Why is Will trying to kill Harriet in Emmerdale? Their shocking history explained

• Harriet crushed by a coffin as Will takes revenge in Emmerdale
• Emmerdale's Harriet KNOWS Dawn's dad is still alive - and he's her stalker!
• Dawn's father is revealed as Harriet's tormentor in Emmerdale shocker

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Viewers know Harriet was once a police officer and years ago posed as 'Michelle', the girlfriend of crime boss Will, infiltrating his life as part of a long-running operation to expose his wrongdoings and put him behind bars - which she eventually did.

But Harriet was in too deep and genuinely fell for the fella, and became a mother figure to a young Dawn who then went off the rails when her deceit was revealed.

Dawn came back into Harriet's life earlier this year and told her Will died shortly after being released from prison, but it was all a lie as she was secretly working with her father who wanted to punish 'Michelle' for double crossing him.

Will's plan has been compromised by Dawn getting cold feet about the sinister intimidation against Harriet getting out of hand, but can anything stop Will killing Harriet?

RadioTimes.com spoke to Dean Andrews about his alter ego's past - and potential future after this week's terrifying events…

Is Will capable of killing Harriet?
I think he's just venting his anger. He thought they were a proper couple and fully in love and he is aggrieved it was a lie and feels hurt, and so wants revenge.

I don't think he knows how far he wanted to go when he started all this, he initially wanted to scare the living daylights out of her - but maybe he could go all the way.

We've seen him do all kinds of stuff to freak her out, such as make an order of service for her funeral, even before he tries to crush her with a coffin!

Do you think he is still in love with her deep down?
Right at this moment he is set on revenge, but until he finally sees her he doesn't know what feelings might come to the fore. But the thing is he was in love with her, which makes it twice as difficult to take. He was living with this woman and it was all a lie.

During their confrontation in the church Will tells her he loved her and that he would have protected her if she'd told him she was a copper. if she cared about him, why did she double cross him? Will was very much in love with her, but whether she was or just playing at it he doesn't know.

Why did Harriet and the police target Will in the first place?
Will was a drug dealer, a Mr Big of the local crime network, the guy who ran it all. He wasn't the one on the street selling wraps, he organised everything and had the nice car and all the money. He kept that top position until Harriet toppled him and he spent 15 years in prison.

What kind of relationship have Will and Dawn had since Harriet left?
After he got sent down and Michelle was revealed as Harriet and she moved on, Dawn went into care as she was a young child and probably didn't have an awful lot to do with her dad for a while.

Since she became an adult they have slowly got back in touch, then when Dawn met Harriet again she told him she had found her and he's wanted revenge.

Did he have to persuade Dawn to be part of his plan?
He's using his daughter, there's no doubt about it. Even though he loves her he's got that red mist and his only focus is revenge on Harriet, not building another life with Dawn and being pleased he's out of jail - he wants his own back on the person he loved that put him behind bars in the first place.

Also, Dawn spiralled into drug addiction without her dad, but if he hadn't gone to prison he would've been there for her and protected her.

Is Will sticking around in the village?
I'm in for as long as they'll have me. I love the show, being from Yorkshire I always wanted to be part of it. My friend Johnny Leeze played Ned Glover years ago, he encouraged me to go for a part in the days when I was a club singer, before I got into acting, so I auditioned to play a radio DJ hosting Paddy Kirk's vet show - and I was awful! For some reason I did it in an American accent.

Could Will and Harriet get back together?
Maybe they'll end up getting married! I don't know. If they feel like keeping Will I'd love for him to have 43 affairs, 12 kids and end up owning the cafe!

I hope he gets some nice things to do, there's lots that could be played out. I'd love him to cross paths with Cain Dingle, Jeff Hordley is a great actor and you've now got another hard man coming into his territory.

Considering the world he is in, Will has the capabilities of knowing people are way more dangerous than Cain Dingle…

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