She may have entered Hollyoaks as a violent gangster, so fearsome that she was dubbed the Undertaker, but viewers have recently seen a surprising softer side to Norma Crow.
The emergence of a maternal side for son Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) is something that actress Glynis Barber has welcomed, telling Metro.co.uk that the character may have been too one-dimensional to get so far.
‘I think it had to happen,’ the acclaimed actress reflected during our interview recently.
‘For quite a long time I was just sort of threatening people and there was no emotion. I think to develop a character you have to find something else.
‘You have to find variety, you need to find an emotional life and an inner life so it was quite a challenge, really, to go from how she first came in to begin to see some glimmers of emotion.
‘I think it had to be very much in a Norma way. There’s been a big turn around, really, in a year and I think she has formed a relationship with Warren.’
So much so that Norma will seemingly do anything for Warren – to the extreme.
Determined to get the twins away from Sienna Blake (Anna Passey), Norma hatches a plot to sweep the kids away, and spring the idea on Warren very last minute for them to fly abroad.
‘Sienna’s being very difficult, she’s not letting warren see the twins, Warren is unhappy not seeing the twins. She’s come up with this plan – let’s make them prefer us and want to live with you – it’ll be great.
‘She thinks she’s doing a really good thing here. She just lies about where they’re going but she thinks Warren’s going to be thrilled. She knows he may argue and she’s not going to tell them until they get to the airport. But it’s all good intentions, she thinks it’s going to be great.
‘We can leave our pasts behind us, we can leave our reputations behind us, our problems, we won’t have to deal with Sienna any more, the twins will be better with us because Sienna’s a psycho.
‘We’ll be on the beach, we’ll be in Honduras, we’re going to have a great life. So it’s all good intentions.
There’s no worry in her mind that Warren will be upset by this plan?
‘She’s convinced he’ll see the sense of it and just get on the plane.’
It’s a bold and, in many ways, a sinister plan. But Glynis is defensive of her character and, while she admits it’s on the extreme end of the spectrum, the star is quick to point out that Norma is coming from a good place.
‘I know it looks bad, but really this is Norma trying to be a good mother and there is actually no ill intention here!’ she insisted.
‘It’s not her intention to do anything. She thinks she’s come up with a great plan and Warren will see the sense and he’s going to be really happy once he gets to Honduras. And then it all goes horribly wrong.’
It’s an understatement and a half! As Norma is plagued by texts from Sienna, she is shocked to see Warren back in the village.
Explaining that Norma ‘just panics’, Glynis told us that she doesn’t mean to crash the car – but crash she does, with the twins in the vehicle.
‘There is a lot of danger because it’s a full-on crash,’ she told us. ‘Everyone gets out but Norma is trapped in the car. She’s the last one left in the car, so it’s a question – what’s going to happen?
‘So Warren begins to realise straight after the crash – Sienna’s talking to him and he begins to realise that Norma was up to something and he’s furious.
‘So, first of all, Norma’s trapped in the car – is she going to get out? And second of all Warren, is completely raging at her by this stage because he realises she’s up to something and he wants to know what. All she wants is to get out of the car and be safe.’
If Norma makes it through this, Warren will want some questions answered. And, while she defends her alter-ego to an extent, Glynis isn’t sold on the possibility of a redemption yet.
‘It’s going to be very difficult,’ she admitted. ‘I think it’s going to be very tough. It could just kill their relationship.’
This is Hollyoaks – a soap never afraid to brutally kill off characters in stunts. So, if this were to be her exit storyline, would Glynis be pleased to go out with a bang?
With unfinished business, the actress is not so sure.
‘It depends, I’d like her to be able to explain herself because I think all this condemnation is a little unfair and all she was doing was trying to be a good mother – she was trying to do something good and positive and helpful for him.
‘For once there was absolutely no ill intent whatsoever. It was all meant to be good.
‘It seems sad that she would be so completely misunderstood and everyone’s berating her for something that she thought was a good thing.’
Whether she lives or dies, her damaged legacy on Hollyoaks would take a while to repair, for sure.
But what happens remains to be seen.
You can read our full interview with Glynis by signing up to our totally free soaps newsletter here, which lands every Friday morning in your inbox.
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