street, Rodney (Patrick Mower) urged Nicola to make things right with her sister – before she loses the opportunity to do so in person.
Nicola was steadfast in her refusal at first but ultimately she relented, much to the joy of Bernice, who gave her sibling a big hug and promised to keep in touch.
Bernice subsequently got in the taxi and rode out of Emmerdale village once again, bringing to an end yet another chapter for the character.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 or stream first from 7am on ITVX and YouTube.
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