Following a tense and emotional exchange between Billy and Dawn in Emmerdale, actress Olivia Bromley has weighed in on why her character should think twice before placing her full trust in her former partner. In recent episodes, viewers saw Dawn confide in Billy after a dramatic turn of events – admitting that she was the one who pushed Joe Tate out of an upstairs window at Home Farm. In a surprising show of loyalty, Billy responded by offering her an alibi and urging that they must “stick together,” seemingly pledging to protect her no matter the consequences. However, in a new interview, Olivia Bromley has hinted that things may not be as straightforward as they appear. While Billy’s promise appears sincere, Bromley expressed caution, suggesting that Dawn’s vulnerability could leave her exposed – especially given their complicated romantic history and emotional baggage. “He says he’ll protect her,” Bromley noted, “but Dawn’s been let down before, and there’s always a risk when you place your future in someone else’s hands.” As the storyline unfolds, viewers are left to wonder whether Billy’s loyalty will hold firm – or whether Dawn is setting herself up for another painful betrayal.

Dawn has to put her trust in Billy (Credit: ITV)

Can Dawn trust Billy?

With Billy suspicious about Clemmie’s involvement in Joe’s attack, Dawn had no choice but to confess that it was actually her who did it.

Billy immediately went into protection mode, telling Dawn how they needed to play the situation so as to avoid suspicion. Part of the plan involved Billy moving back into Home Farm.

But can Dawn trust that Billy is doing the right thing? “Well, Billy – obviously he and Dawn have this history where they are quite a good unit and they come together and protect each other and stuff,” said Olivia.

“So they kind of form a bit of an alliance to protect each other. But obviously, Billy’s been massively betrayed by this woman, so will he be able to trust her again?”

Olivia also mentioned Billy’s history, pointing out that she isn’t the only one to do wrong in their relationship.

“Billy is not a saint,” she said “He has pushed her in various ways and he’s not necessarily been the person she expected him to be. All that boxing stuff, he lied, he got involved with criminals, she was looking after the baby all the time, he didn’t deal with that very well”
Dawn is worried about losing her children (Credit: ITV)

Family first for Dawn

Although Dawn might not be sure about Billy’s intentions, she has no choice but to put her faith in him. Being arrested and losing her children terrifies Dawn.

“Her main concern is to protect her family,” said Olivia. “The biggest thing she might lose is her children if she’s been involved in a violent crime like this. She is very worried about losing her children.

“She’s in a real hard position, her children need her. If she goes down, that’s a nightmare for those kids, to lose their mother.”

She added: “That’s the constant thing with someone like Dawn, she hates herself for what she’s done, but she’s got to scramble to keep this family together. She’s got a lot to lose.”

With that in mind, would it be better for Dawn to be in a stable relationship with Billy? Olivia thinks so.

“As me, I would advise Dawn to get back with Billy!” she said.

“She just wanted more, and I think they had that really hard time with Evan. Lots of couples go through really difficult times, if you’ve got an ill baby, that was a real strain for them. I think they were just pushed apart like that and sometimes you just can’t get it back. What she found with Joe was this passion. But I’m not defending her!”