THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY TURNS INTO A TOTAL DISASTER: IS THIS THE END FOR BEAR WOLF?

Emmerdale star Joshua Richards has teased “disaster” for Bear Wolf as he takes to the stand. The character faces trial for Ray Walters’s death incident next week after causing harm to the villain earlier this year while saving Paddy Dingle and Dylan Penders.

Next week’s emotional scenes will see Bear forced to take the stand, following fellow enforced worker Simo giving evidence that backfires on him.

Opening up about Bear’s time in court, Richards admitted that his character becomes “frustrated” and “irate”, especially as he is “not a precise person” working within a strict judicial system.

“He’s ill-equipped for diplomacy, so it could turn into a kind of disaster on that stand,” he teased, referencing his earlier confession to causing harm to Ray while trying to protect Paddy and Dylan.

“He’s not the brightest button on the tunic, and so he doesn’t exactly help himself, Paddy, or Dylan by confessing to something he clearly didn’t do,” the actor explained.

“He had no intention to harm Ray; he had no intention of hurting anyone because he’s not a violent person. But he’s someone who, after months of abuse, has become disconnected from himself.”

Richards suggested that Bear isn’t optimistic about the outcome and is “prepared to spend the rest of his life in prison”.

“I don’t think he believes he has a chance, and also, because he carries a misplaced sense of guilt, he feels this is what he deserves. Since he has caused harm to someone, he thinks prison is the consequence,” he elaborated.

“He’s already expressed that, so he goes into the trial without any hope. He just sees it as paying his dues and accepting his fate.”

However, even though his counsellor’s testimony supports him, Bear is in “a state of shutdown”, preventing him from fully recognizing it.

“It’s been a difficult process,” Richards added. “So when someone actually stands up for him, it doesn’t really register. He’s just in a mindset of ‘This is it. Finished.’ Total desperation.”