Emmerdale's Jai Sharma in a "dark place" with drug addiction ahead of Graham's murder plot
Pressure mounts as Jai battles with temptation
Motivation is becoming clearer for the suspects in Emmerdale's big whodunnit which sees at least seven characters gunning for gruesome Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) before he's bumped off in spectacular fashion.
One of the rogues in the gallery is Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson), who's tense but brief encounter with Mr Foster on Wednesday 15th January sets him up as a potential killer. Buckling under the pressure of working for Kim Tate at the outdoor pursuits centre, and feeling undermined by her business partner Al Chapman (Michael Wildman), the recovering drug addict sneakily scores cocaine as he slides down a very dangerous path…
"He's in a dark place," reveals Emmerdale star Bisson. "Al tasks Jai with finding a new sponsorship deal at the last minute and is basically setting him up for a fall." Jai knows he has to be on top of his game and work through until the small hours to pull this off, so he phones for a pizza - with a very specific side order sneaked into the box - a wrap of cocaine…
"When the delivery arrives Jai has a real battle on his hands," continues Bisson. "He knows he has to stay up all night but feels he's losing his mojo. He has this little devil on his shoulder telling him to turn back to his former poison. 'Do it, and it will fix your problems!'"
Grim Graham has dropped by the office looking for Ryan Stocks when Jai receives the 'special delivery', and his curiosity is piqued by jittery Mr Sharma's furtive exchange with the driver and desire to get Graham out of the way as quick as possible. Jai then hides the pizza in his desk drawer and viewers are left wondering whether he'll take the drugs - and if Graham works out the reason behind his behaviour.
In a break from the usual format, next week's episodes recount the events of the day Graham dies from a number of different perspectives, with Tuesday 21st January telling the story from Jai's point of view.
By this point Jai is stressed to the point of exhaustion and is relying on cocaine to keep him going. Driving under the influence he crashes into Graham's car - stunned at his irresponsible actions Graham later tells Laurel Thomas her boyfriend is back on drugs, and Jai's father Rishi Sharma soon gets wind of the news.
His entire life unravels as his partner and family are left reeling in judgement and disappointment. Blaming Graham's interference as his world falls apart, Jai vows to make him pay. By Friday 24th January we'll know who finished the fiendish Foster off (half the village are lining up by this time), will it be drug-addled Jai? Emmerdale are promising all sorts of twists and turns, maybe he's so out of it he doesn't even know he's done it and only the audience know the truth.
And does Graham discover the secret takeaway box hiding the illegal substance before next week's prang? Keep your eyes peeled tonight…
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